Yesterday, Emeli Sande and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra’s version of ‘Crazy In Love’, recorded for Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming film of The Great Gatsby (out May 10), appeared online. It’s a rather ace turn, seeing Sande’s vocal mapped onto Ferry’s charmingly clarinet and trumpet-twirling collective. We’ve got an exclusive first look at some behind-the-scenes footage of the Orchestra recording the track – watch above – and have a listen to the finished results below:
Talking about the recordings, Ferry says: “Baz felt the music we had recorded on our album [last year’s The Jazz Age] worked well with his film, so he commissioned us to both rearrange elements of the score and also record in a period style the contemporary songs that he and Jay-Z had selected. We used the same orchestra that features on The Jazz Age and recording commenced in January 2013.”
Not only have the Orchestra done ‘Crazy In Love’, but they’ve also done a period-correct cover of Roxy Music’s ‘Love Is The Drug’, both of which will be on the film’s official soundtrack, getting a release next Monday, May 6.
Additionally, they’ve jazzed Jay-Z’s ‘$100 Bills’, Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back to Black’, Will.i.am’s ‘Bang Bang’ and Lana Del Rey’s ‘Will You Still Love Me’, which will all feature on a separate Orchestra soundtrack album, with a release date yet to be confirmed.
Ferry adds: “Baz came to my studio during the sessions and he had a very clear idea of what music he wanted for each scene. We recorded to picture, including a new version of ‘Love Is The Drug’. Baz is a strong creative force and the soundtrack is always going to be important in any movie he makes, especially a film like The Great Gatsby, where the music of the period is key to the film’s identity. Baz has a great understanding of the music from the 1920s, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how his musical collage works, combining contemporary songs with our period music."
Says Luhrmann of the collaboration: “I heard The Jazz Age and said to Bryan, ‘what about if you took our themes and record them with your band?’ Then I said, ‘what about if you do ‘Love Is The Drug’?’ And it just kept growing, and next he’s covering Jay Z, Amy Winehouse and Beyonce. And so he becomes the ‘jazz voice’ of the movie. We couldn’t have been luckier. Total serendipity.”
