The American band Beirut, fronted by Zach Condon, have just revealed details of a new 26-track double album compiling a wide selection of rarities, unreleased tracks, early works, EPs, and B-sides. The new record, entitled Artifacts, will be released digitally on 28th January next year via Condon’s own Pompeii Records with the physical release following on the 4th of March. Artifacts can be preordered here.
Speaking about Artifacts, Zach Condon says “When the decision came to re-release this collection, I found myself digging through hard drives looking for something extra to add to the compilation. What started as a few extra unreleased tracks from my formative recording years quickly grew into an entire extra records-worth of music from my past, and a larger project of remixing and remastering everything I found for good measure.”
To celebrate the announcement, Beirut have shared the never-before-released song ‘Fisher Island Sound’ which can be found on Side B: The Misfits of Artifacts. Of the song, Zach Condon says, “This song was written while staying in band member Ben Lanz’s old family cottage on the coast of Connecticut, on the Fisher Island Sound. I played with the lines for years before trying to record versions of it in Brooklyn with the band. Perrin Cloutier had taught himself how to play a new button accordion beautifully, and the band was really sounding their best. I, however, struggled in those years to put vocals on the songs and ended up scrapping a lot of the music from that era in this part of the collection due to fear, stress and self-doubt. I’ve come to rediscover some of these old songs in a different light since then, but they do remain a heavy reminder of unsteady times.”