R.E.M. ANNOUNCE RELEASE OF BRAND-NEW STUDIO ALBUM — ACCELERATE — DUE ON WARNER BROS. RECORDS MARCH 31 ST
THE BAND COUNT DOWN TO ALBUM’S RELEASE WITH NEW WEBSITE — NINETYNIGHTS.COM WHICH FEATURES VIDEO SNIPPETS FOR FANS TO DOWNLOAD, REMIX, AND EDIT
R.E.M. has revealed the title of their brand-new album: Accelerate, which will be released by Warner Bros. Records on March 31st.
The beloved rock band’s 14th studio album, Accelerate was recorded in Vancouver, Canada, Dublin, Ireland and Athens, Georgia last spring with Grammy Award-winning producer Jacknife Lee, who is noted for his work with U2 (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb), as well as Snow Patrol, Bloc Party and Kasabian.
R.E.M. — which is singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills — are counting down the time to the album’s release date on a website, www.ninetynights.com. The site, which launched on January 1st, features a new high-definition video snippet each day that can be downloaded then edited, embedded, or manipulated however the user wishes. Each snippet is being posted in high-resolution HD format and available for download for a period of 24 hours before being archived on the site as a low-resolution stream. The clips were shot by noted French filmmaker Vincent Moon, who has worked with Arcade Fire, The Shins and The National among other artists.
In what is set to be an active year for the band, R.E.M. has also so far announced two upcoming live appearances. The band will headline the Langerado Music Festival on March 8th at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation in South Florida, and will also perform at Stubb’s Bar-B-Que on March 12th during the annual South-by-Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX.
Accelerate is R.E.M.’s first studio album since 2004’s Around the Sun. In October, the band released a live CD/DVD — the first ever of their 27-year-career, entitled R.E.M. Live. One of rock’s best-selling and most critically acclaimed bands, the multiple Grammy-winning trio, along with original drummer Bill Berry, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007