Ampersounds & Rufus Wainwright: Technopera

By Kerry Doole

Ampersounds & Rufus Wainwright - Technopera (West End Records/BMG): After receiving near-unanimous praise for his latest album, Unfollow the Rules, Rufus Wainwright returns in a decidedly different guise. Released yesterday (June 2), this track is a collaboration with famed house music DJs/producers Fred Falke and Zen Freeman aka Ampersounds. Their first joint single, Technopera will be followed with an EP to be released on July 17. 

Speaking on the project, Wainwright revealed to Variety: "I am super proud of the work that I did with Zen and Fred. It was liberating as a songwriter to have a platform to jump off from and only have to think about the melody and lyrics and let someone else create the track. It is unlike anything that I have ever done but somehow there still is a lot of Rufus in it. I hope that people will party to the tracks, safely of course, but we all deserve a little party I think.”

Falke and Freeman add, "Rufus is an exceptional talent, and we had a fantastic time collaborating with him on this project. We created rich textures with strong electronic elements which we feel resonated perfectly with Rufus’ depth and intensity.”

The seemingly unlikely marriage of genres (dance music and Wainwright’s operatic pop style) works really well here. Wainwright’s distinctive vocals are set amidst bubbling synths and an insistent groove, with the results being both dramatic and danceable. The accompanying animated video was helmed by Daft Punk creative director Cedric Hervet.

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Publicity: Charlotte Thompson, Red Umbrella P.R.

Management:  Jorn Weisbrodt, Breakers Management and Paula Quijano, Little Empire Music

Booking- North America: Samantha Kirby, WME