David Bowie is back! (January 2013)

David Bowie has been virtually silent for around nine years with his last album Reality being back in 2003. After suffering from heart problems onstage in 2004 he became something of a recluse, living a quiet life with his ex-supermodel wife Iman and playing dad to his young daughter in New York.  He has made a few onstage appearances since but the last of those was in 2006, resulting in fans and music buffs alike believing Bowie to be retired. Indeed there was evidence to suggest this; Bowie turning down the request to headline the Olympics, the lack of interviews for years, talks of declining health and scarce sightings except for a few photos of the man walking around New York and appearing at his son’s (Source Code director Duncan Jones) movie premiers. The future looked gloomy indeed.

2013 marks an end to this silence. On 8^th January, Bowie’s 66^th birthday, a surprise new single ‘Where Are We Now?’ was released with little fanfare accompanied by news of a brand new album titled The Next Day to follow 11^th March. Even better is the fact that Tony Visconti, Bowie’s long time collaborator on most of his classics, is the producer. I can tell you that my anticipation is at an all time high!

So how is the new song? Beside the fact I may be a bit biased, I can safely say it is brilliant. ‘Where Are We Now?’ is very reflective in its nature and harks back to Bowie’s days living in Berlin. The lyrics are scattered with references to the city, from “Potsdamer Platz” to “Nürnberger Strasse”. There is a very melancholy mood which is reflected in Bowie’s understated and weary sounding vocals. It is reminiscent of some of his older work but also in the mix is something completely new and exciting. The result is painstakingly beautiful. A low-key but nonetheless moving video accompanies the new single and features Bowie as a creepy looking Siamese teddy bear of sorts. Being projected onto a screen in the background is footage of the aforementioned city. The overall effect is minimalistic and arty but equally brilliant. The whole thing is a perfect comeback single!

I could easily write a four page essay on what I hope from the new album and why I’m so excited but I’m sure neither you the reader nor our editor Jodi will be too pleased if I did. Instead I will say that I would love it if The Next Day is a mix of albums “Heroes” (1977), Scary Monsters (1980) and Heathen (2002). I also think it’s fair to say though that everybody wants something innovative and new as well otherwise it just wouldn’t be a proper Bowie record. I can’t really think of another person like David Bowie who has had such a singular impact on my life and I have been in a state of frenzied excitement ever since the news broke. March isn’t coming fast enough!