Bonnie Prince Billy and Matt Sweeney collaborate on Superwolves

As exciting as it is that Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (the musical pseudonym of Will Oldham) and Matt Sweeney have completed a follow-up to their 2005 collaboration Superwolf entitled Superwolves (out April 30 digitally and June 18 physically via Drag City), arguably the real stars of the lead track "Hall of Death" are the Tuareg musicians who play on it. "Hall of Death" was co-written with Ahmadou Madassane and features guitar phenom Mdou Moctar, electric bassist Mike Coltun, and drummer Souleyman Ibrahim. The track's release follows the November preview of the album's lead track "Make Worry For Me" which features Pete Townsend (not Pete Townshend) on drums and Mike Rojas on keys.

"Hall of Death", which ends up sounding like some sort of psychedelic sub Saharan sea shanty once Will Oldham's laid down his vocals, is really distinguished by the improvised lead guitar work of Mdou Moctar which gives the song much of its relevance and structure. Sweeney, a celebrated guitarist, composer, sound engineer and producer known for his work with Johnny Cash, "Cowboy" Jack Clement, Iggy Pop, Adele and Run The Jewels, knows how to choose and get the best out of the musicians he works with. In recent years his work on Sturgill Simpson's breakout album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (and The Butcher Shoppe Sessions) is of particular and historic note. 

Outside of this host of production credits Sweeney is likely best known as a member of Chavez and the supergroup Zwan, composed of Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, lead singer/guitarist and drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins, bassist Paz Lenchantin, of A Perfect Circle, and guitarist David Pajo of Papa M and Slint. Sweeney and Oldham's collaboration extends back to 2005 when they released the 5 song EP I Gave You under the moniker Bonny Sweeney. Then again in 2011 they put out another couple singles "Must Be Blind" backed by "Life in Muscle".  In 2020 the duo again collaborated on two singles "Make Worry For Me" and "You'll Get Eaten, Too". 

Ahmoudou Madassane, oddly, or fittingly, is a bit like a Saharan version of Sweeney himself. The musician, writer and actor recently composed the instrumental score to a film Zerzura, described as "the first ever Saharan acid Western, telling the story of a nomad’s search for a magic city of gold,".  It sounds like exactly the sort of thing that Oldham, Sweeney or their known collaborators like Bill Callahan might cook up themselves. Musically Madassane is known for crossing boundaries and pushing the limits of the Saharan Tuareg guitar tradition, evoking the desert journey on his free form, often psychedelic improvisations.

Ahmadou Madassane is a prolific backing musician in a number of groups including for Mdou Moctar, Les Filles de Illighadad, and here for Superwolves contributing rhythm electric guitar. The surging lead guitar which largely defines "Hall of Death" sonically is played by Mdou Moctar (also M.dou Mouktar), the stage name of Mahamadou Soulemeymane another Tuareg songwriter, known for playing on a left handed stratocastor, one of the first musicians to perform modern electronic adaptations of traditional Tuareg folk guitar music. His unconventional interpretations of Tuareg guitar quickly pushed him to the forefront of a crowded scene. 

Mdou Moctar is a singular and fiercely creative figure in his own right, having first come to prominence through African cellphone mp3 trading. He later reached a broad global audience with the release of his music on the compilation Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 1 compilation. Mdou Moctar has the starring role in the 2015 film Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai, which literally translates as "Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Red In It". It tells the story of a musician from Agadez, who struggles with competing artists, a difficult home life, romantic problems and his own internal strife. Transforming the Tuareg nomadic narrative the protagonist rides around the desert on a purple motorcycle.  The film is an homage to Prince's Purple Rain and Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come; and is influenced by Moi, un noir, Jean Rouch, Italian neorealism and poverty row films. 

Sweeney and Oldham's decision to work with the Tuareg virtuosos was well considered with Sweeney noting: “I love the challenge to write melodies for Will to sing. Struggle with that challenge too. Knowing that Will’s voice will elevate the melody makes me reach higher and dig deeper for the tune. Makes me want to match it with a guitar part that holds his voice like a chalice holds wine (or blood, or whatever is needed to live the best life). I also love singing harmonies and responses to this voice of his.​”

In a statement Oldham said "the chemistry comes from lives, lived separately, in which music is crucial sustenance".  The one-time devotee of R. Kelly continued saying “we listen with gratitude and awe, knowing that we belong in there. We construct our dream selves with the faith that these selves will have their chance at life. We know what we are capable of doing and just need each other’s support to bring the imagined languages to life." The pair started recording the album five years ago but their first studio session only took place a year ago at Strange Weather studio in Brooklyn (the mixing of which Sweeney supervised), then a second session at the Butcher Shoppe in Nashville (which Oldham oversaw the mixing for).

In one of those signs of the times Sweeney had a lucrative if not entirely creatively profitable collaboration with Nashville's David Ferguson on a five track collaboration for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2: The Housebuilding EP (released February 12). The title track of the EP, "The Housebuilding Song", had been a fan favourite of gamers since it's inclusion in the game in 2018.

This is just one of a handful of new releases for the ever fecund Bonnie Prince Billy who had a busy 2020 with another album length collaboration with Three Queens in Mourning entitled Hello Joy, as well as his own full length I Made A Place. Sweeney is also featured on Oldham and Bill Callahan’s cover of Hank William, Jr.’s 1979 track ‘O.D.’d in Denver’.

In a statement, Sweeney said, “One of the many beautiful things about the original ‘O.D.’d in Denver’ is the contrast between Hank Williams, Jr.’s effortless carefree vocal and the song’s bleak desperate words.” He added, “Hank’s version’s narrator thinks he’s gotten over his night in Denver—I wanted this WillBilly track to feel like we’re catching our singer deep in the fear spiral.” 

This past October Bill Callahan and Oldham also recruited Chicago musician and fellow Drag City records artist AZITA last year for a cover of Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ 1967 song “Blackness of the Night.”

Then last month Callahan and Oldham collaborated again on the release of a cover of Iggy Pop's "I Want To Go To The Beach" (from his 2009 experiment Préliminaires) with Cooper Craine ( a member of Chicago bands like Bitchin’ Bajas and CAVE). 

The duo also worked on a version of their late friend David Berman’s Silver Jews song “The Wild Kindness,” singing in harmony with Berman’s widow and former bandmate Cassie Berman.