First Aid Kit have announced a live Leonard Cohen tribute album titled Who By Fire. Named after Cohen’s 1974 song, the LP was recorded over two nights in March 2017, when the Swedish duo performed a pair of tribute concerts to the late singer-songwriter at Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre. The album is due out on March 26 and includes the newly unveiled rendition of ‘Suzanne’. Listen to it below, and check out the album’s tracklist.
For the performances, the duo’s Johanna and Klara Söderberg were joined by an eight-piece band and a 20-person choir. The record also features appearances from a host of Swedish artists including Loney Dear, Jesper Lindell and Maja Francis, as well as actresses Maia Hansson Bergqvist and Nina Zanjani.
“We recently listened back to this concert and realised that this was something out of the ordinary for us,” First Aid Kit said in a statement. “Dwelling deeply into Cohen’s world was a pleasure, he was so prolific as both a poet and a songwriter, and everything he ever put out held a very strong standard. He cared immensely for his work.”
They added: “The band, the guest artists, the atmosphere on stage… everyone had a great passion and it felt magical. This is definitely a record that is best enjoyed listening to back-to-back with no interruptions. Allow yourself to just disappear into Cohen’s world for a little while.”
Last August, First Aid Kit released a cover of Willie Nelson’s ‘On the Road Again’. It marked the duo’s first new music since their 2018 album Ruins.
Who By Fire Tracklist:
1. Tired (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
2. Suzanne (First Aid Kit)
3. Sisters of Mercy (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
4. Who by Fire / As The Mist Leaves No Scar (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
5. Twelve O’Clock Chant (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
6. Everybody Knows (Frida Hyvönen, First Aid Kit)
7. Avalanche (Loney Dear)
8. The Future (Maia Hansson-Bergqvist, First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani)
9. Chelsea Hotel No.5 (Jesper Lindell, First Aid Kit)
10. You Want It Darker (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
11. If It Be Your Will (First Aid Kit)
12. The Asthmatic (Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist, First Aid Kit)
13. Famous Blue Raincoat / Anthem (Maja Francis, First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani)
14. Show Me The Place (Jesper Lindell, First Aid Kit)
15. Hallelujah (Annika Norlin, First Aid Kit)
16. Prayer for Messiah (Klara Söderberg)
17. Bird on the Wire (First Aid Kit )
18. Who by Fire (Reprise) / Letter to Marianne (First Aid Kit, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
19. So Long Marianne (First Aid Kit, Frida Hyvönen, Loney Dear, Jesper Lindell, Annika Norlin, Maja Francis, Nina Zanjani, Maia Hansson-Bergqvist)
20. You’d Sing Too (Johanna Söderberg)
