If you have been missing Karen O’s vocals (and who hasn’t) you need not worry. Her most recent collaboration with Parquet Courts and composer Daniele Luppi will satisfy your soul. They just released a new video for “Talisa” from the Milano album. The video showcases a provocative photographer and two adoring models who allure the cameraman with their posing and end takes.
The video begins with a man pulling up in his car and entering a modern apartment. Karen O’s vocals guide the video in a sultry manner as the man asks the two women, “Are you ready?” The one woman responds in subtitles, “We’ve been ready for over an hour.” He then proceeds to drink a glass of wine and take off his shoes. We then learn this is a photo shoot and the two models strike a pose, while Karen O’s voice teases us with lyrics, “Talisa, pop goes those bulbs.”
This is not the first collaboration with Karen O, Parquet Courts and Daniele Luppi. In fact, they released an album, Milano which was produced by Luppi and released on October 27, 2017 on 30th Century Records and Columbia Records. The album features several lead vocal contributions from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ singer Karen O. The concept album is complete with songs that are fictionalized stories about misfits, fashionistas, outcasts and junkies in mid-1980’s Milan.
Daniele teamed up with Parquet Courts and Yeah Yeah Yeahs vocalist Karen O to help deliver his vision of an emerging youth culture struggling to be heard amidst the rapid gentrification of old Milan. The song “Soul and Cigarette” is a tribute to Milanese poet Alda Merini who is an Italian poet and writer. Merini’s writing style is described as intense and some poems concern her time in a mental home and are often of a long and dramatic nature. She explores the “otherness” of madness as part of creative expression.
Parquet Courts is an American band from New York City which consists of A. Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar), Sean Yeaton (bass) and Max Savage (drums). Daniele Luppi is an Italian composer who has collaborated with Red Hot Chili Peppers, Norah Jones and Gnarles Barkley. Last year, Parquet Courts released Wide Awake!, one of the year’s better straight-up indie rock albums.
Karen O and Danger Mouse also recently collaborated on the new release, “Lux Prima” the first single off an upcoming collaborative album. Danger Mouse commented, “With ‘Lux Prima’, we were really looking for a place rather than a sound. It was our first shared destination so we thought we’d take our time getting there. The song itself is a bit of a journey, but all the parts felt like they needed each other. So it became our blueprint in a sense.”
Milano Track List
1. Soul and Cigarette
2. Talisa (featuring Karen O)
3. Mount Napolean
4. Flush (featuring Karen O)
5. Memphis Blues Again
6. Pretty Prizes (featuring Karen O)
7. The Golden Ones (featuring Karen O)
8. Lanza
9. Cafe Flesh
Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer
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