David Byrne releases wacky new track ‘The Avant Garde’
David Byrne has released a wacky new track, ‘The Avant Garde’, from his upcoming album Who is the Sky?
Byrne opens the tune with a playful rumination on how the avant-garde corners of society operate. He sings, “I saw a woman in a leotard / Now I’m not sure how I feel / About the avant garde / I like the idea, their politics too / But I’m not really sure / If that means that is good.”
Of the track, Byrne has officially shared: “Some people will hear this and say, ‘David is calling bullshit on his friends,’ but it’s more nuanced than that. Anyone who knows me knows that I go to plenty of shows that might be classified as avant-garde or experimental. Edgy and untraditional work is hugely inspiring to me, as it often changes the way I think and influences what I do (without me simply appropriating the ideas, I hope).”
However, he called the attempt at something unproven and radically new “risky.” Byrne continued, “It doesn’t quite hit the bullseye. There’s no guarantee that it will achieve what it aims to do, but when it does, the emotional and intellectual rewards are worth it. That is the risk one takes while making something new and unconventional. So yes, there are times when it doesn’t mean shit, but often there are times when something wholly original comes into being and it’s all worth it.”
The track is in collaboration with Ghost Train Orchestra. Of their work together, Byrne commented, “I love that the Ghost Train folks and Kid Harpoon took what could have been a fairly conventional song I’d written (musically at least), and steered it into something that to me sounds like Led Zeppelin meets Dirty Projectors.”
His upcoming album, Who is the Sky?, is set for a September 5th release date. Who Is the Sky? is Byrne’s first album since releasing the acclaimed 2018 American Utopia, which has since been adapted into a hit Broadway musical and HBO film.
In September, David Byrne will kick off a massive world tour. The European leg commences February 12th in Berlin, and includes UK shows in Cardiff, London, Glasgow and Manchester. He recently performed alongside pop star Olivia Rodrigo at the Governor’s Ball.
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