Marc Lowe to release Bowie tribute album and will return to this blog in new interview Saturday!
Marc Lowe is a multi-talented musician and educator living in Japan. A “friend of the blog,” Marc and I have had several discussions about Bowie, usually related to the 1995 album 1. Outside. Indeed, Marc recorded an entire tribute album inspired by 1. Outside called Lost in the Minotaur’s Lair last year, and is slated to release a second album, Some Kind of Future 2.0 later this week before returning to this blog for an interview on Saturday.
Marc has covered Bowie songs both in a straightforward, recognizable manner and also by using the original songs as starting points and coming up with something that, in the end is very different. These two Outside tributes are of this latter category. Marc was good enough to share with me an advanced recording of Some Kind of Future 2.0. It demands the full attention of its audience. I found listening to it almost like reading a book– it isn’t meant as background music or a nostalgic reinterpretation of songs from our youth. There are a lot of Bowie tributes this week, the week of both his 78th birthday and the 9th anniversary of his death. Accordingly, I thought it was fitting to draw attention to a totally new album inspired by Bowie.
Marc Lowe is not a famous musician, but he’s very talented and very creative. His albums (at least these two) probably won’t work for those who most like Bowie because of, say, Labyrinth or Let’s Dance, but if you liked 1. Outside and Blackstar but thought maybe those albums weren’t quite dark enough, well then you’ll like Lost in the Minotaur’s Lair and Some Kind of Future 2.0. And as a special added bonus, you’ll hear my voice on the new album (though don’t worry, I don’t sing on it!)
Marc and I discuss all this and more in an interview that I’ll post on Saturday, so come back for that.
Marc’s 1. Outside tribute LP Some Kind of Future 2.0 is now available from BandCamp (click on the title to link), and will soon also be on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major streaming services. Last year’s Lost In the Minotaur’s Lair tribute is also currently available on streaming services everywhere, and it can also be downloaded in high-quality formats via Marc’s BandCamp page.
