Listen to the album below!
Image: Yoko Ono.
To celebrate the 89th birthday of multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and activist Yoko Ono, Death Cab for Cutie frontman and songwriter Benjamin Gibbard has curated a new compilation body of work that celebrates the artists life, dubbed Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono.
The album features 14 all-new versions of Ono’s tracks, reimagined by a bevy of artists in all stages of their careers. Featuring performances from Ono’s previous collaborators Deerhoof, The Flaming Lips and Yo La Tengo, the record also enlists Sharon Van Etten, David Byrne, Death Cab for Cutie, US Girls, Japanese Breakfast, Jay Som, Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields), Thao, Sudan Archives, We Are KING, and Amber Coffman.
“Yoko makes art that teaches all of us that peace is possible.” Gibbard adds the album “was born out of both love and frustration. The ‘love’ part is pretty obvious; It is the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration and enjoyment YokoOno’s music has provided me and I must assume everyone else present here on this compilation. The ‘frustration’ part, on the other hand, goes back decades.
“As an advocate, the tallest hurdle to clear has always been the public’s ignorance as to the breadth of Yoko’s work. To put it into context; This is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. For years, it has been my position that her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication and deep introspection.
A portion of the album’s proceeds will be donated to WhyHunger, a non-profit organisation. Ono has supported the organisation throughout her life and their efforts to transform our food system by building social justice and striking at the root causes of hunger and poverty.
Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono is out now!