It turns out Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and frontwoman Karen O have flown to Australia of late to promote respective solo projects — Zinner with his symphonic debut, “41 Strings,” and O with her first psycho-opera, Stop the Virgens. The latter is of particular interest around here, as it stems from a shelved 2005 solo album from O left gathering dust while YYYs followed their debut with two more excellent LPs and the personal favorite Is Is EP. Last fall we heard “Duet” premiered live on WNYC, and now we have a video take on the somber cut with Jason Grisell returning on harmony vocals/guitar. Zinner and O originally conceived their band as an acoustic duo back in 2000, so I like to imagine this material as a kind of alternate reality to the heavier direction they ended up pursuing for a decade. Check it out above. Meanwhile, explore Stop the Virgens further with a behind-the-scenes featurette after the jump.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Watch: Nick Zinner – 41 Strings
Last year, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner premiered his first proper foray into symphonic composition with “41 Strings,” a seasonally-themed piece celebrating the 41st anniversary of Earth Day. The 4-part instrumental — which features a “Wall of Sound”-esque ensemble of stacked guitars, bass, and drums, among more commonly used symphony instruments (violins, cellos, et al.) — was later performed at the famed Sydney Opera House, backed by the Australian Youth Orchestra. Now we can watch that performance without flying down under, as the whole show was professionally filmed and uploaded last week (h/t Drowned in Sound). The entire 28-minute gig is impressive, but its opening, “Fall,” and distortion-spiked “Spring” section brought the biggest thrills around here. Without further ado, glimpse what one of the best guitarists in the game whipped up (armed with no prior ability to read music and negligible expertise in the classical genre) by watching those selected parts below:
Karen O: “Duet”
Karen O’s Stop the Virgens, a new “psycho-opera” written by and starring the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman, premiered this month at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. Directed by Adam Rapp — and described by O as “a psychedelic ride laced with catharsis” — the solo project features musical direction by YYYs guitarist Nick Zinner with Sam Spiegel, as well as a guest performance from drummer Brian Chase. While previews of the piece were limited to the lucky few in attendance of the live event, an interview with WNYC a few weeks back brought this stunning acoustic taste of their work. Above, hear Jason P. Grisell and O sing “Duet” live.