“Dark Night of the Soul,” the latest project from producer and artist Danger Mouse, in collaboration with Sparklehorse and a series of vocalists, will soon become available for download, following a bitter dispute with record label EMI, Danger Mouse has announced. Because he’s in no position to sell the album and given that he wants it to reach fans, Danger Mouse urges fans to download it off the Internet – and he’ll even provide them with a blank CD for it.

Soon, a book of photography / artwork by famed and often “misunderstood” film director David Lynch, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse will hit music stores, accompanied by a blank CD so fans can go out and look for the music themselves, which they can later burn on the disc. According to the artist, he had to take this decision to make sure that the music included on the album reaches fans without being sued by EMI – and the only way he could think of to work around the label was this.

“Danger Mouse’s new project ‘Dark Night of The Soul’ consists of an album length piece of music by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and a host of guest vocalists, along with a collection of original David Lynch photography inspired by and based on the music. The photographs, which provide a visual narrative for the music, are compiled in a limited edition, hand numbered 100+ page book which will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will’.” reads the announcement on the official website of the artist.

In the same press release, Danger Mouse also explains why he was forced to resort to offering his latest production for free. “Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for ‘Dark Night of The Soul’ without fear of being sued by EMI. Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of ‘Dark Night of The Soul’ and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is.” it is being said on the same web page.

Until the artwork book hits stores, fans eager to see what “Dark Night of Soul” is all about can go here for a streaming preview.