Vancouver producer-songwriter Louise Burns is announcing the arrival of her upcoming fifth solo full-length, Element, with a take on Depeche Mode’s classic “See You” single. The cover, due Nov 4 on streaming platforms via Light Organ Records, precedes the release of Element in the spring of 2023.
Burns’ “See You” remodels the peppy, Martin Gore-penned electro-pop anthem as a sophisticated slow jam, with a velvet-lined vibrato vocal tucking itself into a mauve-tinted haze of snap beats and synth psychedelia.
“What I love about Depeche Mode is that they have that acoustic song test down. You can take any song of theirs and play it on guitar, and it’s beautiful,” Burns explains of the unimpeachable original, while adding of her stunning remake, “I wanted to take a song that would work no matter what I did with it, and just have fun. I wasn’t really thinking about anything other than what sounded best in the moment. Like, ‘let’s lean into those Enya vocal influences; let’s take the most sleek and clean sounding guitar tone we can get; let’s put bongos in it—fuck it, you know?’”
“See You” is the first preview from Burns’ Element, a plush and expansive pop tableau about holding your head high as you tunnel out of the emotional wreckage of life as we know it. “For me, there is nothing more radical than being joyful despite what you’re going through,” Burns explains, hinting at a thread of continuity within the nine-song album.
Element was primarily co-produced between Burns and Jason Corbett (ACTORS) at his Jacknife Studios in Vancouver, and also features collaborations with Colin Janz (Teset) and vocologist Carol-Lynne Quinn.
