David Bowie – ★ (Blackstar)

Just two years after his number one record "The Next Day", David Bowie's new album "Blackstar" is being released. And as with its predecessor, the release date of January 8th coincides with the singer's birthday - his 69th.

Bowie presents a total of seven new songs on "Blackstar", which, as we have come to expect from his albums, have little to do with his previous records. While "The Next Day" was a musical career retrospective in terms of Bowie's styles, this time he ventures a 42-minute excursion into jazz with "Blackstar".

To do so, he quickly grabbed the local jazz elite and took them to New York's "The Magic Shop" studio, where he produced the album together with Tony Visconti.

In addition to jazz, other influences can also be heard on "Blackstar": electronica, dubstep and, of course, pop. According to co-producer Visconti in an interview with Rolling Stone, rapper Kendrick Lamar can also be heard, whose last album "To Pimp A Butterfly", like Bowie's records, was influenced by numerous different styles.

A first taste of "Blackstar" was released on November 20, 2015 with the title track. Here, pop elements meet jazzy saxophone, marching drums and a hint of Gregorian chant. Bowie's voice is almost on the same level as the instruments. The result is a spherical and hypnotic whole that gradually casts a spell over you with its monumental nine minutes and 57 seconds.

The accompanying video, which can probably be described as a short film due to the length of the song, was shot by none other than Johan Renck, who has already directed the series "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead".

With "Blackstar", David Bowie reinvented himself one last time - we would have expected nothing less from him. The album is further testimony to his genius and cross-genre creativity.

Genre: Pop & Rock

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