Come Undone | Duran Duran | Gothik Serpent Cover

When I first watched their Ordinary World music video on VH1 way back in 2000 (or 2001, I can't remember), Duran Duran became the first favorite band, and arguably were my first step towards engaging with music in more than a casual way. They were hyped as a boy band; the 1980s equivalent of today's BTS, but the key differences were that they wrote sophisticated songs, played their own instruments, and had an actual artistic vision.

In this cover of Come Undone, off their 1993 Wedding Album, I wanted to take the 90s sheen off and give the tune a punchier, more live band feel without compromising its pop sensibilities. While doing some preparatory research into this song, I noticed that virtually all other covers of it were heavy metal renditions, with insanely overloaded guitars and pounding drums. I don't quite understand why this song made so many bands want to do metal versions of it, but it was a critical factor in my decision to avoid putting any heavy guitars in my version.

The result was a cover that was unexpectedly difficult to pull off; the absence of heavy guitars to fill the sonic space meant that I had to experiment with other forms of layering, including a small army of synth pads. Also worth mentioning is the use of a Chapman Stick in place of the original's synth bass. The Stick's percussive sound blends well with the kick drum, giving the bottom end a nice contrast to the many flowing synth landscapes.

Kerwin Tsang - Vocals, Guitars, Chapman Stick, Synths, Drum Programming, Mixing, Mastering, Video

Olivia Jean Kong - Lead and Supporting Vocals