System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian and Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello have joined forces for a collaborative cover of Gang Of Four’s post-punk classic Natural’s Not In It.
The track is the first single to emerge from The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four, a tribute to guitarist Gill, who passed away in February 2020. The original version of Natural’s Not In It appeared on Gang Of Four’s hugely influential debut album, Entertainment!
Speaking of Gill’s influence to Spin, Morello says, “Andy Gill was one of a handful of artists in history who changed the way guitars are played, Gang of Four were just incendiary and completely groundbreaking with Andy’s confrontational, unnerving and sublime playing at the forefront. His jagged plague-disco raptor-attack industrial-funk deconstructed guitar anti-hero sonics and fierce poetic radical intellect were hugely influential to me.”
“It was a real pleasure to work on this track with Tom and honor the legacy of Andy and Gang of Four at the same time,” Tankian adds.
System frontman Tankian is set for a busy 2021. The singer will release a solo EP, Elasticity, in February 2021, to tie in with the February 19 release of Truth To Power, a documentary about the singer’s life, exploring his “journey through the turbulent intersection of music & activism over 3 decades.” In addition, Tankian says he will release two albums of cinematic music in 2021, and a 24-minute piano concerto.
