Reuters
LONDON 鈥� British singer David Bowie released his first new song in nearly a decade on Tuesday in a surprise launch coinciding with his 66th birthday.
Where Are We Now?, produced by long-term collaborator Tony Visconti, is a melancholic look back to the time Bowie spent in Berlin in the 1970s, with an accompanying video featuring black-and-white footage of the city when it was still divided.
The song, available on iTunes and free to view on his re-launched website, was recorded in New York and will be followed by Bowie鈥檚 first studio album since 2003, The Next Day, due out in March.
Fans welcomed the return of one of pop music鈥檚 most gifted and enigmatic figures, and the hashtags #Bowie and #DavidBowie were trending on Twitter following the announcement.
Early reaction from the public was mixed, but critics were largely impressed.
鈥淧lenty of veteran musicians are masters of the cunning trick of staying away just long enough for every comeback to be hailed as a return to form, regardless of its true quality,鈥� wrote David Smyth of London鈥檚 Evening Standard.
鈥淏owie鈥檚 new song, Where are we now?, is free of such bluster. It鈥檚 gentle, elegiac and stunningly beautiful.鈥�
The artwork for the album appears to be based on that used on Heroes, Bowie鈥檚 acclaimed 1977 record that was the second album in his so-called Berlin Trilogy.
The typically understated associations with the singer鈥檚 past have prompted the music press to speculate that he may be returning to the German cycle.
As yet there is no word on whether Bowie will tour to support the album, or on the identity of the mysterious woman whose face appears in the new video alongside that of the singer.
Bowie鈥檚 label, Columbia Records, said the new song was a 鈥渢reasure鈥� that appeared 鈥渁s if out of nowhere,鈥� underlining the element of surprise.
鈥淭hrowing 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,鈥� the label said.
The album will consist of 14聽songs, and a deluxe edition will feature three bonus tracks.
