Subterraneans
"Subterraneans" | |
---|---|
Song by David Bowie | |
from the album Low | |
Released | 14 January 1977 |
Recorded | December 1975, Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles; September 1976, Château d'Hérouville, France; October–November 1976, Hansa Studio by the Wall, West Berlin, Germany[1][2] |
Genre | Dark ambient |
Length | 5:39 |
Label | RCA |
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
Producer(s) | David Bowie and Tony Visconti |
"Subterraneans" is a song by David Bowie, the closing track of his 1977 album Low. As with most of Side 2, "Subterraneans" is mostly instrumental, with brief, obscure lyrics sung near the song's end.
"Subterraneans" was first recorded in 1975 and intended for the soundtrack to the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth.[1] It was later revisited during the sessions for Low.[1]
Musical characteristics
After the Station to Station sessions ended in November 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, David Bowie recorded "Subterraneans" within those studios in December 1975.[1] The song later received overdubs by Brian Eno.
The sleeve notes of Low credit "Peter and Paul with additional
"Subterraneans" was ultimately the most heavily edited song on Low, with David Bowie's saxophone, as well as multilayered synthesizers and reversed instrument sounds from
Bowie related the song to the misery of those in East Berlin during the Cold War. According to Bowie, people who "got caught in East Berlin after the separation – hence the faint jazz saxophones representing the memory of what it was."[4]
Live versions
- The song was used as an introduction to Bowie's set during the 1995 Scary Monsters" (which would follow "Subterraneans" on the setlists). This version was performed alongside the co-headliners, Nine Inch Nails.
Personnel
- David Bowie: Vocals, saxophone, reversed electric guitar, ARP String Ensemble
- Paul Buckmaster: ARP Odyssey synthesizer[3]
- Fender Rhodes electric piano[3]
- Brian Eno: ARP 2600 synthesizer,[1] piano
- Carlos Alomar: Reversed electric guitar[1]
- George Murray: Reversed bass guitar[1]
- Tony Visconti: Production
Other versions
- Philip Glass – Low Symphony (1992)
- Nine Inch Nails – Live recording (with David Bowie) (1995)
- Dylan Howe – Jazz reconstruction for his album Subterranean – New Designs on Bowie's Berlin (2014)
- Alva Noto with Martin Gore (vocals) and William Basinski (saxophone) – vinyl and digital single (2022)[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Thomas Jerome Seabrook (2008). Bowie in Berlin: A New Career in a New Town: pp.131–132
- ^ Chris O'Leary (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie 1976–2016: p.49
- ^ a b c Mojo (magazine). 60 Years of Bowie.
- ^ Griffin, R. "Low." Bowie Golden Years (Jan). 2005 Archived 19 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 12 June 2007
- ^ Nicolai, Carsten. "[N-057] ALVA NOTO FEAT. MARTIN L. GORE & WILLIAN BASINSKI - SUBTERRANEANS EP". Twitter. Retrieved 16 December 2022.