David Byrne: Braz Girls & Dark Was The Night

David Byrne

Like the other artists on the bill - Bon Iver, Dave Sitek, Dirty Projectors, Feist, My Brightest Diamond, The National and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Byrne will perform his track from the Dark Was The Night album in the first half of the show. The National's Aaron Dessner explained the format of the show to Pitchfork in a recent news feature: "We're going to have two halves (of the show). The first half will be songs from Dark Was the Night, and then there will be a short intermission. And then afterwards, there will be mini-sets by different artists and collaborations, both things that relate to Dark Was the Night and some that don't."

The Dark Was the Night compilation was released by 4AD on February 17 of 2009, and was produced by Aaron & Bryce Dessner of The National. The compilation, comprised of 31 exclusive tracks, benefits the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture.

Dark Was the Night which received a stunning 8.6 review in Pitchfork's "Best New Music" section and was described by Entertainment Weekly in their lead review (A-) as a "satisfying smorgasbord," debuted at #49 on the Billboard charts and remains in the top 200 more than a month after release, selling over 40,000 copies to date.

Dark Was The Night track list:

THIS DISC:
1 Knotty Pine - Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) - The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) - Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI - Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea - Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend - The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope - Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) - My Brightest Diamond
9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) - Kronos Quartet
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) - Antony + Bryce Dessner
11 Big Red Machine - Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12 Sleepless - The Decemberists
13 Stolen Houses (Die) - Iron and Wine
14 Service Bell - Grizzly Bear + Feist
15 You Are The Blood - Sufjan Stevens

THAT DISC
1 Well-Alright - Spoon
2 Lenin - Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan - Beirut
4 El Caporal - My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) - Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) - Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) - The New Pornographers
9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) - Yo La Tengo
10 Another Saturday (traditional song) - Stuart Murdoch
11 Happiness - Riceboy Sleeps
12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) - Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) - Andrew Bird
14 Lua - Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch
15 When the Road Runs Out - Blonde Redhead + Devastations
16 Love vs. Porn - Kevin Drew

In other David Byrne news, the legendary Talking Head frontman has also teamed-up with the Grammy-nominated Brazilian Girls to release an English-language version of the song "Losing Myself." Byrne duets with lead singer Sabina Sciubba on the new version of the song, available exclusively through iTunes. You can also hear the song at www.braziliangirls.

Sciubba explains that the song is "a journey through New York City's subway, streets, crowds, nights and clubs. Everywhere you go, you leave something behind: your scarf, a shoe, a memory, your money, an ear, your friends, your head... until you end up being light as a feather and you have nothing left but your freedom."

The original version of the song, recorded in French, was released last summer on the Brazilian Girls latest full length album New York City (Verve Forecast). The Grammy-nominated album was applauded by critics, with The New York Times declaring it "a benediction, or a prayer, from an analog limbo," and Variety proclaiming them "the only dance band that matters."

To buy "I'm Losing Myself" visit iTunes.