A few days ago, we posted about Sin Mucho Sentido, a LATAM tribute to Talking Heads based on their milestone film/live album Stop Making Sense. As noted by our own Sara Skolnick, it reaffirms the band’s pervasive influence on the counterculture. Listening to this version of “Swamp” on Sin Mucho Sentido exemplify this assertion.
Chilean beatmaker El Sueño De La Casa Propia takes the bluesy phrases of the original and turns them on its head, with a swinging hip-hop beat replacing the head nodding shuffle rhythm. ESDLCP is aided by self-confessed Gillette enthusiast La Entropica to handle the vocals, and it works like a charm. The music features some retro-electro stabs and even throws what sound like nods to Prince in there for good measure.
Although it’s safe to say that the track got some work done, the essence remains, and what shines are all the microscopic fusions David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison made with their music that connected with their essence and roots. Through Entropica’s voice we can trace the melody from the Mississippi Delta to the African savannah, and even some Caribbean flavor. It also sounds like it would have made a killer ’80s Def Jam hook.
Download this exclusive track here.