David byrne american utopia album cover movie#
A video companion piece to “Everybody’s Coming To My House” that’s in keeping with Byrne’s famously quirky concepts about visual art can be viewed here.īyrne has scheduled a series of choreographed live concerts that he describes as the most ambitious shows he has undertaken since the 1983 Talking Heads performances that were filmed to make the movie and album Stop Making Sense. The process of writing and recording the material for American Utopia was an evolution that began with longtime collaborator Eno and grew to include collaboration with producer Rodaidh McDonald and a cast of creative contributors, including electronic musicians Daniel Lopatin and Jam City, keyboardist/producer Thomas Bartlett, vocalist/keyboardist Sampha, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Jack Peñate, saxophonist Isaiah Barr and others. And he shows a seasoned singer’s respect for intonation-dig how accurately and brilliantly his high B-flat rings out on “Bullet.” Listeners can hear him holding certain notes for a longer duration (especially at the ends of phrases), utilizing the voice in a more musical manner. It’s a voice that has aged well since Byrne’s days as an angry, quirky young tenor fronting Talking Heads. The music, which, like much of Byrne’s work, reflects the influence of producer/programmer Brian Eno, combines highly ambient sounds and textures with Byrne’s trademark vocals. The 10 songs here, all original Byrne compositions bearing an air of optimism, are an attempt to depict the world in which we live and ask, “Is there another way?” American Utopia refers not to a specific utopia, but the longing, frustration, aspirations, fears, desires and hopes of those of us who hold onto the American Dream and refuse to succumb to despair or cynicism during these times of cultural upheaval.
There is no irony in the title of David Byrne’s new solo album, his first since 2004’s Grown Backwards (Nonesuch). Much like Byrne’s forthcoming album, it appears to observe America’s reality.Ĭheck out the artwork above and view more works by Young below.David Byrne American Utopia (Todomundo/Nonesuch) An elongated head sits on a central figure positioned against splashes of colour looking down, it contemplates the structures below. The album cover contains some of Young’s recurring motifs that can be found in his ouevre. His visual meditations are based upon the plight of the underprivileged, racism in America, urban strife and African-American experiences in the south. Having spent a stint in prison and never attended high school, Young was deemed as an outsider in the art world who found an alternative way in.
Using Young’s artwork feels relevant, rather than an arbitrary placement of vivid colours. The tracks will “describe the world we live in now” and question: “Is there another way? A better way? A different way?”.Īccompanying the album announcement was the unveiling of its cover art, featuring a piece from contemporary painter and outsider artist Purvis Young, who passed away in 2010. On the album, Byrne said the focus isn’t primarily on the concept of utopia but more on the tangible reality of America. The follow-up to 2004’s Grown Backwards, the album is about “longing, frustration, aspirations, fears, hopes regarding what could be, what is possible”. Earlier this week (8 January), David Byrne announced his first solo album in ten years, entitled American Utopia.
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