While Pharrell Williams has left his role as a judge on The Voice in order to make new music, there’s one song we won’t be hearing for a very long time.
The singer-songwriter dropped a track in collaboration with Louis XIII cognac, but there’s a catch - it won’t be released until 2117.
A select few people were lucky enough to hear the song at a listening party in Shanghai back in 2017.
As part of a project aiming to raise awareness on climate change, the song - aptly named ‘100 Years’ - was played once at the event before being stored in the cellars of Louis XIII.
GQ reported that the track will be retrieved in 100 years time - but only if climate change hasn’t wreaked havoc on the planet by then.
You see, it’s currently being stored on a water-soluble clay disc and so if the sea levels rise too much, the song will be destroyed.
Rather than being a call to action, Williams told journalists that the move is more of a p*** take.
He said: “I thought, let’s just troll all the pseudoscientists who don’t care about the ecosystem.
“I wanted to say something to those guys. There are a lot of very great scientists, we just happen to have some who agree with our current administration in the United States.
“So it makes sense: they don’t believe in anything so why shouldn’t I take the p***?”
The project also highlights the extensive ageing process of the cognac, with Ludovic du Plessis, Global Executive Director of Louis XIII, explaining: “Mother Nature is at the heart of what we do. And nothing is more special than our soil.
“But if sea levels continue to rise, our part of the world will be underwater, and our cellar master cannot grow the exceptional blend of 1,200 eaux-de-vie that create Louis XIII.”
Following the listening party, the song was shipped to France where it is currently being stored in high-tech safe.
It joins a trunk sealed in 2015 which contains a previous project launched by Louis XIII - 100 Years: The Movie You Will Never See.
The short film is described as an experimental science fiction flick written by John Malkovich and directed by Robert Rodriguez, telling a story inspired by the hundred years it takes for a bottle of Louis XIII Cognac to be properly aged.
As for the Pharrell track, the singer went into more detail about his views on climate change at the time of the project’s launch.
Speaking to Vogue, he said: “I want to be really clear that I am not a tree hugger.
“I think it’s important that every human being - from the most eco-aware person to someone that’s driving a diesel truck - always has a sense of terrestrial awareness.
“That’s what it boils down to.”
Topics: Music
Daisy Phillipson