Multiple GRAMMY winner Art Garfunkel and his son Art Garfunkel Jr. have today announced their first collaborative studio album. ‘Father and Son’, set to arrive on November 8, 2024, via BMG.
A stunning covers album, it features a selection of personal favourites from the last century, with first single, Cyndi Lauper’s hit, ‘Time After Time’, the first taste.
“‘Time After Time’ is one of my all-time favourites from the 80s,” says Garfunkel Jr. about the new, epically orchestrated rendition of the iconic hit, first released by Lauper four decades ago.
“It’s a song that fits perfectly on this album – because it also deals with our relationship, this unique bond between my father and me. From one generation to the next, it’s about time passing, about passing on the baton, but here we are working together in the studio…and thus begins the next cycle, as my father takes this exciting next step with me,” says the 33-year-old.
“It felt like a dream. It was simply quite wonderful. I love working with him,” adds NYC hitmaking veteran Art Garfunkel, referring to their shared time in the studio. “I like to say my son is a better singer than I am. I mean, I’m pretty good… but he is better.”
“We were going for a real modern orchestral vibe, with lots of strings,” they say about the new project’s lush and lavish sound.
In the studio, they enlisted three international greats to capture the unique father-son dynamic: trusted hit producer Felix Gauder, best known for his work with Pet Shop Boys, and Jimmy Somerville, was joined by top-notch Italian string arranger Davide Rossi (Coldplay, Alicia Keys) and famed UK studio wizard Ash Howes (Kylie Minogue, Ellie Goulding). As they were finishing off the album, Garfunkel & Garfunkel booked another studio for a video shoot – which turned out to be the very studio where Cyndi Lauper recorded the original version of ‘Time After Time’.
“This one is truly a father-son project, it’s all about this unique connection,” Art Jr. adds. “We recorded a dozen of our most cherished songs. I brought more of the 80s influences into the project, and my father brought more of the Great American Songbook – wonderful songs from the 1940s and so on. These two influences came together in a pretty exciting way. Overall, it’s definitely an expression of our bond.”
Further album highlights include timeless songs by The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and Cat Stevens.
Art Garfunkel Jr., born in Manhattan in 1990, is the oldest child of Kathryn and Art Garfunkel, and he spent most of his childhood and youth in the United States, often accompanying his father on tour as a child. He moved to Berlin as a teenager, but then toured extensively with his father in 2018 and 2019, followed by the release of his first two solo albums, ‘Wie Du’, and, ‘Evergreen’ which hit the top 10 and the top 15, respectively, in Germany.
Art Garfunkel launched his career in 1957 as one half of famed US folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, founded with songwriter Paul Simon. Global hit singles such as, ‘Sound of Silence’, ‘Scarborough Fair’, ‘Mrs. Robinson’, ‘The Boxer’ and ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ have since become part of the canon of western pop history. After the duo split up in 1970, Garfunkel not only landed massive solo hits, such as ‘Bright Eyes’, but also acted in various Hollywood films. He’s since shared stages with Paul Simon occasionally over the last decades – including their 1981 Central Park performance in front of a 500k strong audience – but more recently he’s been performing with his son, Art Garfunkel Jr.
With this latest chapter, Garfunkel & Garfunkel celebrate their unique connection: The new album, ‘Father And Son’ is set to arrive on November 8th, 2024.
Pre-order ‘Father And Son’ here. You can stream and download ‘Time After Time’ here.
