After years of silence, that distinctive baritone returns! Known as the frontman behind such seminal groups as Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic Sound System and a slew of others, Calvin Johnson sets his return with the new album, A Wonderful Beast (K Records) out October 12th, 2018. Calvin entered the Audio Eagle Studio in Nashville, TN. using the premise “Rock’n’roll Will Never Die” as a starting point. Working closely with Producer Patrick Carney and Chief Engineer Marc Whitmore, the team tested the resiliency of such time-honored materials as the electric guitar, modular synthesizer and trap drum kit, combining them in various ratios with musical elements like chords A, C and Dm. The results are the Frankenstein’s monster of an album, A Wonderful Beast.
Following in the tradition of such Brill Building songwriting teams as Leiber-Stoller, Greenwich-Barry, and Goffin-King, all the songs on A Wonderful Beast are a collaboration between Calvin Johnson and Patrick Carney. Carney, best known for his work as a member of the Akron, OH powerhouse The Black Keys, established Audio Eagle to further exactly this type of rock’n’roll workshopping, allowing the music and songwriting of NOW to rocket launch into the FUTURE!