New David Bowie Tribute Album Announced: Helado Negro, Khruangbin, We Are KING and More

British label BBE Music has announced a new David Bowie tribute album. Modern love arrives May 28 and features covers from the entire Bowie catalog by Helado Negro, Khruangbin, Jeff Parker, We Are KING, Meshell Ndegeocello, and more. Today, what would have been Bowie’s 74th birthday (and Bowie’s fifth birthday Black Star), BBE shared the first single from Modern love. Listen to the cover of We Are KING from “Space Oddity” below and scroll down for the tracklist and LP art, illustrated by Cori Maass.

“There were so many amazing Bowie compositions to choose from, but ‘Space Oddity’ has always been our favorite,” We Are KING’s Amber and Paris Strother said in a press release. “It’s so visual; it’s always been like a time travel in a song. It tells such a vivid and imaginative story of Major Tom’s journey through space and it was such a cool experience to reinvent what it would be like on the trip.

BBE compiled Modern love to underline Bowie’s connection to the soul, R&B, jazz, funk and gospel sounds that have influenced his own work. The project was organized by Music Director and DJ Drew McFadden, alongside BBE Music founder Peter Adarkwah. “I felt that the connection between Bowie and R&B, jazz, funk, gospel and all things soul, had never really been explored before,” McFadden said in press documents. “At least not so much in covers, which tend to lean more towards rock and pop. Granted, there have been plenty of covers of Bowie over the years, but none have really exploited what seems to have been a big part of his musical style and direction.

Modern love:

01 Miguel Atwood-Ferguson: “Life on Mars”
02 Black Ice Cream: “Sound & Vision”
03 Kit Sebastian: “Lady Grinning Soul”
04 Jeff Parker / The new breed: “Soul Love” [ft. Ruby Parker]
05 Sessa: “Panic in Detroit”
06 The Hics: “The man who sold the world”
07 Khruangbin: “Right”
08 Nia Andrews: “Silly Boy Blue”
09 Foxtrott: “Song of the skeletal family always in a circle”
10 L’Rain: “Move On”
11 Eddie Chacon / John Carroll Kirby: “Tonight”
12 Jonsh Mutono: “Modern Love”
13 Bullion: “Where are we now”
14 Meshell Ndegeocello: “Fantastic journey”
15 Matthew Tavares: “Hero”
16 We Are KING: “Space Oddity”