Dean and Britta - The Carnival is Over

Dean & Britta cover The Seekers on new single, tell us what they've been digging in lockdown

Dean & Britta have covered The Seekers’ folk-pop classic “The Carnival is Over” for a new, lathe-cut 7″ single. (Order yours.) Britta Phillips’ voice sounds fantastic here with this updated arrangement. The single was mixed and mastered by Kramer, who produced all of Dean’s records with Galaxie 500, and this is the first time they’ve worked together since then. (Kramer plays piano on the song as well.) The song premieres in this post and you can watch the video below.

We’ve also been asking artists what’s been occupying their time while in pandemic lockdown, and Dean and Britta each gave us lists of albums, movies, TV shows and books they’ve been digging. They include records by Sonic Boom, Kraftwerk, Weyes Blood, and more. Check out their lists, complete with commentary, below.

Related: Kramer has revived Shimmy Disc, the ’80s/’90s era indie label he founded, and has a new group, Let it Come Down, who will release their debut album in June.

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DEAN & BRITTA: Things we are watching, reading and doing, five from each of us:

DEAN:

1) “Just Imagine” by Sonic Boom, the first single from his new solo album. We have been waiting a long time for a new record from our friend Sonic Boom. He’s been busy enough, producing MGMT and Panda Bear and Beach House, but has now delivered a record that only he could have made. Full disclosure, Britta plays bass on one track on the LP.

2) Gavin Bryars – The Sinking of the TitanicThe story is that as the Titanic slowly sank into the sea, the band kept playing, and British composer Gavin Bryars thought this is what it would sound like as the music slowly sounds like it is drifting away to a watery grave. It is good listening for these times.

3) Brahms German RequiemThis is an agnostic requiem, he mentions the Geist but not the father or son and apparently Brahms did not believe in the afterlife. “All flesh is like grass / and the glory of man like flowers / the grass withers and the flower falls.”  The first two movements, accompanied by a drink, make a nice way to unwind after a long day checking the news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08qM54vEvLw

4) The new Julian Barnes book The Man in the Red Coat contains many pleasures, mostly the pleasure of escaping 2020 and traveling to another era.. It is not a novel but a social history of Belle Epoque Paris, centered on the “disgustingly handsome” surgeon Dr. Anthony Pozzi who may or may not have slept with Sarah Bernhardt, and with appearances by Oscar Wilde, John Singer Sargent, Huysmans and many others.

5) Like everyone else we watched Tiger King though it seems like a long time ago now. We have a couple of songs in the soundtrack, so we can call it research — “Teenage Lightning” and “Not A Young Man Anymore” (My Robot Friend remix). Little did we know it would turn into the most-watched documentary series ever.

BRITTA:

6) “Tanzmusik”  by Kraftwerk, from their Ralf and Florian album. This might be the first truly great Kraftwerk song, anyway it’s my personal favorite

7) Zadie Smith’s essay collection Feel Free is fantastic company if you’re feeling lonely. “Joy” is sublime and closes the book.

8) Baking Brownies. Because, I want brownies now! I made them with almond flour – gluten free. Here’s the recipe.

9) I’ve been a little obsessed by this Weyes Blood and Ariel Pink collaboration, “Morning After” from 2017. The key changes are so haunting, both ancient and modern-sounding.

10). Portrait of a Lady on Fire is now on Hulu. . . such a beautiful and romantic film.

Check out a gallery of Dean, Britta and the rest of Luna at Bowery Ballroom in 2019: