Lhuna

You'd think a duet between two of the world's most celebrated artists would get a whole lot more attention, but the Coldplay/Kylie duet "Lhuna" went almost unnoticed when released as a charity download for the 2008 World Aids Day in December last year.

The track was originally recorded for Coldplay's fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), but was rejected from the final track list for being "too sexy". It also failed to appear on the follow-up Prospekt's March EP. "Lhuna" can be described as a close to five minute, atmospheric and dark epic about loneliness, probably too experimental and arty for mainstream success. Kylie hasn't gone this left of centre since her late 90s "Indie Kylie" days. Her fans are divided on the track, as are Johno and myself. Johno finds the track a bit of a bore, I think it's absolutely gorgeous.

"Lhuna" can be considered a rarity. It hasn't been released on CD in any form, nor is it available on iTunes or other major online retailers. It was only downloadable through the (RED)WIRE website, though I don't think it's available anymore. Hopefully when either artist releases a rarities compilation, it will appear.

Kylie: the musician vs. the popstar

When it comes to collaborating with fellow artists, Kylie sure knows how to pick them: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Robbie Williams, Ben Lee, Towa Tei, Manic Street Preachers, Just Jack, Jimmy Little, Coldplay, Gerling, Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters...and even most recently, The Wiggles (shamelessly catering towards her next generation of fans!). Reading through that list, it's an impressive and fruitful mixture of artists.

Her duet/guest vocal material is always a bit left of centre ("Especially For You" aside!), exploring various alternative styles of music compared to the general dance-pop of her solo output. And that's why I love them so much. When Kylie steers away from the rule book, she truly has the potential to come up with some very incredible stuff - just look at the experimental, indie-rock/alternative dance of Impossible Princess (1998), her most underrated, personal and musically exciting record to date. Although since 2000, Kylie has adopted a more mainstream sound compared to her experimental years of the the mid-to-late 90s, she continues to broaden the definition of Kylie pop. Body Language (2003) sported a more dark and minimalist electro-sound (see "Slow", "Someday", "Sweet Music"), while X included glam rock ("2 Hearts") and urban ("All I See", "Nu-di-Ty") influences.

Of course, with all experimentation, some people are going to love it and some are going to hate it. As long as Kylie continues to keep it interesting and fresh, I'm not going to complain. Songs like "Wow" are good old camp fun, don't get me wrong, but albums full of one-dimensional, bubblegum fluff is not what Kylie should be about.

Each week on Boombox, I'm going to try and preview the more experimental side of Kylie's catalogue. We've heard the hits a million times on mainstream and JOY radio, so it's my aim to shake things up and play some rare stuff that people may not have heard. This week I played her 2005 collaboration with Japanese dance producer Towa Tei titled "Sometime Samurai".



To be continued... xox