New DoM David Bowie/Joy Division Mashup: “Heroes in the Atmosphere”

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This blog has been active since 2018, however it gained new vitality this year after a French mashup artist who goes by DoM found an old post of mine featuring his mashup of “Suffragette City” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” He DMed me that he liked my post. We exchanged messages and I asked what he would think if I interviewed him. He agreed, and his was the first interview I posted on the blog, back in early February. Since then, there’s been an interview every Saturday and the interviews have driven up interest in a way that this blog has never experienced before. So if you are aware that this blog exists at all, you can thank DoM. And now there’s another reason to thank DoM— this phenomenal mashup of Bowie’s “Heroes” and Joy Division’s “Atmosphere.”

The astonishing thing about DoM’s mashups is that they sound like this is the song. I have heard other mashups, some of which are clever and some of which fall flat, but almost everything else I’ve heard by someone other than DoM sound like two songs grafted together. What DoM consistently produces are new songs. His collaborator here, Minor Arth, does an equally amazing job with the visual elements. He uses archival footage, some of which I’ve never seen, to create a video that once again looks like this is what is and always has been what its supposed to be. Don’t just listen to this in the background— watch the video.

I found myself unconsciously holding my chest while watching this. It’s that amazing. These mashups are one of innovations that comes as close as we’re going to get to a new Bowie song (I’m also thinking of the reinterpretations of Sébastien Bédé, which are different but also have the feel of something new).

In addition to the flawless integration of Bowie’s vocals with Joy Division’s instrumentals, the vocals come across as clearer than in the original song. So this is another way in which the end result sounds new. (By the way, how does he hear the connection in the first place? I don’t hear the one song and think of the other, but it’s a perfect marriage).

Anyway, this is just amazing, amazing stuff. If DoM keeps hearing the connections, I hope he keeps making the mashups. I’ll keep listening!