Unheard Prince songs will be released on a new EP to mark the anniversary of the music legend’s death.
The late singer tragically passed away at the age of 57 on April 21 last year – from an accidental overdose – and a year on his estate have allowed some of the songs from the ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker’s top secret vault to be included on the mini album, including the lead track ‘Deliverance’, which is out now.
A statement reads: “The songs were written and recorded when Prince was an independent artist, protesting what he saw as an unjust music industry.”
The ‘Little Red Corvette’ singer co-wrote and co-produced the tracks with producer Ian Boxill – who has worked with the likes of Janet Jackson, 2Pac and Tyrese – and he hopes that the new songs will be uplifting and comforting for fans.
Boxill especially feels the track ‘Deliverance’, which features the lyrics, ‘This is not religion, but common sense / It’s time for you to get down, get down / Get off the fence / No son shall die, no mother shall cry / All in favor, say ‘aye’ (Aye) / Because time’s so hard to deal with / Deliverance is at hand, at hand, at hand’, is needed in the world right now.
He said: “I believe ‘Deliverance’ is a timely release with everything going on in the world today, and in light of the one-year anniversary of his passing. I hope when people hear Prince singing these songs it will bring comfort to many.”
The music maker also revealed that the ‘Kiss’ hitmaker was always trying to come up with ways to share music with his fans without a label and that’s why they’ve chosen to drop this release independently.
He added: “Prince once told me that he would go to bed every night thinking of ways to bypass major labels and get his music directly to the public. When considering how to release this important work, we decided to go independent because that’s what Prince would have wanted.”
The EP, also titled ‘Deliverance’, features the never-heard-before tracks ‘Man Opera’ , ‘I Am’, ‘Touch Me’, ‘Sunrise Sunset’. ‘No One Else’ and an extended version of ‘I Am’, and will be released on Friday .