Sufjan Stevens returned last year out of the blue with two new releases. One was the standard orchestral, grandiose indie folk he’s become known for over the years, and the other, The Age of Adz, was a surprisingly electronic exploration. One of the better tracks on that album was the dubstep-influenced “I Walked.” It’s one of the most minimal songs Sufjan has done outside of his piano ballads, with a mechanical-sounding beat driving it forward, and dark, brooding synthesizers fading in while his reverb soaked voice croons the lovesick lyrics.
Fol Chen, his Asthmatic Kitty labelmate, apparently were quite taken with the song as well, since they recently released their own take on it. “I Walked” becomes much brighter in their hands, with their typically quirky aesthetic replacing the brooding synths with bright, bouncy ones, and their singer Samuel Bing providing similarly more upbeat vocals. It sounds less like a longing cry out to a former lover and more like someone just trying to make sure they get together that night. Download it below. (via Pitchfork)
MP3: Fol Chen – I Walked (Sufjan Stevens cover)
[audio: News0511/16IWalked.mp3|artists=Fol Chen|titles=I Walked]
Check out more from Fol Chen at their Website and MySpace.
I can’t help but hear Wiz Khalifa’s “black and yellow” in this.
you’re not crazy.. took me a minute or so to figure out what that was and its def some derivative of black and yellow..