Sacred Bones to release lost Alan Vega album Mutator, share first single "Nike Soldier"

24 February 2021, 16:41 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

Sacred Bones Records has announced the release of Alan Vega's lost album Mutator, alongside sharing the lead single "Nike Soldier".

"Nike Soldier" is the first track to be shared from Vega's Mutator album, and will mark Sacred Bones' first archival release from Vega's vault.

The song is accompanied by a video starring Kris Esfandiari and directed by Jacqueline Castel. The Vacant Lots' Jared Artaud, who is a close friend of Vega's longtime collaborator Liz Lamere, says of the track, "Working on this album, I was blown away by the sheer intensity and raw power of Alan's ability to transform sound and deliver inimitable one-take vocal performances. "Nike Soldier" is a supreme example of Alan's unparalleled instincts."

Lamere adds, "In all of his artistic expressions Alan had a unique ability to pull from an eclectic mix of cultural references and turn them on their head. If we asked him to to give us a quote about "Nike Soldier" he'd say 'Do it Just'."

Mutator is the first album in a series of archival releases from Vega's vault that will be released via Sacred Bones Records.

Vega's Mutator album was recorded with Lamere between 1995-1996, and the original tapes were discovered by Lamere and Artaud in 2019, leading them to mix and produce the songs for the archival release.

Lamere says of Vega, "Alan was driven to create, his focus always on looking ahead to discover new terrain by experimenting with sound and visuals. He rarely looked back at what he had done before, and as soon as he was moving in a new direction it became a relentless pursuit of the unknown. Our primary purpose for going into the studio was to experiment with sound, not to ‘make records.' I was playing the machines with Alan manipulating sounds. I played riffs while Alan morphed the sounds being channeled through the machines."

Artaud adds, "The moment Liz and I discovered the original ADAT tapes of Mutator, we knew we had found something special and felt strongly that it needed to be shared out in the world. Mutator bridges the gap between the past and present. It’s something we feel he would have been really proud of, seeing this lost album released today. In so many ways, his music is needed now more than ever."

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