31st March, 2014
A posthumous Michael Jackson album is due to be released in May, five years after the death of the ‘King of Pop’. The album which is set to thrill fans have eight previously unreleased songs.
According to Epic Records, the album, due for release on 13 May, has been titled “XSCAPE”, which is also one of the new tracks mined from Jackson’s archives.
After gaining access to four decades of the late singer’s material, Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony, chose eight songs that featured completed vocal tracks by Jackson.
The record company then asked producers to ‘contemporize’ the music while “retaining Jackson’s essence and integrity”, a statement by Epic Records read.
Among the producers engaged to give a modern edge to the tracks were global hitmakers Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain. A deluxe edition will include a selection of the recordings in their original form.
John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of Jackson’s estate said: “Michael was always on the cutting edge and was constantly reaching out to new producers, looking for new sounds. He was always relevant and current. These tracks, in many ways, capture that spirit.”
Epic Records published its first posthumous Jackson album in 2010. “Michael” included nine previously unreleased songs, mostly drawn from the singer’s final recording sessions.