In the final days of 2013, School of Seven Bells member Benjamin Curtis tragically lost his battle with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma at the age of 35. Next Tuesday (June 24), the final track the producer-guitarist ever worked on is set to be released digitally.
The song in question is a cover of "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)" by Joey Ramone. It's no wonder that Curtis was drawn to the track, since it's about being in hospital; Curtis recorded it while in Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.
"It was a very spontaneous decision to record this track," said School of Seven Bells singer Alejandra Deheza in a statement. "Benjamin had been talking about the song a lot, and then he just decided he was going to do it. We couldn't record vocals in the hospital, so he actually FaceTimed with me and his brother while we recorded vocals in the studio. He spearheaded the whole thing on FaceTime, would even tell us which knobs to turn and listen to levels etc. We'd even see nurses in the background from time to time! It was really amazing. But that was Benjamin, and producing was what he did. It was therapeutic and took his mind off being really sick. This song was really important to him and I'm happy we were able to record it."
The song will get a video from longtime friends of the band, Toby Halbrooks and Alan Del Rio Ortiz. It was filmed during a road trip with stops in Joshua Tree National Park and Indio, CA. It's apparently a celebration of life, and the locations were chosen because of Curtis' affinity for the desert.
The video will premiere on June 25, the day after the song is released. Below, watch a 15-second clip; this will give you a taste of School of Seven Bells' shoegaze-flavoured interpretation of the song.
The song in question is a cover of "I Got Knocked Down (But I'll Get Up)" by Joey Ramone. It's no wonder that Curtis was drawn to the track, since it's about being in hospital; Curtis recorded it while in Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York.
"It was a very spontaneous decision to record this track," said School of Seven Bells singer Alejandra Deheza in a statement. "Benjamin had been talking about the song a lot, and then he just decided he was going to do it. We couldn't record vocals in the hospital, so he actually FaceTimed with me and his brother while we recorded vocals in the studio. He spearheaded the whole thing on FaceTime, would even tell us which knobs to turn and listen to levels etc. We'd even see nurses in the background from time to time! It was really amazing. But that was Benjamin, and producing was what he did. It was therapeutic and took his mind off being really sick. This song was really important to him and I'm happy we were able to record it."
The song will get a video from longtime friends of the band, Toby Halbrooks and Alan Del Rio Ortiz. It was filmed during a road trip with stops in Joshua Tree National Park and Indio, CA. It's apparently a celebration of life, and the locations were chosen because of Curtis' affinity for the desert.
The video will premiere on June 25, the day after the song is released. Below, watch a 15-second clip; this will give you a taste of School of Seven Bells' shoegaze-flavoured interpretation of the song.
