‘Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti’ is a dynamic and dreamy 16-minute masterpiece highlighting the Brooklyn duo’s singular sound, and one that sees them continuing to hone those attributes that lend them such a unique voice – and a special space – in the greater indie rock space.
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‘Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti’
Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker seem eager to pass off as much credit as they can to their all-star producer – and that’s noble of them – but there’s no denying Daisy the Great’s real greatness on their fourth EP. Released at September’s end via S-Curve Records, Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti is a dynamic and dreamy 16-minute masterpiece highlighting the Brooklyn duo’s singular sound, and one that sees them continuing to hone those attributes that lend them such a unique voice – and a special space – in the greater indie rock and alternative music space.
I wonder how the time would pass
If I was never keeping track
Go and spin my body round til I fall down
But I keep looking back
All the people in the city know
How to worry about the kisses and the fights
They saw it on a TV show
They cry when the day becomes the night
– “All the People,” Daisy the Great
Of their new project, the duo explain, “Tony Visconti is the kind of legendary producer you never think you’ll get to meet, let alone work with. He’s produced so many of our favorite records by our favorite artists. Any time people ask us who our greatest influences are, David Bowie is usually our first answer. He and Tony created so many iconic works full of personality, liveliness, and grit. Tony has such a good ear and specific flavor to his work. He is able to make things sound so alive and full without sounding muddy. Collaborating together was a huge bucket list moment.”
It’s true that 80-year-old Tony Visconti is a living legend in his own right, boasting an acclaimed 50+ year career producing music that continues to endure the test of time. He is responsible for a vast majority of David Bowie’s early, seminal albums from the late ‘60s and the mid-late ‘70s, and after the two reconnected in the 2000s, he produced Bowie’s final four albums, including the Grammy-winning Blackstar. However, his resume extends well beyond the Thin White Duke and includes work with everyone from T. Rex and The Moody Blues, to Paul McCartney (and Wings), Morrissey, and Fall Out Boy – among many, many others, Daisy the Great now included.
“We met Tony by chance last year when we went on our first ever European tour,” Daisy the Great share. “One of our tour stops was playing Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, where we were also nominated for the best new artist ‘Anchor Award.’ It turned out that Tony was the head judge (of many insanely cool judges) of the awards, and he’d seen our whole set the night before as well and was interested in working together. We were obviously cheesed and freaking out.”
“When we got back to the city, we hit him up and started writing songs together. We wrote these five songs over the course of this year and recorded them in a very natural and independent way pretty quickly after writing them. We recorded guitars and vocals in Tony’s studio in Chelsea and drums in Mina’s partner’s basement in Bushwick. This has been such a special opportunity, and we are so grateful that this project exists.”
Strange to be so out of line
Nothing to remind
Someday you’re gonna die
Someday I’m gonna
All the people in the city know
How to worry about the kisses and the fights
They saw it on a TV show
They cry when the day becomes the night
It may have a ‘versus’ in its title, but Spectacle is all collaboration and absolutely no contention. The five-track EP deserves to be listened to in its entirety, as Daisy the Great rise and fall triumphantly over the course of sixteen spellbinding, soul-stirring minutes.
That journey begins with “All the People,” an immersive, enchanting, and beautifully expressive blend of Daisy the Great’s folk and rock sides that dwells in a space of introspection and yearning for freedom – a kind of release that we can only dream of achieving.
“‘All The People’ was the first song we wrote together with Tony Visconti,” Dugan Mina Walker tell Atwood Magazine. “We really didn’t have any expectations or plan when we started writing, but this song came out and shaped what would ultimately become this collaboration EP. It’s about wondering how you would live if you could forget about the constancy of time passing. Mina had the words, ‘I wonder how the time would pass, if I was never keeping track,’ so we started there. As we were writing, we started to hear the rumblings of a really epic bridge section in the back of our minds, and Tony kicked it off with this gorgeous, giant-feeling chord progression. We yelled over it until we came up with the ‘ARE YOU SO BUSY…running away from running out of time…’ section. We love that bridge.”
“The song as a whole was so much fun to write, and we’re so proud of it. It’s dramatic and pretty and has a ‘70s glam rock vibe that we’re obsessed with. Tony shredded bass and some guitar on the track, and Nardo and Matti played guitars and live drums. Tony also has a beautiful grand piano at his studio that Kelley played for this song. We also made a music video for this song running around NYC in our boxing gloves. We shot it all one night from 6 PM to 2 AM. The video was directed by James Dayton, who also directed the music video for our song ‘I’m Fine’ in 2019.”
Are you so busy running away
from running out of timе?
The curtains open up
The sky is a countdown clock
And еverybody knows
Everybody knows
From the existential longing and glitzy glam rock charm of “All the People” to the warmth and wonder of “Pretty Painting,” the restlessness and fervor of “Butterfly, Stay Dry,” the hypnosis of “Spectacle,” and the intimate enchantment of “Fireman!” (which concludes the EP on a definitive high), Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti is not only a notch on Daisy the Great’s belt, but also a captivatingly creative achievement for the NYC duo.
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“All the People” – Daisy the Great
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© Alistair Barrell
© Alistair Barrell
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