- 2025-06-11
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MUSIC
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David Byrne Announces New Album “Who Is The Sky?”, Shares New Song “Everybody Laughs”
American new wave band Talking Heads frontman and singer-songwriter David Byrne has announced his upcoming ninth studio album “Who Is The Sky?” will be released on September 5, 2025 via Matador Records.
It marks his first album in seven years since the 2018 album “American Utopia”.
On the album, he worked with New York City-based orchestra Ghost Train Orchestra.
From the album, he released the first single called “Everybody Laughs” on June 10, 2025.
The track features American singer-songwriter St. Vincent.
It was written by David Byrne and produced by Kid Harpoon. The accompanying music video was directed by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo.
David Byrne said of the song, “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. 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 St. Vincent and I are doing a lot of hollering and singing together. Music can do that - hold opposites simultaneously. I realized that when singing with Robyn earlier this year. Her songs are often sad, but the music is joyous.”- The new album comprises 12 tracks, featuring St. Vincent, Paramore's Hayley Williams, and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner. Produced by Kid Harpoon. All tracks were arranged by Ghost Train Orchestra.
David Byrne said of the album, “I suspected that intimate orchestral arrangements would bring out the emotion I sense is there in these songs. It's something that folks don't always hear in my work, but this time for sure I thought it was there.”
He continued, “The record is 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.' At my age, at least for me, there's a 'don't give a shit about what people think' attitude that kicks in. 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.” -
He shared on social media, “I finished up a new album recently called “Who Is The Sky?”. It's produced by Kid Harpoon, joined by Ghost Train Orchestra and, on a couple of songs, my friends St. Vincent and Hayley Williams. It comes out Sept. 5th under Matador—a new label for me.”
Photo by Shervin Lainez - source : Apple Music
