‘Dark Night of the Soul’: How David Lynch came to sing on an overlooked indie masterpiece
With his legacy as one of the greatest storytellers of all time, David Lynch has influenced popular culture for well over 50 years. Known for his surreal aesthetic and delving into psychological themes, he’s created cinematic masterpieces like Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and of course Twin Peaks.
Such Lynchian themes have inspired creatives far and wide. So when legendary producer Danger Mouse was piecing together his post-punk concept album Dark Night of the Soul with indie rock band Sparklehorse in the late 2000s, he approached Lynch to see if we would direct a video for the album considering its existential imagery.
Lynch rejected the offer. He instead suggested that he should shoot photographs to illustrate the tracks on the album and sing as well. Who would say no to that? Along with the 100-plus-page book of photographs providing a visual narrative to the album, Lynch’s vocals come through on two tracks. Other A-list collaborators Iggy Pop, Suzanna Vega, Gruff Rhys, Frank Black and Julian Casablancas added their vocals to the record too.
The filmmaker told Dazed in 2009: “I started singing, and I don’t quite know how it happened, but Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse liked it, so I sang for them. The songs just came out of their music. They give a sense of freedom and that’s the part of the concept that I like. They do the music and then they see what happens when they give it to person A, B and C. They share their music. I like that a lot.”
Considering the importance of music within his own films, it doesn’t feel surprising to hear what his musical touch has added to the album. ‘Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It)’ is a jaded but dreamy glitch while his feature on the title track broods around a chilling piano sample. Lynch’s gloomy, cynical lyrics of it’s a “dark dream world” are only cushioned slightly by the obscuring FX manipulating his voice in a suitably surrealist manner.
However, Lynch’s contribution was almost never heard after a legal dispute with the label EMI delayed the full release in 2010. The year before, a blank CD without the music was released to avoid potential legal action until the distribution issues were addressed. Fans were left to rip the leaked music online onto blank CDs, creating a record that became a niche masterpiece among many circles.
Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous died by suicide in 2010 shortly before the album’s full release, but it seems fitting that before his tragic end, he got to work with the director who had the greatest influence on his muisc: “The stream of consciousness thing,“ he said, “how to perceive music in so many different ways. There’s this theory about music, that the quiet parts are just as important as the musical parts, I really applied that to my music and that came from the influence of David Lynch’s films.“
The gentle singer added, “Some of the quiet parts would be foreboding, but in another context they could be beautiful. The music would complement that dark part, you know? Working with your heroes makes you feel great.” While the passing of David Lynch earlier this year has put a stop to new projects, his hand in this indie album epitomises the far-and-wide impact his filmmaking has and will have on music and culture.
