After striking up a friendship at this year's Glastonbury Festival in the summer, Skinny Pelembe and Beth Orton have now come together to deliver a wonderful new cover.
Their new rendition of Leonard Cohen's 1974 track 'Who By Fire' sees the pair revamp the original production to give it a rawer and more atmospheric direction throughout.
Speaking about the new release, Skinny Pelembe said, “I’ve covered a tune by one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Leonard Cohen. Sung it with Beth Orton, who has one of the best voices of all time! One of the best drummers of all time, Malcolm Catto, is keeping the time! And I sound fucking fantastic at this point in time!”
While Beth Orton added, “I have always felt connected to the work of Leonard Cohen. I toured “I’m Your Man” with an amazing cast of people, and every night I was intrigued by the mystery of “Who By Fire”. I was never totally satisfied I understood the song. When Doya sent me his version I was immediately taken by the Serge Gainsbourg quality of the drums and the overall feel, and I loved the cheek and punk-like spirit of this version, and seeing as I was in a studio in Paris, I didn’t give a second thought to throwing myself into Doya’s re-interpretation.
“Climbing inside the words this way brought the meaning of the song into new focus, the passion and heart-breaking inevitability of human nature that Leonard Cohen writes of like no other came alive to me finally.”
Have a listen to their cover of 'Who By Fire' in the player below.
