The King of Pop will come alive on May 13, as Epic Records announces that it will release ‘Xscape’, an album featuring eight brand new, previously unheard tracks by the late pop king.
The world will hear the new tunes due to the efforts of Epic Records chairman and X Factor judge L.A. Reid, who was granted unlimited access to Jackson’s archives by his estate. In the archives, Reid uncovered what a press release calls “four decades of material on which Jackson had completed his vocals.”
Reid selected eight tracks for the album and then sent them out to be retooled by producers, including recent Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake hitmaker Timbaland, in a process Reid calls “contemporizing.” Reid only chose producers who had “the gravitas, depth and range” to maintain the “essence and integrity” of Jackson’s work.
“Michael left behind some musical performances that we take great pride in presenting through the vision of music producers that he either worked directly with or expressed strong desire to work with,” Reid said in a statement on Monday. “We are extremely proud and honored to present this music to the world.”
“Xscape” continues the tradition of naming Jackson’s albums after one of its songs. The title track was written and produced by Jackson and Jerkins, who recorded the original with the singer.
Epic will release a deluxe edition of the album that will include all the sourced recordings in their original form. Both the standard and Deluxe Editions are available Tuesday (April 1) for pre-order on iTunes and elsewhere.