Last time David Byrne and Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, got together, the end result was The Brighton Port Authority’s collaborative-heavy debut LP, I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat. In an equally odd project, the two music legends have reportedly again teamed up, this time to create a concept album based on the life of former first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos — you know, the chick with all the shoes.
As NME reports and NPR confirms, the album, which is titled Here Lies Love, was first conceived four years ago and was written and recorded in the years that followed. Speaking of recording, the duo tapped the likes of Cyndi Lauper, Martha Wainwright, Santigold, Tori Amos, and Sharon Jones to appear as guests.
“Each track is sung by a different singer and there’s some very interesting guests on there,” Cook told NME. “It’s a story-telling thing, like ‘Evita’, but coming at it from a different angle in that it tells the untold story that people didn’t know about Imelda Marcos. It’s not just about the shoes… Because the story is more about what was going on in [New York club] Studio 54 rather than what went on in the Philippines, we wanted to reflect that, so it’s kind of dance music based.”
Byrne and Cook are currently said to be developing a stage production “along the lines of Evita” in support of the release. Here Lies Love has no official release date yet, but is expected to be available within the next six months, so we’ll find out more soon.
