Ascending Melody: Dirty Projectors - "Climax" @ Triple J (Usher & Diplo)
I first discovered Brooklyn's premier Indie Rock experimentalists, Dirty Projectors, quite a few years ago; Right around the same time that frontman Dave Longstreth decided to re-record an entire Black Flag record from memory (2007). The band's line-up seems to morph/permeate a little bit with each album and has previously included cats like Angel Deradoorian, Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend), Adam Forkner, and former-drummer Brian McOmber. Dirty Projectors-13's latest line-up consists of Longstreth, Nat Baldwin, Michael Johnson, and the sultry 3-part harmonies of Amber Coffman/Haley Dekle/
Dirty Projectors are currently over in Australia, touring behind their latest album, Swing Lo Magellan (2012). Dave Longstreth and the girls stopped by Triple J [radio] on their day off... where they performed a laid-back rendition of Usher's recent Electro-R&B smash, "Climax" as part of the station's notorious Like a Version series. It's mildly reminiscent of their a capella take of "When The World Comes to an End" backstage @ Fallon or breath-taking Roots-assisting album opener, "A Peace of Light." When compared side-by-side against either Usher Raymond's original recording or even Dave Sitek's glitched out remix, Dirty Projector's spirited "Climax" cover really manages to hold it's own! The stripped down 808 drum-based instrumental let's Longstreth/Coffman's smooth, complimentary vocals, which add another layer of depth [emotion], shine through. But check out Dave Longstreth's latest creation, "Hi Custodian," a 20-minute short film and companion piece to Swing Lo Magellan. It's a surreal narrative about life, death, and spiritual re-birth that was inspired by Purple Rain/Runaway, which co-stars his fellow Dirty Projectors in various roles. The film has since been broken down into 4 shorter music videos: "The Socialites," "Swing Lo Magellan," "Offspring Are Blank," and "About to Die."