Michael Stipe has released a new song today, though listeners won’t find it on major streaming platforms. According to Pitchfork, the R.E.M. frontman shared “Hum Desiderata” exclusively through Joyfully Waiting, a website that presents sound exhibitions.
The track combines a recording from Stipe’s 2023 installation at ICA Milan, in which he recites Max Ehrmann’s poem “Desiderata,” with an instrumental version of “Hum,” a song that is still unreleased. That song will appear on Stipe’s forthcoming debut solo album.
Pitchfork reports that “Hum Desiderata” was written and produced with Andy Lemaster. Additional vocals on the track come from Elizabeth Hatmaker, an artist based in Athens, Georgia.
The new release is the latest glimpse of Stipe’s upcoming solo project, which he has not yet named publicly. He first announced the album during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in April, where he performed another unreleased song, “The Rest of Ever.”
