The Flaming Lips fan Nell Smith achieved what many can only dream about, she actually went from the first row of their concert, to recording an entire album with ther heroes. Together the band and the 13 year old girl are recording a Nick Cave covers album, Where the Viaduct Looms. The record is set to drop on October 25. Today, they released a first taste of the album in form of the Bad Seeds cover “Amber Girl.”
According to Consequence, Flaming Lips was Smith’s first concert three years ago and she has been attending their performances when ever she can since then. While even gaining some front row tickets, she was spotted by frontman Wayne Coyne, who then exchanged contacts with Smith and her father. About the collaboration with the girl, Coyne says, “It is always great to meet excited, young creative people. With Nell we could see she is on a journey and thought it would be fun to join her for a while and see if we could get things going. It was a great way to connect with her and help harness her cool attitude to making music.”
In a statement Smith says that she is still in disbelief, and it wasn’t easy to get through all the songs on the album, but Coyne was a great support to her. “It was a really steep learning curve. I hadn’t heard of Nick Cave but Wayne suggested that we should start with an album of his cover versions, and then look at recording some of my own songs later. It was cool to listen and learn about Nick Cave and pick the songs we wanted to record.”
With Smith on the vocals, the song becomes a dark and slow pop track. According to the video description, the song was recorded in Smith’s bedroom and at the Pink Floor Studios in Oklahoma City. With Flaming Lips iconic pschydelic guitar sounds the song almost feels like a dream. “Amber Girl” is a great start in the right direction for Nell.
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