David Byrne has just released set of videos, one titled “American Utopia: Detroit” and the other a video for “Everybody’s Coming to My House” from his recently released solo album American Utopia, featuring a performance of the song by Detroit School of Arts (DSA) Vocal Jazz Ensemble students.
“American Utopia: Detroit,” which includes personal perspectives and interpretations from the students, was filmed in part by their classmates from the school’s Radio & Television Department. With the help of their beloved teacher Ms. Valentine, the Vocal Jazz Ensemble makes “Everybody’s Coming to My House” their own.
“When I saw what the DSA students did with my song, it completely changed the way I thought of it. In fact, it changed the meaning of the song—I realized it was about inclusion, welcoming, and not being alone. It’s a more generous interpretation of the song than what I do with my voice,” Byrne said of the video in a statement. “We ARE all in the same house—if we want to be. Just goes to show how a song can change (radically!) depending on who is singing it.”
In addition to the official “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” the short film highlights how the DSA students became involved in the project as well as their rehearsal of the song at the home of their music teacher Mrs. Valentine. “When I first heard it… I literally said, um Miss V…. what are we supposed to do with this?!”, explained eleventh grader vocal majors Ivon Harris & Katarina Johnson. Their classmate Justin Malone continued, “Half of us were like, “Oh…this song is okay.” And then a quarter of us were like “…OMG who did this?!” And then we actually read the sheet music, and did it, it felt like a moment of togetherness.”
According to the statement, the “American Utopia: Detroit” video crew was joined by Kandi Alexander and Malik Singleton, two students who are passionate about filmmaking and prominent in the school’s radio and television department. The students helped to produce the video, participating in workshops hosted by the professional producers and camera crew. The final result of the entire run time is approximately 30% student camera work, with the other footage shot by a group of aspiring young filmmakers living in Detroit.
Check out the set of videos below.
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