Jamie Lidell Taps Wilco, Feist and Beck for New Full-Length

BY Stephen CarlickPublished Feb 8, 2010

Those who have recently started to notice a hole in their funky electronic existence, despair no longer: electro soul funk maestro Jamie Lidell is set to return this spring with his fifth studio LP and first since 2008's Jim.

Lidell's new disc, Compass, is due for release by Warp Records on May 18. A lengthy guest list, which features the likes of Gonzales, Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, Pat Sansone of Wilco, Feist and Beck, contribute to what the album's press release calls Lidell's "most eclectic album yet." (The latter three guests come courtesy of their meeting at Beck's Record Club last November.)

Also, according to the PR, on Compass, "Songs shift, chop, change and mutate genres and forms before our very ears. It's got funk in spades; the jaw-dropping power of the vocals is stronger than ever; it rocks, it pops, it's sweet, angry, hard, soulful and soft, often within the span of a single track. It's the restless album that finally matches the soul of its creator."

Compass was recorded in L.A., New York and in Feist's Ranch in the Niagara Escarpment. Lidell insists that despite the formidable list of guests, the album is still very much his own. "I wrote every song in a month," Lidell says. "It's been an emotional couple of years, so I tapped into what I wanted to say and started writing. There was a lot to draw on."

No tracklist has surfaced yet, but the press release promises a tour for 2010 with a band that are "stripped back" and "lean."

Latest Coverage