Legendary music producer Rick Rubin has teamed up with a crew of the world’s best music producers to create a Star Wars-themed record called Star Wars Headspace.
The 15-track record, a few songs of which were leaked on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show this morning, will feature Star Wars-sampling cuts from Flying Lotus, Kaskade, Bonobo, Shlohmo and other top producers.
The album showcases each producers’ unique take on the Star Wars franchise, with every song featuring different sampled content — from R2D2’s bleeps to Darth Vader’s heavy breathing. Styles range from Flying Lotus’ extremely atmospheric hip-hop to Rubin’s own more EDM approach, with the other 13 producers exploring the sonic space in between.
It’s a compilation that feels more like a labor of love than anything, with disparate musical creators each sharing their unique musical perspectives on the material. And it’s clear that each of the artists has a strong connection to the source material.
“The coolest thing [about the project] is having my name near a Star Wars logo, officially,” said Flying Lotus of the album.
While cuts from the record will not likely make it on many mainstream pop listeners’ playlists, Star Wars fans will enjoy the fun that comes from hunting down the origins of the samples. Baaur’s Cantina Boys, for example, will have many fans wondering just which part of the legendary jazz track the producer decided to cut and paste.
The first three released tracks (above) present a fun bit of musical trivia, one which finds itself very well suited to group listening.
And musicians aren’t the only ones featured on the record. Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams even makes an appearance, in a Rubin-produced cut called Jabba Flow. Maybe we’ll get a hip-hop verse from him?
Today’s #WorldRecord @flyinglotus #StarWarsHeadspace pic.twitter.com/CpGUj5cETd
— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) February 8, 2016
Star Wars Headspace will be released on February 19 as a digital release via Disney Music, with physical copies to be put out via Hollywood Records/American Recordings a month later.
