U.K. singer/songwriter Beth Orton will on Sept. 2 release “The Other Side of Daybreak,” a collection of B-sides, remixes, live tracks and covers. The Heavenly/Astralwerks also includes a video for Two Lone Swordsmen’s remix of “Anywhere,” drawn from Orton’s 2002 studio set “Daybreaker.” That album debuted at No. 40 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 155,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
“The Other Side of Daybreak” kicks off with Orton’s cover of the Five Stairsteps-popularized “Ooh Child,” which she originally recorded for a U.K. charity set, “The Hope Album.” Also featured is an alternate mix of “Thinking About Tomorrow” with different lyrics, Roots Manuva’s remix of “Daybreaker,” and the previously unreleased cuts “Ali’s Waltz” and “Bobby Gentry.”
A live acoustic version of “Concrete Sky” was recorded last year at London’s Royal Albert Hall, a show Orton describes as “one of the highlights of my life. It took weeks to come down from the rafters.”
The new set sports three collaborations with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden: remixes of “Carmella” and “Daybreaker,” plus a mix of the previously unreleased “Beautiful World.”
The pair have continued their collaboration on some of Orton’s new tracks. “We’ve done a few days of studio time, just kind of knocking around ideas,” Hebden tells Billboard.com. “There’s no finished anything of any sort yet. I really, really love her new songs and she’s great to work with.”
Orton has a handful of live dates lined up this month, including Spain’s Benicassim festival and Portugal’s Sudoeste festival this weekend. A new studio album will likely surface in late 2004.
Here’s the track list for “The Other Side of Daybreak”:
“Ooh Child”
“Thinking About Tomorrow” (IPG dub remix)
“Ali’s Waltz”
“Daybreaker” (Four Tet remix)
“Bobby Gentry”
“Carmella” (Four Tet remix)
“Beautiful World”
“Concrete Sky” (live, Royal Albert Hall)
“Daybreaker” (Roots Manuva remix)
“Anywhere” (Two Lone Swordsmen remix)
