Between 2003 and 2011, Will Oldham signed off on a run of seven albums under the Bonnie “Prince” Billy guise for Chicago’s Drag City; since then, almost the same amount of time has passed without one.
That’s going to change soon: the songwriter has announced I Made a Place, a new collection of originals co-released by the label and his own Palace Records. The LP will be out on November 15, and is now ushered in by a single called “At the Back of the Pit.”
The eight-year-long Bonnie drought hasn’t meant a complete radio silence from Oldham, however. He has self-released a record in 2013, collaborated with Bitchin Bajas, and put out albums of Susanna and Merle Haggard covers, among other projects.
About the new album, the musician reports that it almost didn’t come to pass, but then again: “What else is a person to do except what he knows and feels, which for me is making records built out of songs intended for the intimate listening experiences of wonderful strangers who share something spiritually and musically?” Great question.
I Made a Place can be pre-ordered now on a variety of formats. Below, watch Oldham ride a horse and chill by a bunch of bales of hay in the video for “At the Back of the Pit:”