The band R.E.M. is helping raise money for the storm-stricken Bahamas by putting out a previously unreleased song that they recorded there.
“Fascinating,” which singer Michael Stipe, bassist Mike Mills and guitarist Peter Buck recorded at Compass Point Studios, in Nassau, in 2004, is now available on Bandcamp.
Streaming the song is free; it can be downloaded for a minimum $2 donation to Mercy Corps, a relief organization the band has supported in the past, the band said in a statement from their publicist.
“Fascinating” was first recorded for 2001’s “Reveal” album and left off at the last minute, then re-recorded for 2004’s “Around the Sun” but was left off because it didn’t fit with the sound of the rest of the album, the band said.
“I have been fortunate to spend many weeks working and playing in the Bahamas, making friends and lots of music there,” Mills said in the statement. “It breaks my heart to see the damage wrought by Hurricane Dorian. Please help us and Mercy Corps do what we can to alleviate the suffering caused by this catastrophe.”
