Post-punk titans Bauhaus have returned with their first new bit of music since 2008's Go Away White. They've marked their return with "Drink the New Wine," which came together remotely in an "exquisite corpse" fashion, according to a release.
"'Drink the New Wine' was recorded last year during lockdown with the four members sharing audio files. The track employs the Surrealists' 'Exquisite Corpse' device whereby each artist adds to the piece without seeing what the others have done," the band explained of the process in a statement.
They continued:
Bauhaus have used this technique in the past to great effect. The title refers to the very first Cadavre exquis' drawing rendered by André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Prévert and Yves Tanguy which included words which when strung together made up the sentence, "Le cadavre exquis boiara le vin nouveau" ("The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine"). For the recording, the four musicians each had one minute and eight tracks at their disposal plus a shared sixty seconds plus four tracks for a composite at the end. All done without hearing what the others had laid down. The only common link being a prerecorded beat courtesy of Kevin. The final playback came as synchronistic revelation.
The single has yet to be attached to any forthcoming body of work, though the band have lined up several tour dates in May, so fans might get to hear the new material live soon enough. So far, no Canadian shows have been announced.
Listen to "Drink the New Wine" below.
"'Drink the New Wine' was recorded last year during lockdown with the four members sharing audio files. The track employs the Surrealists' 'Exquisite Corpse' device whereby each artist adds to the piece without seeing what the others have done," the band explained of the process in a statement.
They continued:
Bauhaus have used this technique in the past to great effect. The title refers to the very first Cadavre exquis' drawing rendered by André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Prévert and Yves Tanguy which included words which when strung together made up the sentence, "Le cadavre exquis boiara le vin nouveau" ("The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine"). For the recording, the four musicians each had one minute and eight tracks at their disposal plus a shared sixty seconds plus four tracks for a composite at the end. All done without hearing what the others had laid down. The only common link being a prerecorded beat courtesy of Kevin. The final playback came as synchronistic revelation.
The single has yet to be attached to any forthcoming body of work, though the band have lined up several tour dates in May, so fans might get to hear the new material live soon enough. So far, no Canadian shows have been announced.
Listen to "Drink the New Wine" below.
