Lady Gaga Samples Zombie Zombie in “Venus”
It’s not every day that Lady Gaga samples a French band. The pop diva used a sample of the voices of French duo Zombie Zombie on her new single “Venus”, the third single off the album Artpop, to be released on November 11th. This was done in full agreement with the artists and record label Versatile, which is responsible for producing and releasing the group’s music. The similarity between Lady Gaga’s “Venus” and “Rocket Number 9”, performed by Zombie Zombie and released in March 2012, does not stop with the sample used, but can also be found in the way in which the American artist sings.
Of particular note is that the track Rocket Number 9 is originally by jazzman Sun Ra. It’s a strange story how this piece of 70’s avant-garde free jazz found it’s way to the French indie-electro scene, to subsequently unconsciously influence the newest hit of the biggest pop star of the moment. An unlikely but very effective equation: Zombie Zombie, the missing link between Sun Ra and Lady Gaga?
Parisian duo Zombie Zombie, consisting of Cosmic Neman on drums and Etienne Jaumet on synths, has been involved in the indie-electro scene since 2007. Their latest album, Rituels D’Un Nouveau Monde, was released on Versatile Records in November 2012.
Zombie Zombie’s Rocket Number 9
