David Bowie has issued an extended preview of “Blackstar”, a song he was commissioned to write as the theme for a new crime series, The Last Panthers.
A longer snippet of the track can be heard over a new trailer for the program, which is set to premiere November 12 on Sky Atlantic.
Bowie hooked up with director Johan Renck to discuss the series while it was still in the early stages of production.
“I showed Mr. Bowie the two first episodes in the rough state they were at the time, and he liked what he saw very much,” says Renck. “We discussed the various aspects of the show; naturally the plot line, but also the underlying currents of guilt and personality flaws.
“We talked about the dark heart of Europe. We talked about the biblical aspects of human nature. He asked if there was anything else to see, so I showed him the first concept board I had just made for the title sequence - images from the show laced with chimaeras and demons from the worlds of Bosch and Grunewald.
“That’s when he said go - it all fits. Then he played me his new song Blackstar.”
The tune is the title track to a new album by Bowie, which he’ll release on his 69th birthday on January 8.
“Blackstar” will be issued as a single on November 20.
The forthcoming record marks the follow-up to 2013’s “The Next Day”, Bowie’s first album in a decade.
The record peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200.
See also:
David Bowie confirms Blackstar album release
REPORT: David Bowie to release new album on his 69th birthday
VIDEO: David Bowie previews theme for TV series The Last Panthers
David Bowie to launch box set series this fall
Search David Bowie at hennemusic
