Paul Simon is returning to music with his first album in 7 years

Virgin Radio

13 Apr 2023, 14:20

Paul Simon is back with a brand new album this summer.

The American singer-songwriter and actor has said his new album should be listened to sequentially and will be a 33-minute piece of work called Seven Psalms featuring seven new tracks. 

Simon’s album is to be paired with a new documentary, In Restless Dreams. 

The documentary, directed by Alex Gibney, was revealed by a title card at the end of a trailer that Simon has released for his latest album. However, no official announcement about the documentary has been made as of yet. 

The 81-year old said that this new piece of work had come to him in a dream back in 2019. 

In the trailer released for the upcoming album, Simon explains where the inspiration came from. 

He said: “On January 15th, 2019, I had a dream that said ‘You are working on a piece called 'Seven Psalms'. The dream was so strong that I got up and I wrote it. But I had no idea what that meant. Gradually information would come. I would start to wake up two or three times a week between 3:30 and 5 in the morning, and words would come, I’d write ’em down, then start to put it together.

“I like to work and then discover. I’m trying all the time to move things in this kind of flow way that puts you in a dream, and I think if you’re willing to fall into a dream space, you’re willing to let your judgement down.

“This is a journey for me to complete. This whole piece is really an argument I’m having with myself about belief or not.”

It’s been 7 years since Simon has released any music since his 2016 solo album Stranger to Stranger.

His return to music follows his retirement from touring in 2018, and the singer has only done one live performance since at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022.

The album, Seven Psalms, is set to be released on May 19th 2023.