Scott Walker is in the recording booth right now!! I say so because I know so. I know so not because I saw the man wheeling his meat-punching apparatus into the studio but because 4AD, his label for the last few releases, posted this on his timeline: “2011 — Scott begins to record his new album for 4AD Records.” I remember that part of his career!! It was a really exciting time! Most likely set for release sometime in 2012, the album will close a six-year gap since his last album, The Drift, which was our eighth-favorite album of 2006 back when we were all teenagers, and our 28th-favorite album of the 2000s, back when men where men and women loved them for that.
Also of note on his timeline is the news that Scott is composing a fresh new score for the OperaShots series at the Royal Opera House, to be premiered at an unspecified date in 2012. OperaShots are similar to jello shots, but with more of a focus on commissioning new operatic works outside the mainstream. Walker has worked in the theater realm a few times in the last few years, with the instrumental dance piece And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? — released as a limited album on 4AD in 2007 — and another dance piece earlier this year for a Jean Cocteau-inspired performance at the Royal Opera House, called Duet for One Voice. It seems that Scott Walker and opera go together like meat shanks and a sturdy fist. More details coming when they’re available.
• Scott Walker: http://4ad.com/artists/scottwalker
• 4AD: http://4ad.com