ListenUp
David Bowie’s Warhol tribute, garage rock’s new DREAMERS, Christian Tiger School’s #PrivateJam and more in the music we tweeted this week
Holly Cole Trio: Losing My Mind (Virgin Magnetic Material Feel The Wind Edit)
Virgin Magnetic Material remixes—or perhaps more accurately “reinterprets”—works from classic artists such as Led Zeppelin and David Bowie into completely new experiences. But Tel Aviv-based Shai Vardi also has an ear for unleashing the potential in the lesser known, as he does to Holly Cole Trio’s take on the Stephen Sondheim song “Losing My Mind.” The Canadian jazz singer already transforms the 1971 Broadway musical number in her own rendition, but Virgin Magnetic Material adds a minimalist beat and subtle flavor to broaden its appeal even further, resulting in a lounge jam that oozes sex—a track that will convert the most anti-musical fellows.
DREAMERS: Wolves
The newly formulated trio DREAMERS is living up to their name, evidenced by the music video for their sweet and easily digestible garage rock single “Wolves.” Shot on a Hi8 tape camera from the ’90s, the video gives off a campy, gritty aesthetic and (like any good low-budget horror movie) it includes romance, violence and death. “Everything about the video was made to intentionally resemble late ’80s/early ’90s TV and pulp horror cinema. Twin Peaks was a direct inspiration for a lot of the art design, and the werewolf twist was always intended to be a little cheesy,” director Nikolai Vanyo tells CH. DREAMERS’ first LP, This Album Does Not Exist, drops 18 November 2014.
David Bowie: Andy Warhol
Wednesday marked what would have been Andy Warhol’s 86th birthday. In addition to his own masterpieces, the Pop Art legend had a hand in creating some of the music industry’s most celebrated album covers—like The Velvet Underground’s Nico, The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, Aretha Franklin’s Aretha and countless more. Along the way he picked up many admirers, including David Bowie, who dedicated a song to the iconic artist on his 1971 album Hunky Dory. Warhol reportedly disliked “Andy Warhol” when he heard it, but thankfully it remained and serves as an affectionate homage to the brilliantly bizarre man.
Fischerspooner: Odyssey
While traveling from Cape Town to north of Pretoria to perform at the Oppikoppi Festival as part of the Red Bull Studios Live program, South African duo Christian Tiger School took a break to select this week’s #PrivateJam. The psychedelic hip-hop producers first chose Fischerspooner’s “Just Let Go” and then went on to add “All We Are” before telling us they admire the album in its entirety: “Actually the whole of Odyssey. I got into it when I was like 15, thinking I was listening to some weird German group, only to find out they were two dudes from NYC. Some of the tracks still go in.”
Imogen Heap: Hide and Seek
The classically trained, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Imogen Heap is best known for her 1998 album iMegaphone or early oughts songs like “Hide and Seek,” but in recent years she’s become more synonymous with her interest in modern technology. A prime example is her Mi.Mu gloves, which create sounds through gestures. This year London’s Roundhouse tapped Heap as curator of Reverb 2014, for which she’s selected “contemporary composers who have heavy leanings toward technology”—like Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and vocal improviser Maja S. K. Ratkje—for the festival.
ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that takes a deeper look at the music we tweeted throughout the week. Often we’ll include a musician or notable fan’s personal favorite in a song or album dubbed #PrivateJam.
