David Byrne Shares New Single “What Is The Reason For It?” and Spicy Mostly Instrumental Wedding Playlist

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

On Friday, September 5, David Byrne will release his highly anticipated Matador Records output, Who Is The Sky? As a preview of the impending full-length record, the Talking Heads frontman has delivered the set’s latest single, “What Is The Reason For It?” The Hayley Williams featured track arrives alongside an official animated music video with line drawings by Byrne, and a playlist shared by the artist over the weekend in connection with his forthcoming nuptials. 

Notably, the LP comes out around the time of Byrne’s wedding to Mala Gaonkar, with whom he first collaborated in 2016 while working on an immersive theater performance at Stanford Arts Institute, and again on a separate arts project in 2022. Byrne mentioned the wedding on social media this past weekend, while also sharing a mostly instrumental playlist he created for guests during the event’s dining experience.

The playlist, which Byrne has simply titled “Dinner Music,” includes a stretch of 42 songs lasting 2 hours and 26 minutes, ranging from jazz standards like Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” to newer releases such as T. Bone Burnett’s Lucius collab, “Waiting For You,” and an instrumental rendition of Post Malone’s “Wow,” as well as to global entries which flex the creator’s wide ranging influences. 

In the playlist description, Byrne wrote: “I’m getting married this week and made an almost entirely instrumental playlist while our guests eat an amazing and spicy dinner.” 

Speaking to the official song release and working with Williams, Byrne told People, “When we were finishing up the record, the producer Kid Harpoon and I were wondering, ‘Oh, maybe this song, it’s a love song, or at least it’s asking what is love, what it’s about? Why do we do this? Why do other people do it? Do we know anything about it? (…) And I knew that she was in town, so I just texted her and said, ‘Do you want to come by and sing on this?’ And she said yes. And she killed it.”

Paired with the sonic release is an official music video, directed by Dustin Yellin in collaboration with Byrne, who provided 20 line drawings that were animated using AI technology to bring the images to life. 

Click here to pre-order Who Is The Sky?, available in limited Cantaloupe Orange / Strawberry Pink split vinyl featuring a lenticular cover. 

Watch the official music video for “What Is The Reason For It?” below. 

Who Is the Sky? Tracking list: 

Everybody Laughs

When We Are Singing

My Apartment Is My Friend

A Door Called No

What Is the Reason for It?

I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party

Don’t Be Like That

The Avant Garde

Moisturizing Thing

I’m an Outsider

She Explains Things to Me

The Truth