Billy Corgan Announces Solo Album Ogilala, Releases Single "Aeronaut"

Billy Corgan in the cut, that’s a scary sight. The Smashing Pumpkins mastermind has just announced a solo album to be released under his full name William Patrick Corgan (or WPC, as it’s abbreviated on the cover), and it’s called Ogilala. You can preorder the record and get some minimal additional information at the album’s website. The record is produced by revered vet Rick Rubin. Corgan explained the role Rubin filled in production in a statement about the album made to Pitchfork:

For as long as I can remember the delineation point between songs I wrote for myself and songs I’d pen for whatever band was something I couldn’t explain. And it remains so, for they all feel quite personal to me, no matter their time orera. The lone difference on songs for Ogilala is that they seemed to want little in the way of adornment.

Having written the songs for voice and guitar, I put myself in Rick’s hands to take the music wherever he’d like. Normally I would have done more, and tinkered more on production, but rather Rick put the onus on me to deliver at a molecular level via live takes. The rest was simply a reaction.

“Aeronaut,” the first single from the album, is a percussion-less, orchestral ballad driven by Corgan’s bright, clunky piano. The lyrics are a meandering poem about space, mourning, meadows, ether, the air being alive, and stuff. Ogilala is due out October 13 on BMG. Listen to “Aeronaut” (via “WilliamPCorganVEVO”) and check out the tracklist, cover art, and Corgan’s tour dates supporting the album below.