2013 looks like it will be another productive year for the Jimmy Fallon house band aka The Roots. In an interview with Billboard Magazine, Roots drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson mentioned that The Roots will be releasing a joint album with Elvis Costello later this year.
"The initial plan was to cut just a few tracks, but those sessions proved fruitful enough for the artists to keep going. Says Thompson, "we had 13 or 14 songs, but then we said, 'Ooh! Wait a minute! Let's replace four of these songs with four better songs! And now we have the tightest 12-14 song collection out of about 20 songs that we made."
In the near future, Costello and the Roots plan to mix and master the as-yet-untitled LP with assistance from Roots engineer Steven Mandel, who is co-producing the project with them. It is unclear at deadline which label will release the album. "We kind of have the freedom to take it around, whether it's to Elvis' people or Def Jam's people," says Thompson. "I can just say that it is brilliant."
In other Roots related news, The band announced the lineup for their annual Roots Picnic. The festival set for September 1 in Philadelphia will include performances from Grimes, Gary Clark Jr., Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Solange Knowles, Joey Bada$$, How to Dress Well, Sonnymoon, Jennah Bell, Trinidad Jame$, Robert Glasper, Lushlife, DJ Premier, Hit-Boy, The Gaslamp Killer and araabMUZIK.
