Bonnie “Prince” Billy – the persona/stage-name of musician Will Oldham – has shared the 2nd single from his forthcoming album The Purple Bird. “London May” was originally written for a horror movie titled Night of the Bastard, which the musician/actor London May was involved with. Oldham and May, the drummer of the post-Misfits project Samhain, have been friends since the mid-80’s. “I made up a song for him that combined some of the things I felt we shared.”
Oldham goes on to say:
“When David Ferguson and I were putting songs together for The Purple Bird sessions, I remembered the song I'd made for London's film; I was performing it regularly live, and it didn't feel quite complete… Ferg was game, and we tracked it. I'd long begun to want to hear other voices in the song. In the end, we roped in the phenomenal Kentucky-born singer Brit Taylor to sing harmonies and other supporting parts. Her voice is stellar to say the least.”
The video, directed by Sai Selvarajan, was filmed in Houston and co-stars London May himself. Selvarajan said about the video:
“This song is so beautifully constructed in that it starts off moody and dark and gives way to optimism. I really wanted the visuals to depict that. I took a lot of things I love and threw them into the creative cauldron. From breakdancing to skateboarding to mid-century modern architecture to 35mm slide projectors.”
The Purple Bird was made in Nashville with producer Dave Ferguson, and is out January 31st. Bonnie “Prince” Billy will embark on a California tour upon its release. Ferguson will open all of the shows:
February 7th @ Vet’s Hall - Santa Cruz, CA
February 8th @ Grace Cathedral – San Francisco, CA
February 9th @ Center for the Arts – Grass Valley, CA
February 10th @ Sebastiani Theatre – Sonoma, CA
February 12th @ Topa Bowl – Ojai, CA
February 14th @ Pico Union Project – Los Angeles, CA
The Purple Bird will be released on Domino/No Quarter and is available to pre-order on purple vinyl, standard vinyl, CD and digitally.
Pre-order: DomMart | Digital