It’s official. The long rumoured collaboration between Elton John and Australian electro duo PNAU is actually happening and a release date for an album has been set for July this year.
According to the rocket man himself he’s given PNAU, Peter Mayes and Nick Littlemore, unfettered access to the multitracks of his entire discography and allowed them to run riot with it. Jealous much?
“I’ve been doing a remix project with Australian duo Pnau. I gave them free rein on all my master tapes and they have come up with some extraordinary new versions of our songs,” Elton John explains.
Elton John’s love for the Australian electro wunderkids is no secret, during their early years he flew them over to the UK, signed them up to his management company, and has been mentoring them ever since.
“We just owe him so much, I mean, he kind of saved us,” Mayes said of the relationship. “He found us a couple of years ago in Australia and he basically helped us move to the UK and we’re managed by his management company.”
“He’s been a real mentor to us and a good friend too, musically and otherwise. If we’re down he’ll help us. He’s just someone who’s there to help. If we write a great track he’ll tell us. If we write a bad track he’ll tell us. He’s very honest and very generous with his time.”
Elton last helped the Aussie group on their most recent album Soft Universe, but the new project will see a selection of Elton’s old classics be re-imagined into an album featuring PANU’s recreations of his classic songs between 1970 and 1976.
Creatively titled Elton John + Pnau, the first single is a reinterpretation of Elton’s “Mona Lisa And Mad Hatters”, retitled as “Good Morning To The Night”, and featuring samples from no less than 8 of Elton’s songs.
How does it sounds? Exactly how you’d expect it to, electro euphoria that would feel at home during an festival DJ set, or as the soundtrack to the Mardi Gras parades.
The signature electro sound of PNAU also makes Elton’s voice sound contemporary and fresh, impressive given some of the recordings are over 40 years old.
The album is slated for release on July 2nd, with “Good Morning To The Night” set to debut officially on June 25th.
You can have a listen to ‘Good Morning To The Night’ below. Also check out the full tracklisting for the album with the songs sampled for each track .
1. Good Morning To The Night
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Philadelphia Freedom
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Funeral for a Friend
Tonight
Gulliver/It’s Hay Chewed
Sixty Years On (Live in Australia)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Someone Saved my Life Tonight
2. Sad
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Nice and Slow
Crazy Water
Curtains
Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word
Friends
3. Black Icy Stare
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Cold Highway
You’re So Static
Solar Prestige a Gammon
4. Foreign Fields
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Pinky
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
High Flying Bird
Sweet Painted Lady
Cage the Songbird
Chameleon
5. Telegraph to the Afterlife
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Harmony
We All Fall in Love Sometimes
Funeral for a Friend
Sweet Painted Lady
I’ve Seen That Movie Too
Love Song
Indian Sunset
6. Phoenix
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Grey Seal
Are You Ready for Love
Benny and the Jets
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Where to Now St Peter?
Love Lies Bleeding
Border Song
Country Love Song
Three Way Love Affair
7. Karmatron
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Madman Across The Water
Funeral for a Friend
Stinker
The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)
Tonight
One Horse Town
Screw You
8. Sixty
Includes Elements from the following original Elton John Sound Recordings:
Sixty Years On
Sixty Years On (Live in Australia)
Sixty Years On (Live 17-11-70)
Indian Sunset
