Regarding the next edition of the Lollapalooza festival, various specialists have commented that one of the most innovative and solid presentations in recent years has been that of David Byrne in 2018. At that time, he exhibited his show American Utopia.
His stage proposal was based on a closed space, with hanging chains that formed a square, and did not include monitors or any amplification equipment on the stage. But there was much more, the band of musicians was completely mobile: with their hanging instruments they occupied the stage in a kind of continuous choreography that was accompanied by the two backup singers who also launched their own movements.
David Byrne is a living legend of contemporary music. Although he was born in Scotland, he grew up in the United States and it was in the New York ’70s when he began to become known in the local scene with a band that from the beginning opted for experimentation: Talking Heads, a group that remained active until the early ’90s, being considered one of the most influential and innovative in the rock scene, and not only on a musical level, but also aesthetically: its music videos and documentaries (such as Stop making sense) set a trend for much of the ’80s.
The group was made up of Byrne himself on vocals and guitars (as well as the main composer), Chris Frantz on drums, Tina Weymouth on bass and Jerry Harrison on keyboards and guitar. Furthermore, during their career they maintained intense contact with such renowned musicians as Adrian Belew and Brian Eno. Starting in the ’90s, David Byrne began his solo career, also marked by the avant-garde, and equally or more valued than his time in Talking Heads.
By the way, he has also constantly flirted with cinema (along with Ryuichi Sakamoto, he won an Oscar for Best Score in 1988, for The last Emperor, by Bernardo Bertolucci). Regarding the artist, Time magazine has even described him as “Renaissance Rock Man.”
One of his least known facets is that of a writer.
To date, he has more than thirty published books that, like his own musical experimentation, wander through a very broad semantic arc that some have called “unclassifiable.”
One of his most recognized titles is called Bicycle Diaries (2011), where Byrne chronicles his experiences, observations and impressions while cycling through different cities on the planet. Throughout his travels, the author reflects on topics as diverse as globalization, fashion, architecture, loneliness or the radical changes that cities are undergoing (it is not part of this book, but the singer once related that He preferred – to calm down – to return by bicycle to his hotel in Santiago, finding himself very upset by the bad sound that his concert at Mapocho Station had in 2004).
Perhaps his most famous book to date is How music works (2012), an impressive mix of essay, personal experiences, reflections, as well as technical and technological comments. He even shamelessly addresses in depth the monetary issues of the music business, necessary funds, investments, profits, etc. Full of genius and rigor, Byrne strips music of the mantle of solemnity in which it sometimes falls, in fact, he wisely observes that in English to play is said ‘play’, which is the same word used for “to play.” And this is fundamental: music is, or should be, a “game.”
In one of his most recent books, Arboretum (2021) David Byrne delves into the investigation of the origin of an artist’s ideas and what mechanisms trigger their inspiration.
Regarding this publication, it is worth asking where David Byrne’s inexhaustible multifaceted and chameleonic personality comes from. It seems that he needs to give an outlet to the creative pressure that is constantly bubbling in his head and, therefore, he has done practically everything: techno music, Brazilian and Cuban music, merengue, samba, mambo, cumbia, cha-cha-chá, as well as music for theater, musicals, television, theater and cinema.
David Byrne has been described as a perfectionist, impulsive and obsessive. His partner in Talking HeadsChris Frantz published his memoirs in 2020 Remain in loveparaphrasing the title of one of the band’s essential albums, Remain in light (1980). This text praises Byrne’s talent, as well as his fundamental contribution to the band’s success. But, then, Frantz portrays a Byrne who is egocentric to unsuspected limits, disrespectful towards his colleagues, to whom he denies all recognition, a character who only pursues his personal triumph and who is capable, to do so, of appropriating the work of others. Furthermore, he defines him as manic, cold and dissatisfied. And to conclude, he affirms that he moves within the “autism spectrum.”
An old friend of Byrne’s, Darcy Lee, has recounted how she had observed behavior in him that others labeled as strange or extravagant: hiding in corners at parties, or disappearing from social events without warning. One day, Lee was reading an article about Asperger’s syndrome and remarked to Byrne, “David, you’re like that.”
The autism spectrum ranges from the most disabling cases to those of “high functioning”, where Asperger syndrome is found. Aspergers have a hard time making friends, are somewhat clumsy, have very specific interests, and are extremely literal in their interpretations. In the eyes of their peers, they are pedantic, insensitive, strange, and often the target of ridicule.
David Byrne has confessed that at some point in his life he was diagnosed with a type of Asperger syndrome, and that yes, he recognizes his lack of empathy with other people.
What is interesting about your condition?
That it was not something irrelevant in his life but rather the opposite: he moved forward and grew as a professional to the point of establishing himself transversally as one of the most innovative creators of the last 50 years.