You know Sufjan Stevens loves a theme. The multi-instrumentalist music machine, who just released a five-volume album called Convocations in May, is releasing a collaborative record, A Beginner’s Mind, with Angelo De Augustine on September 24. Per a release, the album began when the artists realized the music they were writing reflected the films they watched together. “The resulting album is 14 songs (loosely) based on (mostly) popular films—highbrow, lowbrow and everything in between,” reads a release. “They wrote in tandem—one person writing a verse, the other a chorus, churning out chord progressions and lyrics willy-nilly, often finishing each other’s sentences in the process.” Focusing on the bigger-picture ideas from the films, the songs are a “rambling philosophical inquiry.” Two tracks from the album, “Olympus” and “Reach Out,” debut today, along with a video for the latter. Watch the video for “Reach Out,” shot by Stevens and De Augustine from their respective coasts, starring their dogs, Joku and Charlie, below.
