3 months before the new album; the journey continues here...
new album: LINGO: LIFE LEGEND LOST
The first "b-side" from the first additional E.P. AMERICAN GIRL has arrived! Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence", recorded in the belfry of an abandoned church during the winter of 2017/2018.
The E.P. releases August 3rd, and can now be pre-ordered here.
The full E.P. will also be available as a playlist on YouTube. To follow, or subscribe to the official #JK channel, please, click >>>here.
The full E.P. will also be available as a playlist on YouTube. To follow, or subscribe to the official #JK channel, please, click >>>here.
Covers albums are usually a chance for a singer to let their hair down a little, a creative break while they wait for new ideas to come along.
Trust Jean Koning to do it differently. The concept behind LINGO: LIFE LEGEND LOST is that all the songs were written by musicians who we've lost between January 2016 and December 2017, all the songs were written during some political or social turmoil, all songs are considered classics, however have very little connection with the current teenagers, wandering aimlessly the planet, facing doubt, racism, and a false sense of connection. All these songs are now reinterpreted by one of the most original musicians around.
"I took the lyrics of these songs and tried to interpreted them as very now. What would the song sound like if it were written today? They're basically very simple songs, and yet, very dark ones too. They contain more resistance, anger, empathy and comfort than any of the songs written and released today. This is my reaction to the soulless, detached internet age, which pushes everybody into a one size fits all life. This is me struggling against anonymity and the invisibility of today's everyday life.
In real life, people are never presented with a one size fits all audience or lifestyle. This only happens online. But online is a place where we spend a little too much time. So, it's time to resist. Or at least a mild form of resistance. I don't want to be reduced to being merely a friend or a follower. I don't want to be encouraged to share only that one thing that is the most interesting in other people's eyes. And with eyes, I obviously mean their telephone screens."
So, we get the George Michael's 'One More Try', David Bowie's 'Heroes', Leonard Cohen's 'A Singer Must Die' and a host of other well-known songs with murder, obsession and betrayal as their subject matter. Koning succeeds brilliantly in giving this familiar material some interesting new twists and the result is a fascinating album that confirms him as one of the most original thinkers in modern pop.
photo by S.T. Vacirca |