Pitchblack Premiere: Sufjan Stevens Carrie and Lowell (10th Anniversary Edition)

*Please arrive by event start time as latecomers will not be admitted and refunds will not be offered*

Hear the expanded 10th anniversary edition of Sufjan Stevens' stunning 'Carrie & Lowell', including 7 unreleased bonus songs, at Pitchblack Playback's exclusive album listening session in the dark ahead of the album's release on May 30 (via Asthmatic Kitty). Hear this immense record played loud in uncompressed audio on our powerful sound system. No distractions; just you and the music.

"This sounds great” — Rick Rubin
"A fabulous idea" — Jay Kay, Jamiroquai
"The optimal way to listen to an album" — Max Richter
"This might just be my favourite new thing to do" — Nihal, BBC Radio 5 Live

Ticket includes Pitchblack Playback eye mask for extra darkness.

As recommended by The Guardian, GQ, Time Out, Metro and Newsweek.

Duration: 90 minutes

In March 2015, Sufjan Stevens released Carrie & Lowell – his most personal album to date. Presented with an unexpected clarity of vision, the record was a return to Sufjan’s folk roots in its deliberate, sparse instrumentation. The album was an instant critical success, and in the years that followed the music would weave itself, undimming, into the fabric of our shared culture. Now RIAA-certified Gold, with the track "Fourth of July" achieving Platinum status, the album's cultural resonance continues to grow.

The deluxe edition features an expanded double-LP album that includes seven previously unreleased bonus tracks, a 40-page art book, and a new essay by Sufjan. This edition also offers an alternative cover: a full-framed version of the original Polaroid zoomed out to reveal the photo’s caption written in a child’s handwriting—“Carrie & Lowell”—disclosing the source of the album title (it was written by Sufjan's sister Djamilah). Designed by Sufjan, the 40-page booklet contains various collages of vintage family photos spanning four generations interfused with artwork and drawings (on themes of death, dying, grief and the state of Oregon) as well as landscape photos Sufjan took while traveling across the western U.S. over a decade ago.

The original album is preserved on one disc, while disc two contains 40 minutes of extras, including demo versions of "Death With Dignity," "Should Have Known Better," "The Only Thing," and "Eugene.” Expansive outtakes of "Fourth of July" and "Wallowa Lake Monster" are also included, both featuring a more cinematic mood. The final gem is the original demo of "Mystery of Love" taken from the original Carrie & Lowell album sessions but later re-worked and re-recorded for Luca Guadagnino's Call Me By Your Name. The demo version here features solo guitar and voice with slightly altered lyrics.