Dev Hynes has long been a fan of Philip Glass. He once named the American composer as “one of the few people that I continually listen to…people who made music that I view as ultimate music, artists that create ultimate pieces of art” alongside experimental cellist Arthur Russell and King of Pop Michael Jackson. Glass is equally fond of Hynes, having tapped the prodigious multi-instrumentalist to perform at his annual Tibet House benefit at Carnegie Hall last year. So it makes sense that during a recent guest appearance on SiriusXMU, Hynes chose to cover one of Glass’s piano pieces, “Metamorphosis III.”
The song is lifted from Glass’s 1989 record Solo Piano, which is comprised of five “Metamorphosis” compositions, inspired by Franz Kafka’s most famous novella. Some of these “Metamorphosis” movements formed the score of Errol Morris’ lauded 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line. These pieces have gone on to appear in Battlestar Galactica and The Hours — a varied collection of visuals if there ever was one (but that’s Glass for you). Also included on Solo Piano is “Wichita Sutra Vortex,” a song made in collaboration with Allen Ginsberg after a chance meeting in an East Village bookstore that same year.
Though Hynes didn’t have much to say about the song on Sirius, he’s cited other pieces of Glass’s work, namely Songs from Liquid Days, his 1986 album that features lyrics by Suzanne Vega, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, and Paul Simon. “I love the world that he grew out of. As someone who isn’t from New York, it’s something I’m still, and probably will always be, in awe of,” Hynes told The Fader in 2012, for a special issue commemorating Glass. “I’m pretty obsessed with notes in a rhythmic sense, and having each note be of an equal beat. I’m always a fan of layers of music that are also melodically rewarding.”
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Beau Grealy
Styling Andreas Kokkino
Dev wears Suit Trussardi. T-shirt Calvin Klein Jeans. Hat Beyond Retro. Sunglasses MoMa. Kindness wears sweater Pringle of Scotland. Pants Paul Smith.