Bobby Womack and Lana Del Rey have released their new track, ‘Dayglo Reflection’ which will feature on Womack’s ‘The Bravest Man In The Universe’. It has been co-produced by Damon Albarn of Blur and is released next month.
Womack and Del Rey here create a track that is at once conceptual and immersive. The octave-leaping sub bass that invites in Womack’s soulful vocals give a modernised nostalgia to the work. Just as Jamie XX did with Gil Scott-Heron on We’re New Here, ‘Dayglo Reflection’ studio techniques, rather than undermining the rough timbres and emotional nuances of the artists performance. This gives a forward-looking, backwards-conscious sentimentality that invigorates throughout.
People have said, for a number of reasons, Lana’s vocal wasn’t needed for the track: ‘it does not add anything’, ‘it kills the energy’. Yet, as her (now-trademark) vocal drifts across the sustained, airy string parts, the listener is consciously aware of why Womack would be interested in a modern singer who draws comparisons to Nancy Sinatra and the other infamous chanteuses.
Conceptually, Womack says how as a singer gets older ‘he understands what he’s trying to say a little more’. Del Rey is a great way to express this desire: she provides an authenticity of style that is continuous with Womack’s vocal, but also of the time. It invites more listeners to a style of music that may well be highly esoteric to them.
‘Dayglo Reflection’ toys with the fine boundaries between conceptual and musical dualities, encouraging the listener to not prioritise the importance of categorising.
Trust XL Recordings to bring out something so inventive.
vbo
