Over five years ago, David Byrne met with Fatboy Slim to discuss a musical endeavor. His goal, initially inspired by the book The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński, was to tell the tale of the theatrics of royal life through music.

After stumbling on a newspaper clipping written about his soon-to-be protagonist and enlisting some of the industry’s greatest vocalists (22 in all!) to help guide her voice, the project would evolve into what became known as Here Lies Love: A concept album, DVD, book, and proposed theater experience based on the life of former first lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, Imelda Marcos.

I pre-ordered the complete package a few months ago having found the concept quite ‘neat.’ Two weeks ago, it arrived in my mailbox–and now, the review.

First of all, the actual Here Lies Love book is gorgeous–a 114-page narration of not only the evolution of Byrne’s original idea for the album, but the story of Imelda Marcos that he shaped with his songwriting. In the front of the book is the double-disc of the album; on the back the DVD. Each song is given its own chapter inside, including full lyrics and key connections between the songs and Marcos’ personal life. It’s quite a treat!

So what about the music? Completely apart from the narrative, the album is rife with hits as well as a fair share of misses: Highlights include Florence Welch‘s soaring, bossa nova-tinged title track, “Here Lies Love,” Sia‘s twangy, swinging “Never So Big,” Natalie Merchant‘s gorgeously sung “Order 1081,” Kate Pierson‘s “The Whole Man,” and Róisín Murphy‘s disco-licious “Don’t You Agree?”

Yet while Murphy’s song sounds like it could fit in snugly with her last effort, Overpowered, most of the other songs on the record sound nothing like that of their artist’s back catalog (not too surprising given all the tracks were penned solely by Byrne, and a few with Fatboy Slim). This reality can occasionally provide somewhat disappointing results, as with Santigold‘s pacified contribution, “Please Don’t.”

Even more problematic for me however was the nagging country influence that continued to rear its head between some of the better disco gems here, including Allison Moorer‘s “When She Passed By” and Steve Earle‘s “A Perfect Hand.” Even if they’re necessary for moving the narrative along lyrically, there’s no way I’ll be returning to those tracks.

Reading the book alongside the album helped to elevate the project to another level (which I absolutely admire and adore), but to be honest, I don’t know how much I would have enjoyed it had I opted for the “MP3 only” package. On the other hand, I suppose that’s the point. The music of Here Lies Love lends itself to a larger experience with the accompanying book and DVD.

In the introduction, Byrne acknowledges that Here Lies Love is in some ways a response to the music industry’s floundering state and an attempt to create something more for listeners: “As it is now incredibly easy to download just a single song off a new album release–or to rip just a couple of the most accessible songs–I, like many others, have wondered: How do we incentivize listeners to check out more of what we have recorded? Is it possible to have an experience of some added depth, as one sometimes does when listening to a series of songs?”

While Here Lies Love doesn’t completely have the legs to stand on its own as an album (though there are quite a few strong numbers), the charm and magic is in its complete visual, aural, and intellectual appeal.

For music fans with some cash to spare, I recommend diving into the complete Here Lies Love package–there’s a lot of rich substance for the reaping here.

Here Lies Love was released on April 6.

Lots of juicy tidbits in my inbox today!

Vice Magazine, in partnership with Vodafone, has undertaken a new video interview series called Heroes, which spotlights several recording artists from around the world.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

Lily Allen is nothing if not honest in her lyrics and her commendable quest for “fuckloads of diamonds”, and that’s probably why most people on the planet, including us, love her. As part of our ongoing Heroes project with Vodafone, we sat down with Lils, who’s been touring for a year, to talk about her plans to move to the countryside and have babies as she got ready for her first ever gig in Liverpool. You can watch the full series here.

If you head over to the site, you’ll be able to watch all the video segments, featuring some rather stunning visuals displayed in massive full screen–not to mention the high quality recordings of some of Lily’s performances live in Liverpool.

And it doesn’t stop with L’Allen: Peaches, Santigold, VV Brown and La Roux are ALL featured as well in the Heroes campaign. (Click and flick the mouse downward on the screen to cycle through all the names!)

The site is oriented around the Vodafone 360, pitting all the artists as “Contacts” on the phone. If you peruse the site a little more, you’ll find a lot of silly little features including videos, pictures, map details, and status updates.

It’s actually a lot of fun…so poke around!

Photo courtesy of Consequence of Sound.

Oh. My. Word.

Norman Cook, otherwise known as Fatboy Slim, is about to unleash a monster of EPIC, lady-like proportions.

Here Lies Love, Cook’s collaborative effort with Talking Heads member David Byrne, is a concept album based on the life of Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines from the 1960′s to the 1980′s.

But before you say to yourself, “God, not another concept album about Imelda Marcos,” take a quick peek at the collaborators being featured on this album:

Disc One:
01. Here Lies Love (feat. Florence Welch)
02. Every Drop of Rain (feat. Candie Payne & St. Vincent)
03. You’ll Be Taken Care Of (feat. Tori Amos)
04. The Rose of Tacloban (feat. Martha Wainwright)
05. How Are You? (feat. Nellie McKay)
06. A Perfect Hand (feat. Steve Earle)
07. Eleven Days (feat. Cyndi Lauper)
08. When She Passed By (feat. Allison Moorer)
09. Walk Like a Woman (feat. Charmaine Clamor)
10. Don’t You Agree? (feat. Róisín Murphy)
11. Pretty Face (feat. Camille)
12. Ladies in Blue (feat. Theresa Andersson)

Disc Two:
01. Dancing Together (feat. Sharon Jones)
02. Men Will Do Anything (feat. Alice Russell)
03. The Whole Man (feat. Kate Pierson)
04. Never So Big (feat. Sia)
05. Please Don’t (feat. Santigold)
06. American Troglodyte
07. Solano Avenue (feat. Nicole Atkins)
08. Order 1081 (feat. Natalie Merchant)
09. Seven Years (feat. Shara Worden)
10. Why Don’t You Love Me? (feat. Cyndi Lauper & Tori Amos)

Tracklisting courtesy of Consequence of Sound.

Can you handle it? Because I actually, quite literally, cannot.

Natalie Merchant! Florence! Róisín! Santi! Sia! Cyndi! SO GOOOOOD! Shaking and crying…shaking and crying.

What’s more is this quote from NME from Cook about the project: “Because the story is more about what was going on in [New York club] Studio 54 rather than what went on in the Philippines, we wanted to reflect that, so it’s kind of dance music based,” Cook told BBC 6 Music.

This is literally a dream come true…a very, very gay dream come true.

It’s the start of a brand new week, Muusers…why not start off with a bang?

TOPMAN CTRL is the musical offshoot of my favorite menswear store, TOPSHOP. Each month, one UK act is invited to take full control of CTRL’s website and organize a live show, complete with all the musical acts the artist of the month is currently digging.

This month’s artist is the multi-talented (and rather cute) producer and DJ, Diplo, responsible for many tracks for M.I.A., Santigold and Amanda Blank, as well as 1/2 of the members of current hipster sensation, Major Lazer.

As for the show, Diplo has chosen four acts to headline his TOPMAN CTRL event at Fabric in London on December 16: Micachu & The Shapes, Benga, Primary 1 and Mumdance. Tickets are still available for purchase here–and they’re cheap!

To celebrate this month’s takeover, TOPMAN CTRL is giving away ONE T-SHIRT, designed by Diplo himself, for MuuMuse readers. The tee is a limited edition (only 50 have been made!), so it’s really quite a collector’s item. (And you know how I feel about rarities…slap on a “Limited Edition” sticker and I’m all but foaming at the mouth.)

To enter to win the tee, send a blank e-mail to muumuse@gmail.com with the subject line “DIPLO!!!” to win. A winner will be selected and contacted at random on Friday, December 18.

Good luck! In the meantime, enjoy this exclusive new track off of the upcoming Mad Decent mix-tape. It’s nice and laid-back…quality mix!

DL: Gucci Mane – Dangers Not A Stranger (Diplo Remix)

Until this summer, Philadelphia-bred mistress of ceremonies Amanda Blank could be found both everywhere and nowhere; a fixture found in the liner notes and “featuring” sections on collaboration tracks from just about every hip-hop tested, indie cred-approved artist since the mid-’00′s, including Santigold, M.I.A., Spank Rock, Pase Rock, Ghostface Killah, and N.A.S.A.

As a result, Amanda Blank is an artist inexorably linked to her mix-tape origins: Put together the in-your-face, Cristal and cocaine drunk-pop of Ke$ha, the funk and grind sound of album producer Diplo, the super-slick badassery of Peaches, and perhaps even the cool breathiness of Britney Spears on the chillier grooves, and you’ve still only got half of what Blank’s all about.

Within seconds of hearing the garage-rock-gone-hip-hop intro of “Make It, Take It,” it becomes all too clear that we’re in for a sweat-drenched, sex-stenched affair on Blanks’ long-overdue debut, I Love You. Tracks including the throbbing, pistol pumping “Something Bigger, Something Better” and electro-jittery “Might Like You Better” are at the very least danceable–at their best, nearly irresistible. Even the faithfully minimal cover of “Make-Up” off of the 1982 debut of Prince‘s short-lived sexperiment Vanity 6 inspires moments of vogue.

But this collection isn’t all about the mmphing and, shockingly enough, benefits most from the few breathers in between. The bleary-eyed, post-consummation contemplation of “Shame On Me” is the best track Britney’s never recorded, while the neurotic-friendly “DJ” proves a luscious dancefloor treat riddled with all the best reasons to dance the pain away–anger, bitterness, and sorrow.

It’s midway through however, when Blank gets down to business, unleashing her signature unstoppable lyrical flow on the Spank Rock-assisted track, “Gimme What You Got,” and “Lemme Get Some.”

This, after all, is the meat and potatoes of her craft: Amanda Blank is a talented artist. Not only can she spit out verses faster than most male rappers in the industry, but she commands a devastating mastery of rhythm and flow–plus, she’s a seemingly fearless lyricist. The only problem is that there simply isn’t enough of that grit to go around. A few harder numbers would have done wonders here, especially considering the wide range of tracks we’ve heard from her over the years.

The album’s final moment is also its most unexpected: “Don’t act so surprised,” Blank croons along with Swedish delight and MuuMuse favorite, Lykke Li on “Leaving You Behind” as the gentle guitar strums away into nothingness. I just can’t help it, Amanda–I’m considering this album the surprise of the summer.

DL: Amanda Blank – Something Big, Something Better
Choice Tracks: “Something Big, Something Better”; “DJ”; “Shame on Me”; “Might Like You Better”

Purchase I Love You on iTunes | MySpace

This is MPHO. Perhaps you’ve read her introductory post over at PopJustice? I know I did. And, after deciding her single “Box And Locks” to be quite good and her face to be gorgeous, I decided to take a dive into the mini-mix of her upcoming album Beware on her MySpace.

GO THERE AND LISTEN TO IT.

I am quite excited by what I’m hearing. She’s a little bit of a poppier Santigold (her single “Box And Locks” is essentially the musical version of Santi’s frustration with music genres) with a more polished flow and a slight touch of Jamelia to boot. Summery guitar strums, swirly choruses, and fresh beats–I’m wholeheartedly feeling it. She just might be the freshest breath of air I’ve encountered yet this year!

The only problem is that the album isn’t even due out until October 19. Cruel.

What do you guys think?

It’s that time, ladies and gentlemen: Grab those neon-glow shutter shades, dig through your ironic vintage tees, and go steal your sister’s jeans, ’cause it’s…

DL: Designer Drugs – Zombie (Hot Pink Delorean Remix)
Hipster Intrigue: 10/10
Legitimate Danceablity: 2/10

It’s loud, it’s noise, and literally nothing happens. What’s it sound like? A cassette tape of Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” being thrown into a cheese grater production line. Worthless, though it’ll score me loads of love on HypeMachine!

DL: KOVAS – Wax On, Wax Off
Hipster Intrigue: 6/10
Legitamite Danceability: 6/10

KOVAS both excites and worries me. I’m excited because of the crunchy, glittering stomp beats, but worried by the fact that his style and artist collaborations (Justin Timberlake, Ciara) seems to verge dangerously close to the edge of Timbaland territory. You’ll have to excuse the DJ tags, that’s how it came in the mail.

“Wax On, Wax Off” is the lead single off KOVAS’ upcoming LP, Reagan Babies, which you can listen to here.

DL: Major Lazer – Hold It Down (Poirier Remix)
Hipster Intrigue: 9/10
Legitimate Danceability: 8/10

This last one’s legit: An ultra smooth, pulsating baile funk dancehall sensation from the up-and-coming Jamaican producer Major Lazer. Plus, Santogold’s on the track! Err…I mean ~Santigold.~ What’s with the name switch lady? It’s totally lame.

With Diplo, Switch, and a dozen or so dancehall artists in tow, watch for his debut LP, Gun Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do as the surefire bet to set underground playlists ablaze this summer.

On a side note, check out PrettyMuchAmazing to see my featured review for Röyksopp‘s Junior!