✦ ART OFFICIAL AGE – Album: Sept. 2014

A digital‑soul rebirth: Prince reimagines identity, futurism and intimacy in a cosmic electro‑funk dreamscape

✦ SUMMARY

Released across Europe on 26 September 2014 (with UK and US releases following on 29 and 30 September), Art Official Age marked Prince’s bold return to Warner Bros./NPG Records. Co‑produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince and Joshua Welton, the album blends electro‑funk, R&B, digital pop and atmospheric soul into a futuristic concept narrative about awakening from suspended animation.

Recorded and mixed at Paisley Park, the album features contributions from 3RDEYEGIRL, Lianne La Havas, Andy Allo, Ida Nielsen, STRINGenius and others. Issued in a gatefold sleeve on both vinyl and CD, Art Official Age debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming one of Prince’s most acclaimed late‑period releases.

✦ HIGHLIGHTS

• Released 26–30 September 2014 (Europe/UK/USA)• Co‑produced with Joshua Welton• Features 3RDEYEGIRL, Lianne La Havas, Andy Allo, Ida Nielsen• Recorded and mixed at Paisley Park• Gatefold packaging on both vinyl and CD• Peaked at No. 5 (US) and No. 8 (UK)• Paired conceptually with Plectrumelectrum

✦ TRACKLISTING

2 × Vinyl LP (9362‑49332‑7)

Side A  Art Official Cage — 3:42Clouds — 4:34Breakdown — 4:04

Side B  The Gold Standard — 5:53U Know — 3:57Breakfast Can Wait — 3:55

Side C  This Could Be Us — 5:12What It Feels Like — 3:54Affirmation I & II — 0:40Way Back Home — 3:05

Side D  Funknroll — 4:08Time — 6:50Affirmation III — 3:28

CD (9362‑49333‑0)

Same tracklist as above.

✦ PRODUCTION & CONTEXT

Co‑Produced/Arranged/Composed/Performed by Prince and Joshua Welton.Recorded/Mixed by Prince, Joshua Welton and Chris James at Paisley Park Studios.

Musicians include:  Prince (vocals/instruments), Joshua Welton, Ida Nielsen, Lianne La Havas (“Charlotte Anne Telepathy”), Andy Allo, STRINGenius, The Golden Hippie, Hannah Ford, Donna Grantis, Marcus Anderson, Adrian Crutchfield, Lynn Grissett and others.

Art Official Age represents Prince’s digital‑era reinvention — a conceptual, Afrofuturist narrative exploring identity, technology, memory and rebirth. Released alongside Plectrumelectrum, it marked a prolific creative resurgence.

✦ DESIGN NOTES

✦ WHAT WE KNOW (FACTUALLY) ABOUT THE COVER SHOOT

Here is the part that is documented:

• The front and back cover photos were shot inside Paisley Park

Specifically, they were taken in front of framed album artwork displayed within the complex.

This aligns with the visual clues: the circular shapes behind Prince are not digital overlays — they are actual framed discs or mounted vinyl‑style art pieces that were part of the Paisley Park interior décor.

• The shoot was directed and photographed by Maya Washington

She has spoken in interviews about photographing Prince inside Paisley Park during this era, often using existing installations, props, and wall art as part of the composition.

• Prince wanted the imagery to feel “constructed inside his world”

This is consistent with how he approached the 3RDEYEGIRL era:

no outside sets

no hired studios

everything created inside Paisley Park

everything symbolic of his self‑contained universe

• The framed discs behind him were part of a larger visual theme

They appear in multiple shots from the same session, suggesting they were intentionally chosen as a backdrop — not incidental.

✦ WHAT IS NOT DOCUMENTED

There is no official statement from Prince, Maya Washington, or NPG about:

the meaning of the framed discs

why that specific wall was chosen

whether the discs represent planets, memory orbs, vinyl, or something else

whether the imagery was meant to echo the album’s themes

So we cannot claim a definitive explanation — but we can offer a credible, archivally responsible interpretation that aligns with Prince’s visual language and the album’s concept.

✦ DESIGN NOTES — ART OFFICIAL AGE (2014)

Aesthetic Overview

The cover features a stylised portrait of Prince with a large afro, mirrored circular lenses and a third “orb” on the forehead. He wears futuristic metallic clothing with geometric patterns. Behind him are circular framed discs mounted on a wall inside Paisley Park — photographed in situ rather than digitally added. The palette blends gold, black and cosmic purples, with thin, modern typography.

Paisley Park Origin

The front and back cover photographs were taken inside the Paisley Park complex, using a wall of framed vinyl‑style discs as the backdrop. ( front cover) These discs were part of the building’s interior décor and appear in multiple shots from the same session.

This grounds the album’s futuristic aesthetic in Prince’s physical creative world — a fusion of the real and the surreal.

Possible Inspiration & Symbolism

• The Third Eye / Higher Consciousness

The central orb symbolises awakening, intuition and expanded perception — a recurring motif in Prince’s 3RDEYEGIRL era.

• Digital Identity & Avatar Self

The mirrored lenses and cosmic reflections evoke virtual reality and digital personas.

The album’s narrative — Prince awakening from suspended animation — is visually encoded in this avatar‑like portrait.

• Afrofuturist Lineage

The afro as halo recalls 1970s Black futurism (Sun Ra, P‑Funk), merging heritage with futurism.

• Paisley Park as a Universe

By photographing the cover inside Paisley Park, Prince collapses the boundary between his physical creative space and the album’s digital dreamscape.

The framed discs behind him resemble planets, memory orbs or archival data — symbolic of music as stored consciousness orbiting the self.

• Wordplay as Visual Philosophy

“Art Official Age” is a triple pun:

• Artificial Age

• Art‑Official Age

• Art Official Age (Prince as arbiter of art)

The futuristic design reinforces this linguistic layering.

Inspiration & Context

Art direction and photography by Maya Washington, whose work blends portraiture with surreal symbolism. Her collaboration with Prince emphasised identity, mythology and digital spirituality — all central to the album’s concept.

Interpretive Note

The cover functions as a manifesto: Prince reborn as a digital prophet, a cosmic archivist and a self‑constructed avatar. The use of Paisley Park as the physical backdrop roots the album’s futuristic vision in the real‑world environment where it was created.

✦ LEGACY

Art Official Age is widely regarded as one of Prince’s strongest late‑period albums — a confident, imaginative fusion of digital production, soulful songwriting and conceptual storytelling. Tracks like Clouds, Breakdown and Way Back Home have become modern fan favourites, and the album’s Afrofuturist aesthetic continues to influence Prince scholarship and visual culture.

✦ PRINCE 2013–2014 MINI‑TIMELINE — THE DIGITAL RENAISSANCE

✦ 2013Prince returns with a series of digital singles and the viral Breakfast Can Wait artwork.

✦ Early 20143RDEYEGIRL era intensifies; Prince experiments with new distribution models.

✦ September 2014Art Official Age and Plectrumelectrum are released simultaneously — a dual statement of digital futurism and live‑band power.

✦ Late 2014Prince re‑enters global charts, media and touring circuits with renewed creative momentum.

This era captures Prince as a visionary shapeshifter — blending technology, spirituality and reinvention.

✦ GLAM FLASHBACK — ART OFFICIAL AGE VS. PLECTRUMELECTRUM

Art Official Age (2014)

• Digital, futuristic, conceptual• Electro‑funk, R&B, atmospheric soul• Narrative of awakening and identity• Prince as avatar / prophet

Plectrumelectrum (2014)

• Raw, live‑band energy• Rock‑driven, analog, immediate• 3RDEYEGIRL in full force• Prince as bandleader / guitarist

Together, they form a diptych: the digital dreamscape and the physical world.

✦ SOURCES

Personal archive knowledgePrince VaultDiscogsAllMusicRate Your MusicWikipediaBBC Official Charts CompanyPrince Estate official announcements