Sufjan Stevens and The National’s Matt Berninger and the Dessner brothers have got together and recorded a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Memories’.
The song was recorded in 2016 as a wedding present for Bryce Dessner and his wife Pauline. It appears on the PEOPLE database of rare and unreleased music. For the uninitiated, PEOPLE is an artist collective formed by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and the Dessner brothers and there’s a hell of a lot of music to plough through.
Among the rarities are an EP from Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine project, instrumental music from The National and music from Nico Muhly, Poliça, Francis Starlite and many others.
And that Leonard Cohen cover? Well, it’s certainly more understated than the widescreen Phil Spector-produced original, but by the same token it captures its spirit well and makes for a very decent listen.
Meanwhile, PEOPLE have announced that they’re staging their second music festival in Berlin, Germany, this summer on 18 and 19 August. Set to feature over 160 acts, the organisers aren’t actually revealing the line-up until you get there.
“We want this experience to be full of wonder and surprise,” they say. “Follow your feet and always trust that you will be right where you are supposed to be.”
And those 160 artists? Any hints?
“Some artists you have not heard before and ones you know every song of”
Right. Still, based on their database, we’ve got a feeling we can take them at their word.
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