Henry Rollins has clarified that his recent collaboration with Ian MacKaye at Inner Ear Studios involves mixing a 1979 demo from a legendary punk band, not new music featuring themselves. The project will result in a four-song 12-inch record released via In The Red Records. Neither Rollins nor MacKaye perform on the tracks, which they obtained permission to release.
Project Details
Henry Rollins addressed speculation in a November 7 blog post, explaining that the 'great project' he mentioned in an earlier Halloween update was not a new recording session. Instead, Rollins and MacKaye worked at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, to mix an eight-track demo taped in 1979 by an unnamed legendary punk band. The tape, recently acquired by Rollins, was first baked and transferred by engineer Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound in Nashville before being sent to MacKaye.
The mixing process was straightforward due to the high quality of the original one-inch tape. 'The mix came together quite quickly... the quality of the sounds were so good out of the gate, very little had to be done. The performances are fantastic,' Rollins wrote. After reviewing the mixes, they sent them back to Lyman for mastering. Rollins secured release permission from a band member and is partnering with Larry Hardy at In The Red Records to issue the material as a four-song 12-inch vinyl as soon as possible.
Background and Context
The confusion arose from Rollins' initial blog post, which described the studio visit with MacKaye—where they made their first records decades ago—as working on a 'great project' and mixing a 'four song session.' Media outlets like Stereogum, NME, Consequence, and Metal Hammer interpreted this as new music from the punk icons, marking their first collaboration in years.
Rollins and MacKaye, teenage friends in the early 1980s hardcore punk scene, have deep ties. Rollins sang for State of Alert on MacKaye's Dischord Records, while MacKaye fronted Minor Threat and later Fugazi. However, neither has released significant new music recently: MacKaye's last was Coriky's 2020 debut, and Rollins retired from music after 2010's Spoken Word Guy 2, focusing on spoken word, books, activism, film, and TV.
This release continues Rollins' efforts with Hardy to unearth rare punk tracks on vinyl, following other limited-edition projects.