Though they peaked commercially in the early-’90s, World Party’s music always felt of a feather with Brit-pop upstarts like Oasis and Blur. Karl Wallinger started the band in 1986 as a solo project, but it was hardly a solitary exercise. World Party’s records are lush productions that nod towards the Beatles and Bowie, and like Oasis and Blur, there’s something distinctly British about hearing all that sunny orchestration balanced with a heavy beat.
Things got decidedly cloudy in 2001 after Wallinger suffered an aneurysm that left him unable to speak. After five years of recovery, he returned to the stage for the first time at SXSW 2006, and he reckons he’s played more shows since then than in World Party’s first fifteen years. Wallinger is on the road again revisiting his past before gearing up for a new album next year. He stopped by with David Duffy last week and played a few World Party favorites. This time, the pair used Studio 1A as an instrument, stripping “Is It Like Today?” down to its uniquely resonant core. Download the song below.
–Art Levy