Slovenian avant-garde group Laibach is back with another cut from their upcoming album The Sound of Music. In case you were thinking it’s just a coincidence that the album shares a title with the beloved American musical, you’d be wrong. It’s literally a song-by-song reinterpretation of the soundtrack and it’s out on November 23. Today, just a few days away from the album’s release, the group has shared a new video for the song “The Lonely Goatherd.”
The video for “The Lonely Goatherd” was directed by Sašo Podgoršek, who is known for a variety of directorial works but also for his documentary featuring the band, Laibach: Divided States of America. That documentary was filmed by the band during their 2004 tour of the United States, just after the 2004 elections that found a very polarized country re-electing President George W. Bush. The video stars Milan Fras as the the titular goatherd, while Boris Benko (who’s a guest vocalist on the track) plays the hunter. The video features highly-synchronized choreography with troupe of young girl dancers.
The story of the song, for those that don’t remember from the film, is that of a goatherd who yodels in the hills and is overheard. While Laibach’s videos does offer some literal representation of this story, their interpretation provides the opportunity for reinterpretation.
In addition to the new video, the band has announced a 2019 tour behind the album. While none of the dates announced so far find them in North America, they’ll be performing all across Europe between February and March. Joining the band on the road will be guest vocalists Benko (from this song) and Marina Martensson.
So why are Laibach releasing a full cover of the movie soundtrack? It all dates back to 2015 when the band was invited to North Korea for a performance — a rock concert is not a common occurrence in the “hermit nation,” so the band had to choose their set wisely to connect with the audience. That led them to performing several selections from The Sound of Music, which is one of the few Western films that are beloved in North Korea and is used in the country to teach the children English.
Laibach The Sound of Music Tour
02/23 – Brno, Czech Republic – Fleda
02/24 – Warsaw, Poland – Stary Klasztor
02/25 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
02/26 – Leipzig, Germany – Schauspielhaus
02/27 – Frankfurt, Germany – Mousonturm
03/01 – London, England – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
03/03 – Glasgow, Scotland – SWG3
03/06 – Hamburg, Germany – Kampnagel
03/07 – Rostock, Germany – Volkstheater
03/08 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Kulturhuset
03/09 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Pustervik
03/10 – Stockholm, Sweden – Kägelbanan Södra Teatern
03/12 – Tampere, Finland – Pakkahuone
03/13 – Helsinki, Finland – The Circus
03/15 – Oslo, Norway – Vulkan
03/17 – Berlin, Germany – Admiralspalast
03/18 – Munich, Germany – Muffathalle
03/20 – Nuremberg, Germany – Z-Bau
03/21 – The Hague, Netherlands – Paard
03/22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
03/29 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Les Docks
03/30 – Winterthur, Switzerland – Gaswerk
03/31 – Milan, Italy – Santeria Social Club
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