Michael Stipe reveals he’s “finished the songs” for debut solo album
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has provided a positive update on his debut solo album, revealing he has now “finished the songs”.
Since R.E.M. parted ways in 2011, Stipe has dipped his toes into the water as a solo artist but is yet to release a full project. Over the last five years, he’s shared a smattering of singles and collaborated with artists such as Big Red Machine on ‘No Time For Love Like Now’, and in 2022, he teamed up with Mykki Blanco on ‘Family Ties’.
After being in a highly successful group for decades, Stipe has decided to play by his own rules and take the recording process at a leisurely pace. Earlier this year, he spent a week at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village in New York, but due to external matters, he’s slowed down in recent months.
During a new interview with The New York Times, Stipe revealed: “I have a deadline now. I could keep working on this record for a decade and let my insecurities get the better of me. We can say … that I finished the songs.”
In the same interview, Stipe announced plans to spend two weeks writing in Athens, Georgia, but it didn’t end up happening because “life got in the way”. He added: “Nothing is easy. I get distracted by everything.”
Currently, there is no timeline for a release date. However, Stipe previously told Departures: “I’m working on a solo album, my first. I’m collaborating with a bunch of different musicians and each of those songs, if I get my way, which I think I will because I’m paying for it, will be very different. I have no management. I have no label.”
He added: “For the first time in my adult life, I don’t have a contract with anyone except myself. So I get to do whatever I want. Anyway, there will be a visual representation for each of the songs, and it should come together next year. I’m hoping to build slowly.”
Revisit Stipe’s collaboration with Mykki Blanco below.
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