Patti Smith Recites Nico Poetry on “Killer Road” From New Album: Listen

Killer Road is a new album by Soundwalk Collective—the trio of Stephan Crasneanscki, Simone Merli, and Kamran Sadeghi—alongside Patti Smith and her daughter Jesse Paris Smith. The album is a tribute to Nico and specifically was put together as a narrative about the singer’s tragic death in 1988. Throughout the album, Smith recites Nico’s poems and lyrics over music from Soundwalk Collective. The album also features melodies performed on Nico’s actual harmonium, which was rescued from a pawn shop by Smith in 1978. Killer Road was initially conceived as a live performance and was initially performed in 2014. The album is out September 2 via Sacred Bones in the US and Bella Union in the UK. Hear the title track below. 

In a previous interview with Zoo about the project, Smith discussed Nico’s influence as a performer who “sung in such a unique way, not in a traditional way.” She added, “That was interesting and instructive for me when I was young because I had no ambition to be a singer—I was simply trying to deliver my poetry as she did—in a unique way.”

Killer Road:

01 Killer Road
02 My Heart Is Empty
03 Evening of Light
04 Saeta
05 Secret Side
06 Fearfully In Danger
07 I Will Be Seven
08 The Sphinx
09 My Only Child

Comments are closed.