Mike Patton has a new album on the way. The Faith No More singer has teamed with renowned French composer Jean-Claude Vannier for a 12-song collection called Corpse Flower, which is due out September 13th via Ipecac Recordings.
Patton met Vannier through his work with French singer and artist Serge Gainsbourg. As the alt-metal rocker recounted,
“Jean-Claude and I met while working together on a Gainsbourg retrospective at the Hollywood Bowl in 2011… We bonded immediately. I could see he had a dedication and attention to detail that was relentless so the respect I had for him in my mind was magnified in person. We spoke loosely about working together in the future… and it took some time, but after a few years I contacted him and we began to ignite some sparks.”
A legendary musician in his own right, Vannier has been cited by the likes of Beck, Portishead, and Massive Attack as inspiration. However, even Vannier couldn’t help but become awe-struck by his new-found collaborator:
“I would send Mike rough versions of the songs to get his thoughts, then I’d wait impatiently, staring at the clock, until I received his response. He made my music awaken with his unique perspective and interpretations of my songs. A formidable vocalist, with a sense of humor, Mike and I created a strong, beautiful and sincere collection of music, as well as a friendship.”
A variety of musicians, both in Los Angeles and Paris, took part in the recording of Corpse Flower. The LA-based sessions included Smokey Hormel (Beck, Johnny Cash), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Air, Nine Inch Nails), and James Gadson (Beck, Jamie Lidell). Parsian contributors included Denys Lable, Bernard Paganotti (Magma), Daniel Ciampolini, Didier Malherbe, Léonard Le Cloarec, and the Bécon Palace String Ensemble.
As the effort’s lead single, Patton and Vannier have released “On Top of the World”. Laced with whistling throughout, the song is fairly laid-back and breezy, until it reaches a more hard-edged climax two-thirds of the way through. Listen for yourself below, plus check out the tracklist and album artwork by Kenro Izu.
Corpse Flower Artwork:
Corpse Flower Tracklist:
01. Ballad C.3.3.
02. Camion
03. Chansons D’Amour
04. Cold Sun Warm Beer
05. Browning
06. Hungry Ghost
07. Corpse Flower
08. Insolubles
09. On Top Of The World
10. Yard Bull
11. A Schoogirl’s Day
12. Pink and Bleue
Corpse Flower is currently available for pre-order. It will be released on 180-gram colored vinyl, CD, and digitally, and via a special embossed version highlighting Kenro Izu’s black-and-white cover photo.