Paul Simon has released ‘Stranger to Stranger’, his 13th solo album, on June 3rd via Concord Records. 

Full of thrilling, imaginative textures, ‘Stranger to Stranger’ conjures a vivid and vital new context to Simon’s well-established virtuosity as a singer and songwriter.  The record - his first since 2011’s acclaimed ‘So Beautiful or So What’ - ushers the listener into a brave new musical world where expectations are defied and exceeded, as they were thirty years ago with another masterwork ‘Graceland’. 

The album’s adventurous sonic spirit is abundantly clear right from the darkly humorous first two songs, ‘The Werewolf’ and ‘Wristband’. “It’s about getting you to actually hear something in a new way. It’s about making music that sounds old and new at the same time; music with a sense of mystery,” Paul explains. 

An experimental session with the percussionist in his band and a group of Flamenco musicians provided the initial rhythmic premise for ‘Stranger to Stranger’ and supplied the grooves that were the basis for four songs on the album—‘The Riverbank’, ‘The Werewolf’, ‘Wristband’ and ‘Stranger to Stranger’. The album’s collage of sound also includes the Italian electronic dance music artist Clap! Clap!, whose sound can be heard on three tracks: ‘The Werewolf’, ‘Wristband’ and ‘Street Angel’.

“Sound is the theme of this album as much as it’s about the subjects of the individual songs. If people get that, I’ll be pleased,” explains Paul. “The right song at the right time can live for generations. A beautiful sound, well that's forever.”

The album has been widely praised in the media. The Guardian award ‘Stranger to Stranger’ 5 stars, admiring its “tenacious pursuit of new sounds.” The Independent call it “a joyous album”, adding that “few songwriters can juggle seriousness and whimsy as adeptly as Paul Simon.” Rolling Stone also award 4 stars, noting that “the New York poet is as wryly funny and musically inventive as ever on his 13th solo LP”.