Natalie Merchant is poised for the release of Leave Your Sleep, out April 6 [update: now April 13] on Nonesuch Records. This release is the culmination of seven years’ research and collaboration and is, in Merchant’s words, “the most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined.” A two-disc set, Leave Your Sleep is a collection of songs adapted from poems selected by Merchant and featuring musical collaborations with a broad spectrum of artists.

Earlier today, Nonesuch.com launched the second of five videos featuring a lively conversation between The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson, discussing their forthcoming Nonesuch release, Realism. Now that you've heard a bit about the album straight from its creators, you can listen to Realism in its entirety in the exclusive album premiere on MySpace.

Introducing a two-disc song cycle about Imelda Marcos, performed by a who's who of singers, is no simple task, but David Byrne has done it in a new video presentation, available at nonesuch.com/media, about Here Lies Love, his collaboration with Fatboy Slim and such vocalists as Tori Amos, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, Natalie Merchant, Kate Pierson, Santigold, and St. Vincent. The album, due out April 6, is now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Recollection, k.d. lang's first-ever career retrospective, is due out February 9, 25 years after the release of her debut recording. It is now available for pre-order through the Nonesuch Store. And, as an Nonesuch.com exclusive offer, we've made a limited-edition print of an iconic photo of k.d. taken by Herb Ritts, signed by k.d. and available on just the first 500 orders of these special bundles.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops begin their two-month tour tonight at the Melting Pot in Athens, Georgia. To mark the start of the tour, the band's forthcoming Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is now available for pre-order in the US at nonesuch.com with seven exclusive bonus tracks recorded live. In the UK, where the tour heads later this month, the BBC's The Strand included the band in its predictions for "great art and artists in 2010."

k.d. lang releases her first-ever career retrospective, Recollection, 25 years after the release of her debut recording. The two-disc set will be available February 2 [now February 9] on Nonesuch. Recollection features 22 of lang’s most beloved recordings including an all-new interpretation of the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah." The deluxe package includes a third disc of previously unreleased recordings—many performed live—as well as a bonus DVD of music videos and rarely seen live performance footage.

As announced earlier this month, Nonesuch is set to release the soundtrack from the critically acclaimed documentary about Youssou N’Dour, I Bring What I Love, in January 2010. The album will now be available on January 26, rather than on January 12, as previously announced. The film will be out on DVD via Oscilloscope sometime in early 2010.

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have paired up for Here Lies Love, a 22-track song cycle about the life of former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos and her childhood servant, Estrella Cumpas. In addition to Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the album, due February 23 [now April 6] on Todomundo / Nonesuch Records, features performances by Santigold, Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine), Sia, Steve Earle, St. Vincent, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Sharon Jones, Nicole Atkins, and many others.

Nonesuch Records and PS Classics will record the cast album of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music on January 4, 2010. The production, which opens on December 13, 2009, at the Walter Kerr Theatre, stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, and Alexander Hanson. Directed by Trevor Nunn, it is the first revival of the show since its 1973 debut. Tommy Krasker will produce the album.

BlakRoc, the album that brought together The Black Keys, Damon Dash, and a star-studded lineup of hip-hop MCs, is now available digitally at nonesuch.com for fans in the US and Canada at the same audiophile-quality 320kbps MP3s available throughout the site. The A.V. Club gives the album an A, saying it "defeats all odds by sounding both organic and cohesive." The Houston Chronicle gives it four stars, calling it "a sinewy masterpiece."

Pat Metheny once again explores new territory with his forthcoming project, Orchestrion, a “solo” recording that pairs the composer-guitarist with a phalanx of remarkable, custom-made instruments played via solenoid switches and pneumatics. Following the album’s January 26 Nonesuch release, Metheny will embark on an extensive solo tour. A limited-edition, signed 9"x12" print of the cover image is available now with CD or LP pre-orders, exclusively in the Nonesuch Store, to the first 500 customers.

Nonesuch Records is set to release the soundtrack from the critically acclaimed documentary about African superstar Youssou N’Dour, I Bring What I Love, on January 12, 2010. The album features all-new recordings of music from throughout N’Dour’s career as well as two new songs, including the documentary’s title theme, and richly represents the music and the message of N’Dour the artist and the humanitarian.