March 2, 2009 16:14

Iggy Pop to release jazz album indebted to French literature

'Preliminaires' is set for release in April

Iggy Pop has revealed that he has recorded a jazz album based on the French author Michel Houellebecq's novel 'La Possibilité D'une Ile' ('The Possibility Of An Island').

In a video interview originally posted on Iggypop.org, which you can watch below, Pop explains that he decided to record the album - called 'Preliminaires' - because he was "sick" of listening to guitar bands.

"It's a quieter album with some jazz overtones," he said. "That's because at one point I just got sick of listening to idiot thugs with guitars, banging out crappy music. And I was starting to listen to a lot of New Orleans-era Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton type of jazz."

Pop added that he was originally approached to contribute songs to a documentary about Houellebecq's attempts to get the novel turned into a film.

One song on the album, called 'Les Feuilles Mortes' ('Autumn Leaves'), is sung in French.

"I've made it really especially for France and people who speak French," the singer revealed.

At one point during the video Pop - who is seen sitting by a swimming pool - picks up a white dog and shows it to the camera. After he finishes speaking a song from the album named 'King Of The Dogs' plays. The singer said that the song is about "just how cool it is to be a dog and how much it beats human life".