Michael Stipe has revealed his first new original music since R.E.M. called it quits in 2011. The indie and alternative-rock legend has certainly been active post-disbandment, joining artists’ call for “real net neutrality,” giving a speech inducting Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and even singing, whether a pirate ballad with Courtney Love or a holiday carol with Stephen Colbert. Now he has shared an ambient-inclined instrumental set to bonus footage from longtime friend and collabarator Tom Gilroy’s new film The Cold Lands. “I ended up writing four different song parts and then putting them together,” Stipe said of the piece, which also features Andy LeMaster, originally from fellow Athens, Georgia band Now It’s Overhead but also a producer on various noteworthy Saddle Creek Records releases.
Watch and listen over at Salon.
