LONDON — In 1996, the rock star Prince released the album “Emancipation,” his first record since the end of a rancorous contractual dispute with his label, Warner Bros. In a change for an artist typically wary of the press, he promoted the album by conducting interviews at Paisley Park, his private estate and production complex.

Closed to the public and hidden away in Chanhassen, a suburb of Minneapolis, Paisley Park was largely inaccessible, which lent it an air of mystery. The reality was inevitably less fantastical, but touring the site as an invited journalist for the release of “Emancipation” still made for a giddy experience.

I was shown around recording studios, rehearsal spaces and the massive soundstage where Prince practiced for concert tours. In one room, three seamstresses sat surrounded by sketches and fabric swatches, stitching his extravagant outfits. There was even a nursery decked out with soft toys and cloud-patterned walls: Prince and his wife at the time, Mayte Garcia, were expecting a baby, but the infant died shortly after birth.