Afropop star Angélique Kidjo will debut a “thrilling new version” of the Talking Heads’ landmark 1980 album Remain in Light at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in May, then will take the show on the road, performing the album at Bonnaroo and on a yet-to-be-announced world tour.
She’ll also release a full-album recording of her version of Remain in Light at some point in the future, according to a news release announcing the project.
Kidjo says of her decision to re-imagine the Talking Heads classic:
“As Remain In Light was influenced by the music of my continent, I want to pay back the homage and create my own African take on Talking Heads songs. We all know that rock music came from the blues and thus from Africa. Now is the time to bring rock back to Africa, connect our minds and bring all our sounds to a new level of sharing and understanding.”
The Carnegie Hall performance is set for May 5, and tickets already are on sale. Aside from her June 8 appearance at Bonnaroo, no other dates have been announced.
Released on Oct. 8, 1980, Remain in Light is the fourth Heads’ LP, and found the group and producer Brian Eno diving deep into African polyrhythms, funk, and samples and loops. The record spawned one of the band’s best-known hits: “Once in a Lifetime.”
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Vintage Video: Talking Heads talk, and perform, on UK’s ‘South Bank Show’ in 1979
- Watch: Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz talk Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club in 2½-hour lecture
- Vintage Video: Newly surfaced Talking Heads concert from 1980’s ‘Remain in Light’ tour
- Hear a newly unearthed Talking Heads song from 1976: ‘We call it Theme’
- Vintage Video: Talking Heads live in 1978 — watch 80-minute ‘More Songs’-era set
