Beck Readying New "Hip Hop" Album

Beck has revealed the first details of his new album which is set for release this Autumn.

The multi-genre master of reinvention has been working on the album for nearly three years alongside longtime collaborator Nigel Goodrich.

He told MTV: "It's all mastered and the artwork's pretty much done. Nigel and I did about 40 tracks, and we've worked on it for about two and a half years, getting it down to about 20. Now we're trying to squeeze them down even further.

“I worked on them in tandem (with sessions for last year's ‘Guero’), and then at the beginning of this year we got together and finally mixed them and put them together."

Tracks that look set to feature on the as yet untitled record include ‘1,000 BPM’, ‘Soldier Jane’ and ‘Nausea’ all of which Beck has been playing live recently.

However, he says things could all change: "We're days away from finishing the record, but it's proving very difficult to come up with a track list because each song has its own identity. Nothing's really obvious."

"Before we started, Nigel said he wanted to do a hip-hop record. And in a way it is, and in a way it isn't. It has hip-hop songs, and my previous work with him was Mutations and Seachange, these sort of introspective records, and so this new one is sort of bringing those two worlds together."

Beck also has a treat in store for fans in the form of the album artwork which has taken a year in its genesis.

"It's a pretty cool concept. It's supposed to be a secret, but I'll let the cat out the bag — it's all stickers. It's really pretty amazing. The artwork is laid out in stickers, it's modular, the cover is blank and you get a sheet of stickers and you make your own cover."

He also confirmed that he is readying a special 10th anniversary edition of his seminal album ‘Odelay’ which will feature a whole load of extras.

Of that project he said: "There's quite a lot of remixes floating around from that era," he observed. "Aphex Twin did one, Mario C. did some, the Dust Brothers did a bunch of them. So I they're going to be on there. 'Deadweight' (from the soundtrack to 1997's 'A Life Less Ordinary') will be on there.”

"I mean, I know I'm sort of behind the 8-ball, because (the ‘Odelay’ reissue) was supposed to come out now — it's been 10 years — but I think I blew it. It'll be out sometime this year, though."