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Vinyl reissue of 1993 collection of demos written and recorded at PJ Harvey's home in 1991-1992. It includes eight demos of songs from her art-punk classic, Rid of Me, released earlier in that year along with six demos of additional songs. Without producer Steve Albini and her band in tow, Harvey's music is stripped to its barest essence here and the results are fascinating. This period also firmly established Harvey's creative relationship with photographer and director Maria Mochnacz who shot the artwork for Rid Of Me and 4-Track Demos and directed the videos for "50ft Queenie" and "Man-Size."
"4-Track Demos was partly encouraged by Steve Albini [producer of Rid of Me]," Harvey told Filter. "He loved the demos for that album so much he thought they should be out there and I tended to agree with him. It seemed like showing another side of what I do and introducing new songs that I hadn't recorded on a record. It was a lovely thing to do and it felt like the right time because my three-piece band had fallen apart and I was kind of in limbo before deciding where I was gonna be going again. So, it was just like a small interjection piece of me before I knew where I was going to be next."
This reissue of 4-Track Demos is faithful to the original package, with vinyl cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. UMC/Island's comprehensive reissue campaign will see PJ Harvey's entire back catalogue – plus her two albums in collaboration with John Parish – released on vinyl over the next 12 months. For the first time, each of Harvey's album demos will also be available on stand-alone vinyl.