David Byrne – Who Is The Sky (Yellow Colored LP Vinyl)
Product Details
David Byrne has spent five decades refusing to stand still, from the anxious art-funk of Talking Heads through his restless explorations of Brazilian music, opera, and collaborative multimedia work. Who Is The Sky finds him in genuinely new territory, stripping the process back to acoustic guitar and loops before building outward with orchestral color and unexpected vocal partners. For a songwriter who once asked "How did I get here?", these feel like the questions that come after.
In 2023, as his triumphant American Utopia era came to a close, David Byrne began jotting down the occasional groove, chord or melody and assembling them into demos he recorded with just an acoustic guitar atop a programmed beat or loop. The prior three years had given him, and much of humanity, the opportunity to ask, "Do I like what I'm doing? Why am I writing songs, or working this job, or whatever? Does any of it matter?" Byrne's attempts to answer those weighty questions can be found on Who Is The Sky?, a first-time collaboration between himself, Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon aka Tom Hull (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus) and New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra, and featuring guest appearances by Paramore's Hayley Williams, longtime collaborator St. Vincent and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner. The album builds upon the optimistic themes laid out by American Utopia and it's supporting tour, but more specifically spelled out by the Grammy-winning Broadway show and subsequent movie. With this offering, Byrne continues his lifelong exploration of human connection and the potential for societal unity against the chaotic backdrop of the world. Who Is the Sky? is particularly personal, cinematic, humorous and joyful, but often with a lesson baked in - that love is unexplainable, that enlightenment means very different things to different people and that it's always a good idea to moisturize, whether you wake up the next morning with skin like a baby or not. Most importantly, the songs evince Byrne's gift for riding the razor's edge of avant-garde and accessible pop.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
UPC: 191401217835
Label: Matador Records
Release Date: 9.5.25
Format: LP Vinyl