Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

39728

news

Bowie gets covered on new !K7 comp; Au Revoir Simone on their choice of song
Mike_Diver by Mike Diver July 8th, 2008

Next week sees the release of !K7's Life Beyond Mars compilation, featuring a wealth of modern artists covering - you guessed it - the songs of David Bowie.

The album - available on CD and LP - is released on July 14 and has its own microsite right here.

- - -

Album artwork
- - -

The compilation features a range of interpretations from the likes of Matthew Dear, Carl Craig, Joakim, Kelley Polar, Susumu Yokota and Au Revoir Simone. The latter act is questioned below the tracklisting.

Which runs as follows:

Au Revoir Simone – 'Oh! You Pretty Things'
Heartbreak – 'Loving The Alien'
Kelley Polar – 'Magic Dance' (Harold and Baby O in Italy version)
Leo Minor – 'Ashes To Ashes'
Carl Craig presents Zoos Of Berlin – 'Looking For Water'
Drew Brown – 'Sweet Thing'
Matthew Dear – 'Sound & Vision'
Susumu Yokota – 'Golden Years'
The Emperor Machine – 'Repetition'
Joakim & The Disco – 'A New Career In A New Town'
Richard Walters & Faultline – 'Be My Wife'
The Thing – 'Life On Mars'

Video: 'Life On Mars' (Bowie original)

- - -

Au Revoir Simone
- - -

Au Revoir Simone on their choice of cover

Why did you chose to cover ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’?
Heather: Annie, Erika and I are all really big Bowie fans, so it was hard to choose a favorite amongst all of us. However, this song is so special to us both musically and lyrically that we were all really excited to get the chance to cover it.

How did you approach the track? What did you hope to achieve with the cover?
Heather: We approached the track with a profound amount of respect for the original song - I mean, it’s a little intimidating to cover Bowie! You want to do a good job, and express something differently, or reveal something about the song that hadn't been revealed before, but you're already working with a masterpiece so it’s difficult. Our version is obviously more feminine and understated than Bowie's - we couldn't help that.

What’s your favourite Bowie album or track?
Heather: I really love Low - especially the track ‘Sound and Vision’ - that whole album is a synth dream.
Erika: My favorite album is Scary Monsters but my favorite song these days is ‘Moonage Daydream’. I think the lyric "keep your electric eye on me babe" is so perfect.

Why is Bowie still so relevant?
Heather: Genius never goes out of style.

How big an influence has Bowie been on your band?
Heather: It would be pretty impossible to live in this world and have never heard a Bowie song at least once in your life; he's a part of the international musical landscape, like The Beatles, or The Rolling Stones. I've heard men doing renditions of 'Hey Jude' on pan flutes in the jungles of Peru, and I've heard girls singing 'Let’s Dance' in karaoke bars in Japan - I think you're beyond being influenced by a musician when that musician has defined what music actually is.
Erika: I didn't think a lot about David Bowie until I suddenly became obsessed right around when I turned 22, moved to New York, started the band, and started collecting synths. I started buying his records on vinyl and ordering posters of him from eBay. I think for Christmas that year I gave my sister a poster of Bowie as Ziggy in a gilded-looking frame. I thought it was the best gift, like I was inducting her into a cult and he was our leader. I wanted her to love him as much as I did. In our band, I don't think we ever tried to make music like Bowie, but he is an inspiration. He represents passion and artistry and a very open, giving form of performance and songwriting.



LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees

Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »




LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    Interview


    Ace of Bass: DiS Meets Royal Blood

  • 97097
  • feature


    DiS meets At the Drive-In

  • 12223

    feature


    A Month in Records: August 2008

  • 33467
  • feature


    Nicky Wire on the press, Shirley Bassey, and th...

  • 50002

    Discography Reassessed


    Oeuvre Here: An 18 Album Voyage Through Ringo S...

  • 100438
  • Interview


    Life, Death and Broken Bells - DiS meets James ...

  • 82768

    In Depth


    Fade to black: DiS meets The Horrors

  • 48012
  • feature


    Radiohead's In Rainbows: the fans' verdict

  • 27997
MORE
Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND