"Subterraneans" is a song by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, the closing track of his 1977 album '' Low''. As with most of Side 2, "Subterraneans" is mostly instrumental, with brief, obscure lyrics sung near the song's end. "Subterraneans" was first recorded in 1975 and intended for the soundtrack to the 1976 film ''

The Man Who Fell to Earth ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'' is a 1976 British science fiction drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg. Based on Walter Tevis's 1963 novel of the same name, the film follows an extraterrestrial (Thomas Jerome Newt ...

''. It was later revisited during the sessions for ''Low''.

Musical characteristics

After the ''

Station to Station ''Station to Station'' is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance person ...

'' sessions ended in November 1975 at

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band The Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, The Cars, Foreign ...

in Los Angeles, David Bowie recorded "Subterraneans" within those studios in December 1975. The song later received overdubs by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

. The sleeve notes of ''Low'' credit "Peter and Paul with additional

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...

and piano". The "Peter and Paul" mentioned are Peter Robinson, who played

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, and Paul Buckmaster (the composer of the string arrangements for the Rolling Stones' " Moonlight Mile") who played the

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "perf ...

Mojo (magazine) ''Mojo'' is a popular music music magazine, magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Ascential, Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, Bauer. Following the success of the magazine ''Q (magazine), Q'', publisher ...

. ''60 Years of Bowie.'' Peter Robinson and Paul Buckmaster worked with Bowie at Cherokee Studios in late 1975 on the aborted movie soundtrack to ''

''. "Subterraneans" was ultimately the most heavily edited song on ''Low'', with David Bowie's saxophone, as well as multilayered synthesizers and reversed instrument sounds from

, floating underneath a moaned vocal which is wordless until around the final ninety seconds. The soundscapes contain a cinematic quality which evokes the feel of

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

' landmark album ''

In a Silent Way ''In a Silent Way'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis, released on July 30, 1969, on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969, at CBS ...

''. Bowie related the song to the misery of those in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. According to Bowie, people who "got caught in

after the separation – hence the faint

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

s representing the memory of what it was."

Live versions

* The song was used as an introduction to Bowie's set during the 1995

Outside Tour The Outside Tour was a tour by English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the '' 1. Outside'' album which it supported. The tour visited stops in North Americ ...

. It was different from the album version in that its lyrics and musical themes were merged from the song " Scary Monsters" (which would follow "Subterraneans" on the setlists). This version was performed alongside the co-headliners,

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

Personnel

: Vocals, saxophone, reversed electric guitar, ARP String Ensemble * Paul Buckmaster:

synthesizer * Peter Robinson : Reversed

electric piano *

ARP 2600 The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive audio synthesizer produced by ARP Instruments, Inc. History Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Allen R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 a ...

synthesizer, piano *

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garso ...

: Reversed electric guitar * George Murray: Reversed bass guitar *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

: Production

Other versions

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

– ''Low Symphony'' (1992) *

– Live recording (with David Bowie) (1995) *

Dylan Howe Dylan Lee Howe (born 4 August 1969) is an English drummer, bandleader, session musician and composer. The son of guitarist Steve Howe with whom he has sometimes collaborated, Dylan is also noted for his work with rock band the Blockheads ( ...

– Jazz reconstruction for his album 'Subterranean – New Designs on Bowie's Berlin' (2014) *

Alva Noto Carsten Nicolai (18 September 1965), also known as Alva Noto, is a German musician and visual artist. He is a member of the music groups Diamond Version with Olaf Bender (Byetone), Signal with Frank Bretschneider and Olaf Bender, Cyclo with Ryoj ...

with

Martin Gore Martin Lee Gore (born 23 July 1961) is an English songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and DJ. He is one of the founding members of the electronic rock band Depeche Mode and is the band's main songwriter. He is the band's guitarist a ...

(vocals) and

William Basinski William Basinski (born June 25, 1958) is an American avant-garde composer based in Los Angeles, California. He is also a clarinetist, saxophonist, sound artist, and video artist. Basinski is best known for his four-volume album '' The Disintegra ...

(saxophone) – vinyl and digital single (2022)

References

{{Authority control David Bowie songs 1977 songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti Song recordings produced by David Bowie