Beck surprises fans with 'Paisley Park Sessions' EP recorded in Chanhassen

We've told you about all the musicians and other celebs who've stopped into Paisley Park while on tour in recent years, but here's a new one: Beck dropped into Prince's Chanhassen compound with his band and actually set up shop there in Studio A, churning out a fun new three-track EP that dropped today as a surprise release.

"He's a big influence for me, he's an inspiration," the real-life Beck Hansen says in a promotional video for the "The Paisley Park Sessions," which is available only through Amazon music services. "His musicality, but also playfulness, and the way he performed was really something that I connected with.

In addition to funked-up versions of Beck's own songs "Where It's At" and "Up All Night," the EP features a medley of Prince tunes called "The Paisley Experience." It starts with "Raspberry Beret" – which he regularly played in live gigs over the past two years – plus "When Doves Cry," "Kiss" and "1999." A video of the entire sessions will be released Nov. 18.

While clearly intended as a mostly-just-for-fun venture – Beck has a real new album coming Nov. 22, "Hyperspace" – the EP could have serious results for Paisley Park, advertising it as a prospective recording studio to other big-name stars as Prince's estate takes over management of the complex. This is the first big-name recording project to come out of Paisley since its founder's death.