Bonnie "Prince" Billy Shares New Single London May
Wednesday, 04 December 2024
Written by Jon Stickler
Bonnie "Prince" Billy has shared a new single called London May.
The brooding country-rock song is named after the former Samhain drummer and actor, who Will Oldham has been friends with since the mid-'80s, and features vocal harmonies from country singer Brit Taylor.
Originally written by Oldham for the 2022 horror movie Night Of The Bastard, in which May played the lead, it serves as the second preview of the Kentucky artist's new album, 'The Purple Bird', which arrive on January 31. Oldham explained:
“I made up a song for him that combined some of the things I felt we shared.
"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.”
Head below to view the song's accompanying video, which was directed by Sai Selvarajan, filmed in Houston and co-stars London May. Selvarajan said: "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."
Recorded in Nashville alongside producer David "Ferg" Ferguson, 'The Purple Bird' comprises 12 songs, seven of which were co-written by Ferg, who Oldham met while working on country icon Johnny Cash's 'American III'. Ferguson served as the engineer on that record, on which Oldham duetted with Cash on I See A Darkness.
In October, Oldham teased the LP with the song Our Home, a country duet with Grammy-winning bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien, who also co-wrote the track.
The record also features songwriting contributions from John Anderson, Ronnie Bowman, Pat McLaughlin, Tommy Prine and Roger Cook, as well as Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Russ Pahl on electric guitar, Pat McLaughlin on mandolin, Steve Mackey on bass and Fred Eltringham on percussion.
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