1 week ago
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Rostam, formerly of Vampire Weekend, has shared an original demo of “Campus,” a song that appears on Vampire Weekend’s 2008 debut. He’s also revealed an instrumental version of the track.
Rostam is unearthing the original version as a charity single; 51% of the proceeds from the master recording of “Campus (Original Version)” will be donated to Palestine Legal, CHIRLA, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Sudanese American Physicians Association. He originally created the song as a student at Columbia University in 2005, pre-dating Vampire Weekend’s existence. Instead of the band’s alternative rock style, Rostam crafted “Campus” with a heavy emphasis on strings and classical music.
The track was still partially finished in 2006 when it was posted prematurely on Rostam’s MySpace page, after which it quietly circulated on Reddit threads and YouTube videos for years. Now, Rostam has finished that original version and is releasing it digitally as well as a limited edition heavyweight 7-inch single. Pre-orders are available here.
“I wrote most of this song in December of 2005, we came together as a band a few months later,” Rostam said in a statement. “Ezra [Koenig] wrote pretty much all of the lyrics on our debut album, but this song was an exception. I was interested in creating a piece of music that was built around a cello, a kick drum, and a vocal that told a story. Robyn’s ‘Be Mine’ was an inspiration.”
“From the first time we tried playing it as a band with rock instruments, it happened to work. That was a happy accident, but I always intended for this original version to see the light of day someday. The strings in this version were recorded in my dorm room at Columbia in 2006. It’s just one cellist and one violinist that I built up into an ensemble with multi-tracking. There are some small differences in lyrics between this version and our Vampire Weekend version and I’m sure some people will notice them. I’m happy that version exists and I’m also happy this one is out in the world now too.”
Rostam recently teased his next solo album, American Stories, which will arrive sometime this year. He’s also remained active as a producer, working on new music from HAIM, Leith Ross, Avalon Emerson & the Charm, and more over the last year.
English (US) · 