Alex Kapranos and Clara Luciani perform a very competent cover of Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra’s “Summer Wine.” The video is fairly cool and I’d attend a desert karaoke competition if one existed.
Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos and acclaimed French chanteuse Clara Luciani have teamed up to cover Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood’s “Summer Wine.”
Sung in English and French, it was recorded and mixed between Alex’s studio in Scotland and Philippe Zdar’s Motorbass Studio in Paris. The track is accompanied by a charming video directed by Ryder The Eagle.
Talking about the track and video, Alex said:
“Back in October, Clara asked me to join her on stage at the Olympia in Paris, where we first sang ‘Summer Wine’ together. We are both big fans of Lee and Nancy, and enjoyed the interaction that the song allows you. Clara translated the chorus into French, and the performance is bilingual, which really suits the song.”
“When the lockdown started, we decided to record it – more for ourselves than anything else. We wanted to create the atmosphere of an imaginary world away from the confinement we were experiencing. Not that we were unhappy, but the imagination is the greatest medium for escape and adventure. It was recorded at my place in Scotland and mixed by our friends Antoine and Pierre at Motorbass studio in Paris. When we played it to our labels they suggested we release it, so here it is.”
“I loved performing with Clara – she has such a naturally beautiful voice and a fresh perspective. After the lockdown eased off, we got together to film the video with our friends Adrien, Leo, Fiona and Hugo. I love the ideas they had, which suit the mood of the song and reflect our… well, our love of karaoke!”
Alex Kapranos is lead singer of multi-million selling Scottish band Franz Ferdinand who have released five acclaimed studio albums on Domino Recordings since their self-titled debut in 2004. Their career includes the Mercury Prize, a few Brits, an Ivor Novello, MTV awards, GRAMMY nominations etc.
Clara Luciani released her acclaimed double-platinum selling debut album Sainte-Victoire in 2018 and won Female Artist of the year at the 2020 Victoires De La Musique, the French equivalent of the GRAMMYs.
