Adult Swim might be a network flag-shipped by a talking milkshake, claymation chickens and hillbilly squids, but it packs enough influence to draw in some pretty big musical names for its Summer Singles series. Giorgio Moroder and Future are among the biggest names dropping tracks this summer for Cartoon Network's adult programming block and iconic doom metal band Sleep will contribute a song as well, its first new material in more than a decade.
"Sleep has been sporadically writing riffs for a while now," the band said in a statement, referring to itself in the third person (nothing is surprising from a band noted for its "stoner metal"). "When Adult Swim approached Sleep about a single, Sleep set aside those riffs and wrote the single in a couple days. 'The Clarity' is an exercise in musical stream of thought, as all proper music should be."
The band was less inclined to suggest that an entire new album could follow in the wake of "The Clarity," the new single. The group has been back "together" since 2009, playing occasional tour dates. Guitarist Matt Pike has kept busy with his own project High on Fire, which turns around enough records to keep him working.
Sleep's last record, Dopesmoker, is stuff of legend, consisting only of one 63-minute song. That product displeased the band's label, London Records, but others swooped in to release the now classic track/record. Sleep attempted to ease London's discomfort by cutting down the track into six shorter slices, all titled "Jerusalem," but the damage was done. The band split as a result of dissatisfaction with the process.
Metal fans can only hope "The Clarity" suggests a change of heart.
