Lordeis paying tribute to one of the bands she considers to be rock’s “Royals.”
Lorde’s note about Talking Heads and her “Take Me to the River” cover.Courtesy of Lorde
Courtesy of Lorde
Lorde explained in her heartfelt letter to fans that she became a fan of the art-rock icons around the time she was a preteen in 2008.
“Something’s happening to me: I am beginning to ooze out in every direction,” she described of herself at the time. “I feel a constant burning urge to express myself, to draw a map that leads to who I am. I can’t get it right, there’s a deep discomfort in this, and I have no choice but to keep trying.”
She continued, “At the same time, I’m realising that if I look at a picture or listen to a song sometimes a surge of feeling will take over my whole body. In this way, I can remove my strange-feeling insides and replace them with whatever I want.”
The Grammy winner explained that her mother noticed her burgeoning creativity and showed her a video of Talking Heads performing onTop of the Pops. “I feel a portal open between me and the screen,” she says of watching the clip. “Humour, lust, rhythm and ritual course through me. I don’t know what I’m feeling, but I do understand that the band in the grainy video live with the same strangeness that I do.”
Lorde at the 2023 GQ Men of the Year Event on Nov. 16, 2023 and David Byrne at the ‘Stop Making Sense’ premiere on Sept. 11, 2023.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Shawn Goldberg/Getty Images
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Shawn Goldberg/Getty Images
In her note, thePure Heroineartist explains that she and her co-producer Jim-E Stack tried to capture the same feeling that she felt watching that video of the band for the first time.
As the Talking Heads' version of “Take Me to the River” slowed down the track, seemingly increasing its sex appeal, and Lorde does the same in a 21st century way. She allows sultry, natural inflections in her voice to run wild over a version of the track that takes it into avant-pop territory with both glistening production and quirky percussive sounds.
The singer-songwriter is among the many star-studded guests on the upcoming compilation.Everybody’s Getting Involvedalso features major acts likeMiley Cyrus,Kevin Abstract,ParamoreandThe National, as well as rising stars likeBlondshell,girl in redand many others.
Lorde shares photo on her Instagram Story from working on her “Take Me to the River” cover.Lorde/Instagram
Lorde/Instagram
After Lorde’s cover dropped, the hitmaker also posted to herInstagram Storyto share shots from the day she got in the studio to record it.
Over a photo of herself sitting on the floor with the song’s lyrics, theMelodramaartist wrote, “So sick going back thru a teen portal for a few days.”
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Lorde alsoshared a sun-kissed selfieand opened up about how recording the cover ended up serving as inspiration for her forthcoming new album. “Studio sunbather on the day we worked on it,” she wrote of “Take Me to the River.”
Lorde shares update about new music on her Instagram Story.Lorde/Instagram
“Stepping away from my own project for a couple ended up giving me a HUGE piece of the puzzle,” the “Perfect Places” singer continued. “Had just gone dark, was feeling returned to, masc n femme in balance, electrified and at peace.”
Lorde.Lauren Tepfer
Lauren Tepfer
Lorde last released a full-length album with her third studio effort,Solar Power, in 2021. She toured the project across the globe for much of 2022 and 2023, but has begun to seemingly tease thatshe’s working on new materialwith cryptic posts on social media in recent months.
In a February 2023 interview with the New Zealand outletEnsemble, she also admitted that she’s trying to “move as quickly as [she] f—ing can” with her next project.
“This one, I really am trying to. I don’t want to wait, you know, so take from that what you will,” the alternative star said.
“I do a lot of research, I write a lot down. Sort of a big chunk of work before I actually start writing music,” she shared. “It’s been super exciting and I feel excited about what’s coming.”
source: people.com
