We Are KING – “Space Oddity” (David Bowie Cover)

We Are KING – “Space Oddity” (David Bowie Cover)

A new David Bowie tribute album is on the way. In May, the British label BBE will release Modern Love, assembled by DJ and executive Drew McFadden and label founder Peter Adarkwah. It’s designed to spotlight the influence of Black music within Bowie’s catalog. Artists with songs on the album include Khruangbin, Helado Negro, Jeff Parker, L’Rain, Bullion, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Meshell Ndegeocello, and more. And today, on Bowie’s birthday, We Are KING’s version of “Space Oddity” has been released as the lead single.

McFadden offered this statement:

I felt that the connection between Bowie and R&B, jazz, funk, gospel and all things soulful, had never really been explored before — at least not so much in covers, which tend to lean more towards rock and pop. Certainly, there’s been plenty of Bowie covers over the years, but none that have really tapped into what seems to have been a big part of his core musical style and direction.

We Are KING — formerly known as KING and now pared down from a trio to the duo of Amber and Paris Strother — also chimed in on their choice of material: “There were so many amazing Bowie compositions to choose from but ‘Space Oddity’ has always been our favorite. It’s so visual; it has always felt like time travel in a song.” Hear their cover below and get more info about the comp here.

Modern Love is out 5/28 on BBE. Here’s the cover art:

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