Back in 2011, Interpol and David Lynch joined forces for a special project at Coachella where they overlaid the director’s short film I Touch a Red Button Man with the band’s 2010 single “Lights.” Now, Interpol are releasing that collaboration as a limited series of eight NFTs through HIFI Labs.
Lynch X Interpol includes newly recorded versions of “Lights” featuring [Interpol lead guitarist] Daniel Kessler on piano. Fans will also be given the opportunity to put their own creative touch on one of the NFTs in a “3D gallery,” with one lucky participant receiving the NFT for free.
Auctions for Lynch X Interpol begin October 26th.
This whole thing seems like something Lynch would be staunchly opposed to given his history with technology. A while back, he made it very clear that he thinks movies should be viewed in theaters instead of on smartphones, saying, “It’s such a sadness that you think you’ve seen a film on your fucking telephone. Get real.” There’s no public statement by the Twin Peaks director about his thoughts on a decade-old collaboration being reformatted for online-only viewing and slapped with a whopping price tag, but apparently he was cool with it since these NFTs are going on sale. So who knows!
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Perhaps that explains why Interpol are so enthused about these Lynch X Interpol NFTs existing at all. “To be frank, Interpol is crazy about David Lynch, and we are over the moon to have ever been able to align our name with his in an artistic forum,” said frontman Paul Banks. “Humbly, we believe that as digital artifacts go, these are worthy of preservation in the infinite digital realm.” It seems like even they know it’s a feat this was approved.
NFTs are infamous for many reasons, arguably the biggest of which is their unethical carbon footprint on the planet. According to Interpol, buyers won’t have to feel guilty because their NFTs are conscientious and safe. “We are pleased to enter the NFT space in as ethical a manner as we could, in conjunction with Aerial,” said Banks. “We hope to bring an artful and interactive approach to this launch.”
Interpol and David Lynch are the latest in an ever-growing pool of celebrities, artists, and musicians who are profiting off of NFTs. Grimes raked in $6 million at the start of the year, Azealia Banks sold an audio sex tape for $18,000, and Aphex Twin cashed in some original visual artwork for $128,000. Even the dead can’t escape the trend, as Chris Cornell’s final portraits were auctioned off as NFTs back in August.
In other news, Interpol are hard at work on their upcoming seventh studio album, which will follow 2018’s Marauder and their 2019 EP A Fine Mess. As for Lynch, he’s allegedly working on a new project for Netflix, perhaps to fill the giant void left by Twin Peaks leaving the streaming platform back in June.
