Ready for a new album by Michael Jackson… it’s coming

Yes, that’s right.  News broke on twitter last night about a new album by Michael Jackson, to be released worldwide by Epic Records and Sony Music on May 13th.  The album will be called Xscape and will feature eight tracks from over four decades of Michael Jackson material made so incredibly valuable when the star died, five years ago.  They have been worked on by some of the biggest hit-making producers that Michael ever worked with, including Timbaland, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain, each of whom showed an incredible interest in working with the tracks.

Word hit the Twitterverse last night as the first snippits were released, and the feedback online was sensational.

This 15 second teaser shows it really is the sound of Jackson that we’ll get to hear in May.

“It was announced today that on May 13th Epic Records, in conjunction with the Estate of Michael Jackson, will release XSCAPE, an album of new music by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.XSCAPE is executive produced by Epic Records Chairman and CEO L.A. Reid. After mining by the Estate of Jackson’s archives, Reid was granted unlimited access to the treasures spanning four decades of material on which Jackson had completed his vocals. Reid then teamed up top producers to “contemporize” the songs while retaining Jackson’s essence and integrity, creating the best music you’ve never heard,” said the info on the release from the record company.

Sony Music will market the new record globally with a large scale marketing campaign and have pledged to stay true to Jackson’s vision and legacy.  The selection of the album title kicks off this process, with a one-word title fitting with his most recent previous selections.

L.A. Reid, who served as executive producer on the project, acknowledged Jackson’s mark on music saying, “Modern music and artistry would look and sound completely different if not for the groundbreaking contributions Michael Jackson gifted to the world.”

“Michael was always on the cutting edge and was constantly reaching out to new producers, looking for new sounds. He was always relevant and current. These tracks, in many ways, capture that spirit. We thank L.A. Reid for his vision,” John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson said in the statement.

A deluxe edition of the album will be released, containing the sourced material in its original form, as an added bonus for Jackson’s fans. Both editions will be available April 1 for pre-order on iTunes and elsewhere ahead of the May 13 release date.