{"product_id":"david-byrne-who-is-the-sky-folded-poster-1","title":"DAVID BYRNE - Who Is The Sky? (+ folded poster)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLP - Indies Exclusive Limited Edition 'Apple Green' Vinyl with Folded Poster and Printed Inners housed in a Gatefold Sleeve. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Byrne\u003c\/strong\u003e is proud to announce \u003cem\u003eWho Is the Sky?\u003c\/em\u003e, his first new album since 2018’s acclaimed and award-winning \u003cem\u003eAmerican Utopia\u003c\/em\u003e, which will be released September 5th by \u003cstrong\u003eMatador Records\u003c\/strong\u003e. The album was produced by the Grammy-winning \u003cstrong\u003eKid Harpoon\u003c\/strong\u003e (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), while its 12 songs were arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble \u003cstrong\u003eGhost Train Orchestra\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMusical friends old and new, including \u003cstrong\u003eSt. Vincent\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eParamore\u003c\/strong\u003e’s \u003cstrong\u003eHayley Williams\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Smile\u003c\/strong\u003e drummer \u003cstrong\u003eTom Skinner\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cem\u003eAmerican Utopia\u003c\/em\u003e percussionist \u003cstrong\u003eMauro Refosco\u003c\/strong\u003e, also make appearances on \u003cem\u003eWho Is the Sky?\u003c\/em\u003e, which is led by the infectious single \"\u003cem\u003eEverybody Laughs\u003c\/em\u003e.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Someone I know said, ‘David, you use the word “everybody” a lot.’ I suppose I do that to give an anthropological view of life in New York as we know it,” says Byrne. “Everybody lives, dies, laughs, cries, sleeps and stares at the ceiling. Everybody’s wearing everybody else’s shoes, which not everybody does, but I have done. I tried to sing about these things that could be seen as negative in a way balanced by an uplifting feeling from the groove and the melody, especially at the end, when \u003cstrong\u003eSt. Vincent\u003c\/strong\u003e and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together. Music can do that – hold opposites simultaneously. I realized that when singing with \u003cstrong\u003eRobyn\u003c\/strong\u003e earlier this year. Her songs are often sad, but the music is joyous.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eByrne was inspired to enlist \u003cstrong\u003eGhost Train Orchestra\u003c\/strong\u003e for the album after hearing their 2023 tribute album to the blind New York composer and street poet \u003cstrong\u003eMoondog\u003c\/strong\u003e, and later that year jumped on stage with the group during a Brooklyn performance. Enticed by the 15-member Ghost Train’s varied instrumental lineup – which includes drums, percussion, guitar and bass along with strings, winds and brass – he thought to himself, “what if that’s what these new songs of mine sounded like?” Byrne asked if they’d want to serve as his band for the \u003cem\u003eWho Is The Sky?\u003c\/em\u003e sessions, and they quickly agreed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I suspected that intimate orchestral arrangements would bring out the emotion I sense is there in these songs,” says Byrne, who is planning to tour \u003cem\u003eWho Is The Sky?\u003c\/em\u003e later this year. “It’s something that folks don't always hear in my work, but this time for sure I thought it was there. At the same time, I also see myself as someone who aspires to be accessible. I imagined that \u003cstrong\u003eKid Harpoon\u003c\/strong\u003e would help with that, as well as being a set of trusted ears, since there was a lot going on. People think of producers as people who mainly make a record sound good, and Kid Harpoon did that, but he was also aware of how important the storytelling is.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn admitted “stickler when it comes to grooves,” Byrne welcomed late-in-the-game contributions from \u003cstrong\u003eSkinner\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eRefosco\u003c\/strong\u003e, with whom he’s recorded and toured for more than 30 years. Mixed by \u003cstrong\u003eMark “Spike” Stent\u003c\/strong\u003e and mastered by \u003cstrong\u003eEmily Lazar\u003c\/strong\u003e, the finished product is about both hiding and revealing, or as Byrne puts it, “a chance to be the mythical creature we all harbor inside. A chance to step into another reality. A chance to transcend and escape from the prison of our ‘selves.’” These concepts are heavily incorporated in the \u003cem\u003eWho Is The Sky?\u003c\/em\u003e album package, which was designed by \u003cstrong\u003eShira Inbar\u003c\/strong\u003e and finds Byrne nearly obscured by radiating, coloured patterns and psychedelic, spiky outfits designed by Belgian artist \u003cstrong\u003eTom Van Der Borght\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“At my age, at least for me, there's a ‘don't give a shit about what people think’ attitude that kicks in,” Byrne says. “I can step outside my comfort zone with the knowledge that I kind of know who I am by now and sort of know what I'm doing. That said, every new set of songs, every song even, is a new adventure. There's always a bit of, ‘how do I work this?’ I've found that not every collaboration works, but often when they do, it's because I'm able to clearly impart what it is I'm trying to do. They hopefully get that, and as a result, we're now joined together heading to the same unknown place.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Matador Records","offers":[{"title":"LP - Apple Green Vinyl","offer_id":54720620855641,"sku":"SDZ-08540","price":29.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/David_Byrne_-_Who_Is_The_Sky__-_LP_Lemon_Yellow_Vinyl_with_folded_poster_-_2025_b73c312a-ff94-42bb-8b37-39ed91a005d2.jpg?v=1781214862","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/david-byrne-who-is-the-sky-folded-poster-1","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}