Now here's one of the more interesting off-shoots of the Star Wars universe to be announced in quite awhile. As Pitchfork reported last night, an album, entitled Star Wars: Headspace, is about to be released, with tracks that are built around sound effects and audio clips from Star Wars. The album will see release digitally on February 19th with a physical release of the album planned to be put out on March 18th. On his Beats 1 show yesterday, Zane Lowe premiered three tracks which you can listen to over at Pitchfork.


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Image via Lucasfilm

The record was produced and compiled by Rick Rubin, a name that will not be alien to major music fans - he co-founded Def Jam with Russell Simmons and also started American Recordings, which will release Headspace. Rubin was integral to the creation of Jay-Z's seminal The Black Album, and was a key collaborator and producer on several other major records, including Kanye West's Yeezus, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, and several of Johnny Cash's final series of records. He's continued to work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers throughout the aughts, but has increasingly has turned more toward hip-hop, which isnt surprising considering his work with founding acts like The Geto Boys, Public Enemy, and Run-D.M.C.

His taste for rap and hip-hop is likely why the Headspace compilation includes some of the best beatmakers working today. No, Mike Will Made-It isn't here, but there are tracks from Baauer, who you may remember as the auteur behind "Harlem Shake," and Rustie, one of the few EDM musicians to shape a distinct sound and who has collaborated with Danny Brown, one of the most interesting rappers working today. On the top of the heap, alongside Rubin, is the inimitable Flying Lotus, who has crafted some of the best records of the decade (You're Dead!, Cosmogramma, and Until the Quiet Comes, specifically) and has created a song centered around R2-D2's bleeps and blips. Rubin has also included a remix by Shag Kava, the moniker taken by J.J. Abrams and Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda, of a track by A-Trak, based around Jabba the Hutt sounds. Is February 19th here yet?


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Image via Lucasfilm
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Image via Lucasfilm