20th May sees the release of Day of the Dead – a Grateful Dead tribute album benefitting the Red Hot Organization.  The album was curated by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and last night both Aaron and Scott Devendorf (also of The National) were guests on SiriusXM’s Grateful Dead Channel where they shared a new song, ‘Terrapin Station (Suite)’, off the compilation.  The track is the most musically elaborate recording on the album, featuring nearly 50 musicians.

You can watch the video for the track below or on YouTube here, or stream on the platform of your choice here.

The Grateful Dead’s ‘Terrapin Station’, found on the album bearing the same name, was the first time the Dead unveiled a more symphonic and progressive sound.  For this new version the Dessners enlisted Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear along with members of their band The National to record their take of this iconic track for Day of the Dead.  Also on hand to recreate 1977’s entire Terrapin Station were Josh Kaufman, Conrad Doucette, Sō Percussion, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.  The full list of credits is below.

Day of the Dead is a wide-ranging tribute to the songwriting and experimentalism of the Dead which took four years to record, features over 60 artists from varied musical backgrounds, 59 tracks and is almost 6 hours long.  Five additional tracks – listed below – have been made previously available via instant grat with album pre-orders, on streaming services and accompanied by a series of videos directed by Michael Brown, Nick Ciontea, and Christopher Bartlett.

Listen to Day of the Dead tracks on streaming services here, or indivudally below.

The War On Drugs - ‘Touch of Grey’
Phosphorescent, Jenny Lewis & Friends - ‘Sugaree’
Bruce Hornsby and DeYarmond Edison - ‘Black Muddy River’
Courtney Barnett - ‘New Speedway Boogie’
The National - ‘Morning Dew’

Day of the Dead will be released digitally, on a 5xCD, and as a limited edition vinyl boxed set.  All profits will help fight for AIDS/HIV and related health issued around the world through the Red Hot Organization charity.

Pre-order Day of the Dead here:
CD via 4AD | iTunes | Amazon | Google Play

Find Day of the Dead online:
Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Red Hot is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS through pop culture. Its mission is to raise awareness and money around the AIDS crisis and related health issues.  It was started in 1990 by Leigh Blake and John Carlin with the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue, which raised millions of dollars, helped reduce stigma around AIDS at the time and supported organisations and efforts such as ACT UP and T.A.G., which took a stand and made the world pay attention and develop medication that let people with AIDS survive.  Over the past 25 years, over 500 artists, producers and directors have contributed to 20 compilation albums of original music, videos events and media to keep people thinking about the implications of the AIDS epidemic as well as donate millions to organizations around the world.

‘Terrapin Station (Suite)’ Credits

Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear and The National (ft. Josh Kaufman, Conrad Doucette, Sō Percussion and Brooklyn Youth Chorus)

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Daniel Rossen - vocals, guitar, synth, wurlitzer, piano
Christopher Bear - drums, vocals, synth
Aaron Dessner - electric guitar, OP1
Scott Devendorf - bass, vocals
Josh Kaufman - electric guitar, juno, rhodes, vocals
Conrad Doucette - drums, vocals
Amelia Bauer - vocals

Orchestration by Bryce Dessner
Orchestral percussion break composed by Bryce Dessner
Violin: Katie Hyun, Ben Russel, Emily Dagget Smith, Guillaume Pirard, Emily Popham Gillins, Caleb Burhans
Viola: Caitlin Lynch, Max Mandel
Cello: Clarice Jensen, Paul Wianko
Bass: Logan Coale
French Horn: Mike Atkinson, David Byrd, Rachel Drehmann
Trumpet: Brandon Ridenour
Trombone: Dave Nelson
Oboe: Julia Derosa
Chorus: Brooklyn Youth Chorus; Director, Dianne Berkun­-Menaker
Chorus:
Bella Nigro
Camille Johnson
Akiya Henry
Naomie Azor
Maeve McNamara
Lily Pisano
Charlotte Knutsen
Mariana Weaver
Julia Harbutt
Sarah Abramson
Aliyah Weiss
Ariel Binns
Jake Montagnino
Izzi Stevenson
Morgan Colton
Sarah Sotomayor
Katy Urda
Frost Martin

Sō Percussion plays marimba, vibes, drum set, brake drum, pipes, wine bottles, triangle, maracas, shekere, Thai gongs, and almglocken.
Transcription of original orchestral parts by Stephen Feigenbaum
Produced by Daniel Rossen, Christopher Bear, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner and Josh Kaufman
Recorded by Jonathan Low at Future­Past in Hudson, NY and Nick Lloyd at Avatar
Mixed by Jonathan Low at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia, PA