Over the course of 2017, Mark Kozelek has put out a double Sun Kil Moon record, a solo EP, a joint LP with Jesu, another collaboration with Parquet Courts’ Sean Yeaton, and a third team-up with Ben Boye and Jim White. Even though the year isn’t finished, he has already disclosed plans for two further Sun Kil Moon albums in a lengthy holiday note posted on his official site. “One of these albums was cut in hotel rooms across San Francisco over the year, using portable equipment and primarily a 1960 Fender Jazzmaster guitar,” he explains. “I chose hotels to get away from the gloomy, windowless studio environment and to explore how unconventional recording spaces would shape my music. I anticipate the album title and song list will be revealed by February, and I expect to put it out early next summer.”
Regarding the second album, Kozelek notes: “It was composed during a Sun Kil Moon tour in November of this year, partially recorded in Copenhagen on that tour, and also at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco after I came home in early December. The lyrics came together on trains and planes between gigs, while the music was dashed off during soundchecks in different cities. The three covers on the album are a rendition of the Partridge Family’s ‘Come On Get Happy’ as a tribute to the late David Cassidy, an electrified version of AC/DC’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer’ honoring the late Malcolm Young (featuring Jordan Cook from Reignwolf on guitar), and a track called ‘Chapter 87’ from John Connolly’s novel He, adapted to music. As I type this, I’m mixing the record at GCR Studios in Buffalo, New York, and I’ll likely release it early next November, since the whole feel is heavily November-oriented.”
He also mentions having “just finalized the score work for a stunning James Franco–directed film called The Pretenders.” The complete message is available below.
