808's & Heartbreak Listening Event

(pic via Kanye's blog)

Rollingstone: Kanye West’s Listening Party: Lights, Heartbreak, Nudity (article)

"More than 700 invited guests watched and listened as Beecroft’s 40 models slowly changed position with each song, some of them wearing fuzzy wigs that covered their faces. Just as provocative were West’s new tracks, including the singles “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless,” mostly obsessed with romantic pain and loss. All vocals were sung and treated with the electro “auto-tune” effect. But there was no rapping or overt sampling, just emotional waves of electronic sound, beats and occasional strings."

Fader: Vanessa Beecroft & Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak Listening Event (article)

"After eventually silencing the chatty room, he introduced Beecroft, who revealed that the piece was conceptualized and executed in one week, which is one third of the time it took West to record the entire album. Then West delivered a monologue about how this album is about the freedom to do what you want to do and that he used Auto-Tune because it is the most fun thing ever. Then he said 808s & Heartbreak was about emotional nakedness. Then he said he'll have another album out next June."

Here is the full version of Heartless. Kanye says its still unmastered.

Kanye West - Hearless (full version) MP3

Kanye's blog: VBKW 3

Wikipedia: Vanessa Beecroft