Readers around here should be well-familiarized with the work of Alain Johannes by now. Though he appeared on many people’s radars after his collaborations with Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, also released one of our favorite albums of 2010, Spark. Now, after years producing notable LPs (including Brody Dalle’s Diploid Love and Mark Lanegan’s Blues Funeral), it’s finally time to see a new solo effort from him.
Titled Fragments & Wholes, Vol. 1, the album is set to come out on November 11th. Regarding the writing process, Johannes stated: “On this new album, I expand on the Cigarbox guitar driven sound of Spark into a wider sonic palate including electric guitars, bass, drums, horns etc. The songs started as improvised sketches I posted on Instagram. For 12 days I chose one song each morning, finished writing it then recorded and mixed it.”
Pre-orders for this can be made over at this Pledge Music page, in a variety of formats. The new track If… Then can be downloaded for free over at Alain’s official site.
We’ll be checking out Mr. Johannes as the opening act for Queens of the Stone Age throughout their South American tour. Meanwhile, watch what happens when he plays with a full band:
