White Denim Recruit Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy to Produce Tracks for Next Album

White Denim have started working on a follow-up to their 2011 album 'D,' and singer-guitarist James Petralli reveals that the Austin-based psych-rockers laid down a few tracks for the disc at Wilco's Chicago studio, the Loft, with that group's frontman, Jeff Tweedy, in the producer's chair.

“When we started, Jeff said to us, ‘I like your records but I love your live show,’” Petralli tells Relix magazine. “We are hoping to change that with this record.” While at the Loft, Denim laid worked on complete cuts and a handful of instrumental tracks, with Tweedy himself working closely with the band on the structure of the new material.

"I had this Tom Petty-ish song which Tweedy totally turned on its head,” Petralli adds. “Then it was a matter of fitting my lyrics and melodies back into the song. He encouraged us to record to record live in the studio.”

White Denim's visit to the Loft not only marked the first time they had ever worked with an outside producer, but it was also the only time the band has been to a professional studio. “We’ve always had a very D.I.Y. approach to recording,” Petralli explains. “Early on, it was because of [financial] necessity but we always liked the idea of being a D.I.Y. band. So it was mind-blowing to go from that to recording in the Loft.”

There's no word yet when the as-yet-untitled disc may surface, but in the meantime White Denim have a string of U.S. dates lined up for this summer that kicks off June 7 at the Mountain Jam festival in Hunter, N.Y., and is followed by a one-off appearance overseas at the 2013 Latitude festival on July 18 in Beccles, U.K. Check out their complete itinerary here.