A Mars Volta reunion may be in the near future, but in the meantime, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López is keeping himself preoccupied with a massive new release. This summer, he will put out a triple vinyl box set called The Clouds Hill Tapes.
The 3xLP collection consists of 20 past solo songs from Rodríguez-López, all newly rearranged and produced by Johann Scheerer at the famed Clouds Hill Recording Studio in Hamburg, Germany. These new versions were performed by Rodríguez-López with assistance from a variety of guest musicians.
Clouds Hill studio is considered to be Rodríguez-López’s “creative second home” and in the past has also hosted acts like The Killers, Nicolas Jaar, and Pete Doherty. The specific Clouds Hill Tapes sessions took place in late 2018 and early 2019, while the At The Drive-In guitarist was in town for a festival.
“We got the band together, rehearsed for two days – and then we ran the tapes”, Rodríguez-López recalled in a statement. On Scheerer’s studio expertise, he said, “Johann is great at was he does. What makes him truly special is his instinct. This helps him find most interesting sounds, make the right decision.”
Among the reworked tracks are 2016’s “Tell Me What I Did Wrong” and “Eastern Promises” off Umbrella Mistress, “To Kill a Chi Chi” taken from Sworn Virgins, and “Running Away” off Corazones. There are also a handful of 2017 songs, such as Killing Tingled Lifting Retreats selections “A Fool So Bleak” and “Paint Yourself a Saint” and Roman Lips inclusion “Bitter Tears”.
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The Clouds Hill Tapes vinyl box set is officially out on July 24th, and according to SPIN, marks Rodríguez-López’s first physical music release since 2012. Each of the three “tapes” will also be individually released in digital formats on June 19th (Part 1), July 3rd (Part II), and July 24th (Part III). Pre-orders have already begun.
The Clouds Hill Tapes Parts I, II & III out July 24th. Available for pre-order now: https://t.co/esjh025rRW pic.twitter.com/XRfgy1P3zw
— Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (@orlprojects) May 29, 2020
The Clouds Hill Tapes Tracklist:
The Clouds Hill Tapes Part I
01. Roman Lips
02. Fishtank
03. Bitter Tears
04. Houses Full Of Hurt
05. Science Urges
06. Fool So Bleak
07. Arcos Del Amor
08. To Kill A Chi Chi
The Clouds Hill Tapes Part II
01. Diamond Teeth
02. Vanishing Tide
03. Eastern Promises
04. Through Wires
05. Killing Out
06. We Feel The Silence
The Clouds Hill Tapes Part III
01. Winter‘s Gone
02. It All Begins With You
03. Running Away
04. Paint Yourself A Saint
05. Born To Be A Nobody
06. Tell Me What I Did Wrong
Omar Rodríguez-López at Clouds Hill studio in Hamburg, Germany
