Bowie surprises fans with new song on his birthday

A brand new David Bowie track “Where Are We Now?” caused a stir online today when the music video was posted unannounced.

The single was produced by Bowie’ longtime collaborator Tony Visconti and recorded in New York while the video is directed by Tony Oursler. Both the song and video pay homage to Bowie’s time in Berlin, where he lived from 1976 until 1979 sharing an apartment in Schoneberg with Iggy Pop.

In the video he is seen looking in at footage of the auto repair shop beneath the apartment he lived in along with images of the city from the time. The surprise release created a stir on Twitter with delighted reactions from his many fans.

David Bowie showing it’s possible to be 66 and young. Great song

— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) January 8, 2013

Only David Bowie could make a song about using public transport in Germany sound so wracked and lovely.

— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) January 8, 2013

I love that Bowie has kept his mystique. No word from him for years and then out of nowhere this beautiful song appears…

— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) January 8, 2013

A Columbia Records spokesman said Bowie’s 30th studio album had appeared as if “out of nowhere”.

He added: ”Throwing shadows and avoiding the industry treadmill is very David Bowie despite his extraordinary track record that includes album sales in excess of 130 million.

“Not to mention his massive contributions in the area of art, fashion, style, sexual exploration and social commentary. It goes without saying that he has sold out stadiums and broken ticket records throughout the world during this most influential of careers.”

Paul Trynka, the author of Starman, a biography of David Bowie, told Channel 4 News that the new release will be a big hit with fans and shows Bowie in a rare moment of self-reflection.

He believes that Bowie is using the video to address his own mortality and engage in a rare candid moment as an artist that will shock those who have followed his work.

“He is being reflective and taking a look back at his own life. This is different to what we usually see.

“In the video we see a lean old man, he is 66 and getting old and that’s a part of life so he acknowledges it. It’s hard for fans to adjust to that. He says, ‘This is me, here I am’ …this is significant in that it’s about himself and not an act.”