DAMON ALBARN‘s recent studio collaboration with 73 year-old CUBAN musician IBRAHIM FERRER is unlikely ever to be released – as the pair’s friendly jam session ended up in a whiskey fug.
They met when Albarn went backstage at Ferrer‘s show in London’s Hyde Park on July 30. Albarn, a long-time admirer of Ferrer‘s band Buena Vista Social Club, invited the singer round to his studio.
“Damon has a studio in his house and Ibrahim Ferrer went round the next day,” a spokesperson for the Blur frontman told nme.com.
She added: “They spent the afternoon playing some tunes and drinking a lot of whisky. There are no plans to release anything recorded. I think they were just enjoying themselves and seeing what happened.”
At present there are no plans for any future collaborations.
Meanwhile, Albarn has been busy in the studio with his regular band. Blur are releasing their ‘Best of…’ compilation in late autumn and have been putting the finishing touches to ‘Black Book’, the only new track that will be included. The song was premiered at their only live appearance of the year at Scott Walker’s Meltdown Festival (July 2).
As previously revealed by nme.com, ‘Black Book’, with the repeated refrain of “give me my soul”, echoes elements of ‘Tender’, starting quietly and building to become a pounding guitar track.