Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the twenty-sixth and final studio album by the English musician David Bowie. Released on 8January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday, the album was recorded in secret in New York City with his longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a group of local jazz musicians: Donny McCaslin (saxophone), Jason Lindner (piano), Tim Lefebvre (bass) and Mark Guiliana (drums). Ben Monder and James Murphy contributed additional guitar and percussion, respectively. The album contains "Lazarus", from the 2015 musical of the same name, and re-recorded versions of the 2014 songs "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore".
More experimental than its predecessor The Next Day (2013), Blackstar combines atmospheric art rock with various styles of jazz. Bowie took inspiration from artists including Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips, listening to them during the album's production. The album's lyrics feature themes of death, with many songs being told from the perspective of the dead or dying. The cover art, designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, features a large black star with five star segments at the bottom that spell out the word Bowie.
The album was preceded by the singles "Blackstar" and "Lazarus", both of which were supported by music videos. Two days after its release, Bowie died following a private 18-month battle with liver cancer; Visconti described the album as a parting gift for his fans after his death. Upon release, the album was met with commercial success, topping charts in many countries, including the United Kingdom, following Bowie's death, and became his only album to top the Billboard 200 in the United States. It was the fifth-best-selling album of the year worldwide.
Blackstar received widespread acclaim as Bowie's most musically challenging album in decades, with critics praising the music, themes and performances of the backing band. It received three Grammy Awards and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year in 2017. It was listed as one of the best albums of 2016 and later of the 2010s decade by numerous publications. The work was re-analysed following Bowie's death, with critics and fans reinterpreting its lyrics, title and artwork as hinting at the artist's demise. Blackstar has since been described by publications and commentators as one of Bowie's best albums, a perfect farewell to his fans, and one of the best final albums ever.
Background
David Bowie released his twenty-fifth studio album The Next Day in March 2013. It was his first studio release in ten years after retreating from the public view in 2004. A critical and commercial success, it topped the album charts in twenty countries, including the United Kingdom, and gave Bowie his highest chart placement ever in the United States at number two. The successes of The Next Day and the David Bowie Is exhibition, which opened in London the same year, prompted Bowie to be more active in the studio throughout 2014. Between May and July 2014, Bowie collaborated with the bandleader and composer Maria Schneider on the experimental jazz song "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)". It features Schneider's orchestra and an ensemble including the saxophonist Donny McCaslin and the drummer Mark Guiliana. The song was released as a single in November and appeared on the compilation album Nothing Has Changed (2014).
In June 2014, Bowie demoed new songs with his longtime producer Tony Visconti, the drummer Zachary Alford and the pianist Jack Spann at the Magic Shop in New York City, where The Next Day was recorded. Throughout the summer, Bowie worked on the demos alone for several months. During this time, he recorded 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" as a home demo, which appeared as the B-side of "Sue" in November. The same year, Bowie began writing a musical, Lazarus, with the Irish playwright Enda Walsh, composing new songs for it such as "No Plan", "When I Met You", "Killing a Little Time" and "The Hunger" (later titled "Lazarus").
In June, Bowie and Visconti saw McCaslin play with his jazz quartet — Guiliana, the pianist Jason Lindner and the bassist Tim Lefebvre — at the 55 Bar club in Greenwich Village, New York City. Lefebvre recalled: "When David saw us, he heard how electric and aggressive we were – more than he anticipated – which really sold us to him." Towards the end of 2014, Bowie hired the quartet as the main backing band for the upcoming album. Apart from Visconti, Blackstar was the first time since Tin Machine (1989) that Bowie used a completely new set of musicians than from his previous album. Visconti told Mojo: "If we'd used [Bowie's] former musicians they would be rock people playing jazz ... Having jazz guys play rock music turns it upside down." In December, the musicians received demos from Bowie in preparation for the recording sessions at the start of the new year.
Recording
Like The Next Day, recording for Blackstar took place in secret at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City, with production co-handled by Bowie and Visconti. Each musician signed confidentiality clauses relating to the album.
The studio atmosphere was collaborative. Bowie had demoed all of the tracks before the sessions, but encouraged experimentation amongst the ensemble. Lindner told Rolling Stone, "He gave us the freedom to really just play, sort of be ourselves, and if we were hearing anything in particular, to try it out." McCaslin later described the process as supportive and praised the working environment as creative. Lefebvre appreciated that Bowie chose a band with studio chemistry rather than using a random set of studio musicians, stating that they "all already knew how to play together" so Bowie did not have to "establish a groove" because "it was already there". Visconti praised the band, calling their approach to music "refreshing".
Recording began at the Magic Shop in the first week of 2015. Tracks for both Blackstar and the Lazarus musical were recorded: "Lazarus", "No Plan", a re-recording of "Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" and "When I Met You". Most of the rhythm tracks were recorded in one or two takes. During the week, Bowie celebrated his 68th birthday. Following the January sessions, further recording commenced in blocks; according to the biographer Nicholas Pegg, they lasted four to six days each, taking place in the first week of February and the third week of March. Bowie emailed the musicians demos before each session.
The February sessions yielded "Dollar Days", "Girl Loves Me", "Someday" and a re-recording of "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)". "Dollar Days" was created without a preliminary demo, instead being devised on the spot in the studio based on a guitar idea from Bowie. Visconti said Bowie wanted to remake "Sue" to "make a different version of it, with a completely different flavour". James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem was present during these sessions, contributing percussion on "Sue" and "Girl Loves Me"; he had previously remixed Bowie's song "Love Is Lost" for The Next Day Extra in 2013. Murphy had been slated to co-produce Blackstar but backed out due to feeling "overwhelmed".
For the March sessions, the band were joined by the jazz guitarist Ben Monder, who played on the original recording of "Sue". Monder found the environment to be positive, saying that Bowie respected their ideas and contributions. Songs recorded included "Blackstar", "I Can't Give Everything Away", "Killing a Little Time" and a remake of "Someday" (now titled "Blaze"). Bowie performed his vocals live while the band played during the Magic Shop sessions, but moved to Human Worldwide Studios in April for proper recording. The majority of his vocals were recorded from scratch between April and May, although some vocals from the Magic Shop sessions were kept, including part of "I Can't Give Everything Away" and the full vocal for "No Plan". Visconti's assistant at Human Worldwide, Erin Tonkon, contributed backing vocals to "Tis a Pity She Was a Whore".
The final master mix was done by the English engineer Tom Elmhirst at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, although Bowie and Visconti oversaw the mixing sessions in general. Bowie wanted Elmhirst because "he's the number one mixing engineer in the US". The album was finished by June, after which Bowie continued preparations for the Lazarus musical.
Bowie's illness Bowie recorded Blackstar while suffering from liver cancer. He had been diagnosed in the summer of 2014 and was undergoing chemotherapy treatments by the time the sessions began in January 2015. He kept the illness private, only discussing it when it affected his work; Visconti did not learn of it until Bowie arrived at the studio immediately following a chemo session. Visconti recalled that despite his illness, Bowie was in high spirits throughout the sessions: "He was so brave and courageous ... and his energy was still incredible for a man who had cancer. He never showed any fear. He was just all business about making the album."
Visconti reportedly told the backing band that Bowie was unwell, although Lefebvre said that he never appeared sick. According to Pegg, Bowie's illness showed signs of remission as the sessions continued. By March, his hair had grown back, and he looked well. Monder, during his time in the studio, recalled that Bowie looked healthy and showed no signs of illness. He recalled Bowie being "really enthusiastic" and "very excited" to be making an album again. Throughout 2015, Bowie was optimistic as he continued chemotherapy and, by that summer, was in remission. By November, however, shortly after completing the "Lazarus" music video, Bowie told Visconti the cancer had returned, and his condition was terminal.
Music and lyrics The music on Blackstar has been characterised as incorporating art rock, experimental jazz, free jazz, progressive rock and experimental rock, with elements of industrial rock, folk-pop and hip-hop. Several critics acknowledged the album as Bowie's most experimental in years. In The New York Times, Jon Pareles wrote that the band "jams [their] way into rock, funk and electronics from a jazz perspective". Billboard Jody Rosen argued that "to call this album jazz is as wrong as it would be to call it art rock, or funk, or electronica though all of those styles and more are stirred into the mix." Blackstar was not the first time Bowie experimented with jazz. He was an avid jazz listener in his youth, having been exposed to the genre by his older half-brother Terry Burns, and had occasionally worked with jazz musicians in the past. Monder said that there were many musical references to Bowie's past on Blackstar, albeit "presented in a fresh context".
According to Visconti, he and Bowie deliberately attempted "to avoid rock'n'roll" while making the album. They listened to the rapper Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, released midway through the Blackstar recording sessions, and cited it as an influence. Visconti said, "We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact that Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do." Another record that influenced Bowie was D'Angelo's Black Messiah (2014). According to Pegg, it featured a fusion of soul, jazz and funk that was reminiscent of Bowie's work on "Sue". The electronic duo Boards of Canada and experimental hip hop trio Death Grips have also been cited as influences. The record also drew comparisons to the music of Scott Walker.