Josh Thompson Reveals Digital Deal, Plans for Two EPs

Josh Thompson has big plans for the future. Thanks to a deal with ole Digital, a "lost" record of his will soon be available to fans, as two EPs.

Thompson's debut album, Way Out Here, was released on Columbia Records in 2010. The following year, he transferred to RCA, released "Comin' Around" and "Change," and then left the label to sign with Show Dog-Universal in 2014. Thompson released Turn It Up while with Show Dog-Universal, but the record that held "Comin' Around" and "Change" was never released.

But the Wisconsin native recently signed with ole Digital, the world’s fastest-growing independent rights company covering digital distribution rights, and he tells Taste of Country that the album that never came to fruition will now be released thanks to this new deal.

"The release of this has been three or four years in the making," Thompson explains. "... I left [RCA] with the record, and I always had the intention of releasing this record as two EPs at some point in my life."

When Thompson joined with Show Dog-Universal, he picked up the pen and began writing again, putting the RCA record on the back burner.

"And now it’s the perfect time in my life to go ahead and release it and do a digital campaign and start putting these songs in the set and get this record out finally," he reflects.

One of the EPs will be released in September, and the second EP's release date has not yet been decided.

"The titles — because the record was called Change, the titles are gonna be Change: The Lost Record, Volumes 1 and 2," Thompson says. "I called it 'the lost record' because over the years, I’ve had fans ask me, 'Where’s that record? Is that record ever gonna come out that’s got "Comin’ Around" and "Change" on it?' And somebody called it 'the lost record' years ago, and that just kinda stuck."

Though many artists stick with a "record every two years" mentality, Thompson likes the flexibility and creativity that an EP can bring, arguing that its not only easier for fans to digest a handful of songs instead of a 13-track listing, it also keeps him in top-notch creative shape.

"... Instead of just concentrating on one record and getting it out, you’re just cutting these EPs and putting them out," he reflects.

Thompson's forthcoming EP will bridge the gap between Way Out Here and Turn It Up.

"It was more rootsy, sonically and production-wise. The songs are lyrically equivalent to Way Out Here but had a little more — not so much party, a little more reflective, looking back at where you’ve been, where you’re going, and just loving who you are right now," he explains. "So it’s definitely a gap to bridge between the two records, that nobody got to hear."