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Alex Kapranos and Clara Luciani

Jul 28, 2020 By Jennifer Irving Alex Kapranos

Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos and French chanteuse Clara Luciani have released a cover of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood’s “Summer Wine.” Mixed in both Kapranos’s studio in Scotland and the Motorbass Studio in Paris, the single features Kapranos and Luciani’s vocals alternating between French and English. It was shared via a video, which you can watch below.

“Back in October, Clara asked me to join her on stage at the Olympia in Paris, where we first sang ‘Summer Wine’ together,” Kapranos says in a press release. “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.”

Directed by Ryder the Eagle, the video accompanying the single features the pairs’ friends singing karaoke in a desert, providing a little escape from the current quarantine situation.

“When the lockdown started, we decided to record it—more for ourselves than anything else,” Kapranos adds. “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…. 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!”

Franz Ferdinand’s last album, Always Ascending, was released in 2018 via their longtime label Domino.

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