Bowie's lyrics and sales inspire new musical composition

David Bowie’s extraordinary career is being transformed into new compositions as part of an event celebrating his impact on the global music scene. Plymouth University composer Dr Alexis Kirke and electronic music pioneer Martyn Ware have conducted an in-depth analysis of Bowie’s music and success, which included estimated album sales of over 140 million. They have then transformed this into new ‘sonification’ tunes, and they will be played for the first time at London’s Victoria & Album Museum on Friday 26 April as part of its Bowie Weekender. Dr Kirke, composer-in-residence at the University’s Marine Institute, said: “David Bowie is a fantastic songwriter, unique actor and towering cultural icon, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to be involved in events for the V&A’s widely-acclaimed exhibition on his impact. It is also great to be collaborating with the multi-faceted Martyn Ware. At one of their early gigs, Bowie called the Human League ‘the future of music’, so to be working with a key architect of the UK electronic scene is a privilege as well. Dr Kirke, a member of the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, has been involved in a number of recent innovative works.