“Everyone Says ‘Hi’, again”
The ever-enigmatic Beck is currently remaking and remodelling David Bowie's Sound And Vision for the Lincoln Motor Company‘s Hello Again campaign.
Originally a #3 UK hit for Bowie in 1977 when it was released as the first single from the classic ‘Low’ album, Sound And Vision in Beck‘s hands might not end up sounding like a carbon copy of the original song. Not that that‘s the intention of course.
On past form alone it‘s apparent that Beck has a unique approach to other people‘s work. Remember his insane remixes for Bowie‘s Survive single or his excellent version of Diamond Dogs which appeared on the ‘Moulin Rouge!’ OST?
So it’s no surprise to learn that he plans a completely new arrangement of Sound And Vision, with an added chorus and extended jam sessions, utilising layer upon layer of musicians performing separate pieces of the song together on stage.
He is working with Chris Milk on a special one-time performance of the song that will experiment with the possibilities of perspective and sound movement, surrounding an audience that will be seated within a circular orchestra of 170 different musicians.
A 360-degree recording of the performance will be broadcast to an online audience, giving them the feeling of actually being there. Viewers will be able to move within the 360º environment and change the direction of the audio in real time.
The Lincoln Motor Company is no stranger to Bowie's music either. In August 2008 a promotional film entitled ‘Lift Off’ was created for the Lincoln MKS. The film employed a specially commissioned cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity by Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power.
And again less than a year later in March 2009, the band Shiny Toy Guns performed a cover of Peter Schilling’s Major Tom (Coming Home) for a Lincoln MKZ television commercial. It's a tenuous link, but the song was touted as a sequel to Space Oddity. We thought Ashes To Ashes made a better fist of that particular job, frankly.
Beck’s performance of Sound And Vision will be broadcast on Hello-Again.com on February 10th, the day before the 36th anniversary of Bowie’s original single release.
Meanwhile you can watch a teaser with Beck talking about (and working on) Sound And Vision here.