Last week saw the release of the first Bonnie “Prince” Billy solo album in four years, Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You. Recorded with players local to his home town of Louisville, Kentucky, whose aptitudes spanned “classical to Japanese acid folk”, it is a peaceful, steady collection that muses on Will Oldham’s relatively new role as a father, as well as his collected koans on love and life. It’s a beautiful, wise record by a 53-year-old who has lived so many musical lives.
Three years ago, Oldham and Bill Callahan started releasing a series of spirited covers – everything from Robert Wyatt to Billie Eilish – that they collected as the album Blind Date Party. He also resumed his Superwolf project with long-term collaborator Matt Sweeney, releasing Superwolves in 2021, 16 years after their eponymous debut together. Another recent album, 2018’s Songs of Love and Horror, saw Oldham revisit his earlier musical days as the shapeshifting Palace (as well as rare Bonnie “Prince” Billy recordings).
That’s not to mention his teenage years hanging out with Slint (he shot the iconic cover for 1991’s Spiderland), recording early Palace records with recent Guardian long read subject Steve Albini, being covered by Johnny Cash and highlighting the talents of a young Angel Olsen when she performed in his Kevin Coyne and Dagmar Krause tribute band, the Babblers.
You can ask Oldham about that and anything else – his prolificacy, songwriting process, collaborations with Bitchin Bajas, his relationship to streaming, the effect of fatherhood on his creativity – when he sits for the Guardian reader interview next week. Post your questions in the comments by 10am BST on 21 August.
