Carla Bruni, Vivian Girls sign on for new David Bowie tribute album

LA-based record label Manimal Vinyl have announced their third and possibly final tribute album, to none other than the Thin White Duke himself, David Bowie. It follows on from previous projects dedicated to Madonna and The Cure, and though they’re famed for championing underground and experimental titles, the label’s rather lovely lineup features a well-balanced roster of recognisable and more obscure names, including a number of top notch female artists worthy of mention.

France’s first lady Carla Bruni will cover ‘Absolute Beginners’, Manimal alumni Warpaint will sing ‘Ashes To Ashes’ and punk favourites Vivian Girls will add their own brash magic to ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’. Other female acts include Keren Ann, Chairlift, Caroline Weeks, Lights and The Chapin Sisters to name but a few.

The album is due for release in May, though the label has promised tantalisingly that “tracks will start leaking around 15th February”. Like all great tribute albums (hint hint), the project is not just an ode to the artist, but a means of creating positive change in their name. In this case, 100% of the net profits will go to War Child UK, a branch of the international charity for children affected by war.

UPDATE: The album now has a name, We Were So Turned On, and a confirmed release date of September 6. Final tracklist below, now with added Mechanical Bride (yay) but without The Chapin Sisters and Ariana Delawari (boo):

CD1
01 Exitmusic, ‘Space Oddity’
02 Duran Duran, ‘Boys Keep Swinging’
03 Megapuss, ‘Sound + Vision’
04 Warpaint, ‘Ashes To Ashes’
05 Corridor, ‘Be My Wife’
06 Chairlift, ‘Always Crashing In The Same Car’
07 Vivian Girls, ‘John, I’m Only Dancing’
08 All Leather, ‘Fame’
09 We Are The World, ‘Afraid Of Americans’
10 A Place To Bury Strangers, ‘Suffragette City’
11 Tearist, ‘Repetition’
12 Halloween Swim Team, ‘Look Back In Anger’
13 Afghan Raiders, ‘Fashion’
14 The Polyamorous Affair, ‘Theme From Cat People’
15 Swahili Blonde feat. John Frusciante, ‘Red Money’
16 Jessica 6, ‘I’m Deranged’
17 Aska with Moon & Moon, ‘African Night Flight’
18 Xu Xu Fang, ‘China Girl’

CD2
01 VOICEsVOICEs, ‘Heroes’
02 Carla Bruni, ‘Absolute Beginners’
03 Papercranes, ‘Blue Jean’
04 Keren Ann, ‘Life On Mars?’
05 Lewis & Clarke, ‘Changes’
06 Zaza, ‘It Aint Easy’
07 Genuflex, ‘Soul Love’
08 Sister Crayon, ‘Bewley Brothers’
09 Marco Benevento, ‘Art Decade’
10 Mick Karn, ‘Ashes To Ashes’
11 Lights, ‘World Falls Down’
12 Aquaserge, ‘The Superman’
13 Caroline Weeks, ‘Starman’
14 Rainbow Arabia, ‘Quicksand’
15 Mechanical Bride, ‘Sound + Vision’
16 Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, ‘Memory Of A Free Festival’

Additional contributions are expected from MGMT and Soulwax but the songs themselves have not yet been confirmed. Neither band will appear on the compilation.

Tagged carla bruni, caroline weeks, chairlift, keren ann, LIGHTS, mechanical bride, vivian girls, VOICEsVOICEs, warpaint