The idea for a full-fledged collaboration may have come in 2006 when French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg made her return to recording with her album 5:55 and utilized arranger/composer David Campbell for the string orchestrations. Campbell is also known as the father of indie-God Beck who, as it turns out, was supposed to work on the album as well, but, as he puts it, "couldn't get over there." The payback now comes back bigtime as Beck shepherds her new IRM project as producer, songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. "I pulled a bunch of songs out," says Beck of the pair's early meetings. "And then I wrote a few, with her in mind, but when we spent time together they changed because I got more of a feeling of where she wanted to go. We got in the studio and I could see all the possibilities.

Scheduled for release January 26, IRM is, says Gainsbourg, the result of trying "very different things." The songs, she adds, "are all in different styles but one proper album." Following the release of the monotone, electronica/industrial workout of the title track last month, Gainsbourg and Beck join voices for new single "Heaven Can Wait", a slithering, piano-punctuated ditty that comes alive in a completely surreal video (watch it after the jump).

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Charlotte Gainsbourg - "Heaven Can Wait" (duet with Beck) (from the album IRM)

Charlotte Gainsbourg - "IRM" (from the album IRM)