Summertime Sadness – Lana Del Rey

Trust Lana Del Rey to put a positively depressing spin on your summer playlist. But in fact, it is refreshing to find something as dark and melancholy as ‘Summertime Sadness’ in a chart full of banging party tunes clamouring for a summer smash. Officially the single was released over a year ago, but thanks to some excellent remixes (see the Cedric Gervais version below) and some seasonal promotion, the trip hop ballad track has been bouncing around the UK Top 40 for some time now.

‘Summertime Sadness’ was written by the singer-songwriter and her long-time collaborator Rick Nowels, the Grammy and Ivor Novello-winning songwriter whose credits include Madonna, Marina and the Diamonds and Nelly Furtado, as well as working on other Born to Die tracks ‘Young and Beautiful’ and ‘Lucky Ones’ .

As always with Lana Del Rey, the track is heavily produced, layered and rich with strings and soundscapes – elements of the wild west creep in to this track with twangy electric guitar riffs. Production was handled by Nowels as well as Eminem Recovery producer Emile Haynie. Beats move through an intriguing progression of marching rhythms that break into a happy upbeat rhythm for the post-chorus hook (‘I got that summertime sadness’) which gives a jaunty feel to the whole record.

As a slow and long 4 and a half minute job, lyrically the song has time to shine. Del Rey captures the frivolity and fun of summer in the verses (‘High heels off i’m feeling alive’) which jars with heartbreak in the chorus (‘Kiss me hard before you go’) . Perfect material for all those miserable bastards that want to stay inside with the air con on.

AlunaGeorge on Songwriting

A magical combination of Aluna Francis’ vocals, supported by the complex rhythmic beats and superb production skills of George Reid: it can only be the electronic r’n’b duo AlunaGeorge. Their huge hit ‘White Noise’ (a Disclosure collaboration) was swiftly followed by the enchanting single ‘Attracting Flies’.

The pairing apparently came about when George remixed a track from Aluna’s former band. As Aluna explains, “I really wanted to find a home for my voice. I knew I wasn’t a strong belter… I wanted something that wasn’t already stamped with what you’d expect the vocals to sound like: a blend of strong songwriting and strange futuristic beats.”

Reid has expressed pride at the fact that the pair “wrote an album that started in my bedroom studio.” While Francis said of the writing process for Body Music that, “It got to a point where we felt comfortable enough to bring some of our personal stories into the album”

And it’s the personal touch that really sets AlunaGeorge apart, because whilst their vibe perfectly chimes with the electronica trend du jour, the lyrics speak from the heart. Not to mention the fact that they come up with some seriously killer hooks, it’s no wonder that AlunaGeorge are no longer just ‘next big thing’ but have well and truly made their mark on the music scene.

 

Source: Metro Life & Style – Arwa Haider interview

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