Elvis Costello and The Roots have announced today that a collaborative album entitled Wise Up Ghost will be exclusively released by Blue Note Records on Tuesday September 17th 2013.
The existence of the record was first revealed by ?uestlove as an aside during an interview with Billboard Magazine in January. A small number of test pressings were distributed as white labels on Record Store Day on the 20th of April but the full release will follow later in the year.
Most of the sessions took place in secret at Feliz Habitat Studios in the dead of night, while others were in plain sight at Costello’s Hookery Crookery Studios. Elvis described the record as “the shortest distance between here and there” and containing “both rhythm and what is read”. Ahmir says, “It’s a moody, brooding affair, cathartic rhythms and dissonant lullabies. I went stark and dark on the music, Elvis went HAM on some ole Ezra Pound shit.”
In addition to the fabulous Roots crew and friends, the record features a guest vocal appearance on “Cinco Minutos Con Vos” from La Marisoul, lead singer of the Los Angeles group, La Santa Cecilia.
The album was produced by longtime Roots associate, Steven Mandel together with Elvis Costello, and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson.
