Michael Stipe Single Announced as First Commercially Available Bioplastic Record
The 12" split single will include his Brian-Eno produced track “Future If Future” as well as a song by Beatie Wolfe
August 31, 2022
R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe is gearing up to release his long-teased solo song “Future If Future.” The track will be issued on a split 12" single with singer-songwriter Beatie Wolfe, however the disc will not be pressed on traditional polyvinyl chloride. Instead, the record will be the world’s first commercially available 12" made from sustainable bioplastic. The split is being released on Bandcamp via the Brian Eno co-founded environmental charity EarthPercent and Evolution Music. It will be available for pre-order on Friday (September 2), in a limited run of 500 copies. Find images of the bioplastic 12" below.
Stipe teased the Eno-produced “Future If Future” back in 2018 in support of the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. The flip side of the new 12" will include Wolfe’s track “Oh My Heart.” Both cuts were originally available to download as part of EarthPercent’s Earth Day campaign, which included music from Hot Chip, Nile Rodgers, Big Thief, Peter Gabriel, and many others.
The bioplastic record was developed by Evolution Music—a British music sustainability organization that wants to provide non-fossil fuel solutions for vinyl. All funds from the sale of the new 12" will go toward EarthPercent’s five core areas of work: greening music, energy transition, climate justice, legal and policy change, and protecting nature.
“I’m thrilled to be working with EarthPercent and Evolution Music on this release, imagining positive innovation through action,” Stipe said in a press release. “Simply showing that this type of solution-based project is possible opens pathways to a brighter future.”
Beatie Wolfe added: “It’s been fantastic to join forces with EarthPercent on the environmental front and for this very special release with Michael Stipe. I’m constantly thinking about how we can take the best of the old and best of the new, bridge the tangible and digital, and reclaim as much as we innovate and this new eco 12" feels like a perfect embodiment of this. I wrote ‘Oh My Heart’ as a cry for the planet and humanity and it was recently encoded in glass and included in the Global Music Vault in Svalbard to be preserved for 10,000 years. So I couldn’t think of a better way to have it tangibly out in the world now.”
“We’re honored to have been given these amazing tracks from an incredible array of artists to raise money for our planet,” a representative for EarthPercent wrote in press materials. “The fact this has also led to a historical world first commercial release on the BioPlastic 12" with Evolution Music is beyond exciting. A huge thanks to all the artists taking part, and to Michael Stipe and Beatie Wolfe for being a part of this groundbreaking release. #nomusiconadeadplanet.”