David Lynch And Danger Mouse On World Cafe

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courtesy of the artist

courtesy of the artist

Dark Night of the Soul is a collaboration between Grammy-winning producer Brian Burton (a.k.a. Danger Mouse) and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous, a songwriter who committed suicide in March, before the official release of the album.

The two penned a series of songs, then enlisted an impressive roster of guest musicians to sing them -- Iggy Pop, Black Francis, James Mercer (of The Shins and Broken Bells with Danger Mouse). Filmmaker David Lynch was asked to provide visuals inspired by the tunes, but by the time he was done, the album was tied up in major-label red tape and its release was uncertain.

Last year, Danger Mouse released Lynch's photographs with a blank CD, on which fans could burn the album from the Internet. EMI finally issued an official, physical release of Dark Night of the Soul on July 13, four months after Linkous' death.

Both Danger Mouse and David Lynch join World Cafe host David Dye for an interview about the storied album, its creative process and their late collaborator.