New Yoko Ono Tribute Album Features David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Death Cab For Cutie, Japanese Breakfast, Sharon Van Etten, & More

Death Cab For Cutie veteran Ben Gibbard has compiled a new Yoko Ono tribute album featuring submissions from David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Sharon Van Etten, Death Cab, Japanese Breakfast, US Girls, Amber Coffman, Deerhoof, the Flaming Lips, and more. Titled Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono, the album will drop in February On February 18 via Canvasback Music. Byrne and Yo La Tengo’s cover of “Who Has Seen The Wind?” is available to hear now.

Here’s Gibbard’s statement around the project:

Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono was born out of both love and frustration. The “love” part is pretty obvious; it is the seemingly bottomless well of inspiration and enjoyment Yoko Ono’s music has provided me and I must assume everyone else present here on this compilation. The “frustration” part, on the other hand, goes back decades.

As an advocate, the tallest hurdle to clear has always been the public’s ignorance as to the breadth of Yoko’s work. To put it into context; this is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. For years, it has been my position that her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication, and deep introspection.

Some of her best songs have been covered and compiled here by a generation-spanning group of musicians for whom her work has meant so much. It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.

Additionally, Gibbard will launch a podcast with music journalist Jenny Eliscu on the day of the album’s release; the two will host discussions around Ono’s music and legacy with many of the album’s artists. Likewise, a portion of the album’s proceeds will be donated to the organization Why Hunger.

Listen to Yo La Tengo and Byrne’s take on “Who Has Seen The Wind?” below.

TRACKLIST:
01 Sharon Van Etten — “Toyboat”
02 David Byrne & Yo La Tengo — “Who Has Seen The Wind”
03 Sudan Archives — “Dogtown”
04 Death Cab For Cutie — “Waiting For The Sunrise”
05 Thao — “Yellow Girl (Stand For Life)”
06 US Girls — “Born In A Prison”
07 Jay Som — “Growing Pain”
08 Stephin Merritt — “Listen, The Snow Is Falling”
09 Deerhoof — “No No No”
10 We Are KING — “Don’t Be Scared”
11 The Flaming Lips — “Mrs Lennon”
12 Japanese Breakfast — “No One Sees Me Like You Do”
13 Yo La Tengo — “There Is No Goodbye Between Us”
14 Amber Coffman — “Run Run Run”

Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono is out 2/18 via Canvasback Music. Pre-order it here.