R.E.M. are already back in the studio working on a follow-up to Collapse Into Now, which was released in March. Michael Stipe revealed the news in a post on Jane Pratt’s new site XOJane. No details about when new music will be released, but the group are free agents after completing their contract with longtime label Warner Bros.
Check out a previously unreleased Elliott Smith song titled “The Real Estate” over at Pitchfork. The track, which will be included on the start-studded benefit compilation Live From Nowhere Near You, is presumed to have been recorded around the time of his 1997 album Either/Or.
Das Racist will release their first official album, titled Relax, on September 13 via Greedhead Music. The disc features tracks produced by Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij,Yeasayer’s Anand Wylder, and Diplo. The hip-hop duo will also tour the U.S. this fall, although dates have yet to be announced, according to a press release.
Black Eyed Peas announced they will be going on an indefinite break at a concert this weekend in England. Will.i.am later clarified via his Twitter that the hiatus will be similar to their time off between the release of 2005’s Monkey Business and 2009’s The E.N.D.. “It doesn’t mean we stop creating,” he wrote.
Michael “Würzel” Burston — guitarist of English metal band Mötörhead — died from heart disease at the age of 61. Burston, who was known for his madcap behavior, played with the band from 1984 and 1995. [Guardian]
Check out Pusha T’s collaboration withOdd Future’s Tyler, the Creator on the thudding banger “Trouble on My Mind.” The track will be included on Pusha’s upcoming EP Fear of God 2: Let Us Pray.
Scottish rockers Mogwai will release an EP featuring four new songs on September 13. The set, titled Earth Division, will find the group experimenting with more electronics and string sections, according to a press release.