Reeves Gabrels

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Lore & Background

Gabrels' work with Bowie on *Hours* began with the soundtrack for the video game *Omikron: The Nomad Soul*, developed by Quantic Dream and published by Eidos Interactive. Bowie was chosen over applicants including Björk, Massive Attack and Archive. Along with composing the music, Bowie, Gabrels and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey appeared in the game as the singer of an in-game band performing gigs in the bars of Omikron City. Between late 1998 and early 1999, Bowie and Gabrels amassed a large number of songs, some written for *Omikron* and others for a Gabrels solo album. Gabrels stated that *Omikron* provided the musical direction for the songs, explaining that the characters they appeared as in the game were street/protest singers and needed a more singer-songwriter approach, which was the opposite of "the usual cheesy industrial metal music one would normally get."

In Their Own Story

In the studio for *Hours*, Gabrels and Bowie completed most of the work by themselves at Seaview Studios in Bermuda, with contributions from Mark Plati and drummer Sterling Campbell. Gabrels vetoed Bowie's initial idea to have the R&B trio TLC perform backing vocals for "Thursday's Child", instead hiring his friend Holly Palmer, who later joined Bowie's touring band. Disagreements arose between Bowie and Gabrels regarding the musical direction; Gabrels wanted to do an *Earthling* follow-up in a manner similar to *Ziggy Stardust* (1972) and *Aladdin Sane* (1973). He later revealed that *Hours* initially sounded like *Diamond Dogs* (1974). He was also frustrated at the hiring of Plati and the demotion of "We All Go Through" and "1917" to B-side status.

Reader's Guide

Reeves Gabrels collaborated with David Bowie from 1988 until the release of *Hours*, which was their final collaboration. He co-wrote songs for the album, including "Survive", "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" and the B-side "We All Go Through". He appeared in the video game *Omikron: The Nomad Soul* as a member of an in-game band alongside Bowie and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. During the recording of *Hours*, Gabrels vetoed Bowie's idea to have TLC perform backing vocals on "Thursday's Child", instead hiring his friend Holly Palmer. The album was recorded in mid-1999 at studios in Bermuda and New York City. Gabrels' musical direction for the songs was influenced by the game's requirement for a more singer-songwriter approach, as the characters they played were street/protest singers.

Did You Know?

• Gabrels appeared as a character in the video game *Omikron: The Nomad Soul* (1999) alongside David Bowie and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey.
• He vetoed Bowie's idea to have the R&B trio TLC sing backing vocals on "Thursday's Child", instead hiring his friend Holly Palmer.
• Gabrels was frustrated that the songs "We All Go Through" and "1917" were demoted to B-side status during the *Hours* sessions.
• He stated that the musical direction for *Hours* was influenced by the game's requirement for a singer-songwriter approach, as the characters were street/protest singers.
• Some songs on *Hours* were originally written for a Gabrels solo album, including "Survive" and "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell".