Paul Simon ReImagined By Harper Blynn

Pop/rock quarter perform a cover of GRAMMY winner's "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" plus two original songs

GRAMMY.com

New York-based pop/rock quartet Harper Blynn recently performed a cover of Paul Simon's "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" for an installment of The Recording Academy's ReImagined series. Linking GRAMMY history with the present, ReImagined is a performance-based series featuring artists interpreting an iconic GRAMMY-winning song, an interview and performances of original music. 

View the interview and performances here.

"Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" is featured on Simon's 1986 album Graceland, which garnered a GRAMMY for Album Of The Year. In addition to their arrangement of "Diamonds…," Harper Blynn also performed two original songs, "Lovely Thing" and "Busy Hands, Empty Hearts."  

"One of the reasons that Paul Simon particularly as an artist is someone that we can all get behind is because not only is the songwriting always great, but the playing is always phenomenal," said vocalist/keyboardist Pete Harper. "He's always used the best musicians that exist. That's something as a band that we value a lot — you have to start with a good song and then you have to play it unbelievably well."

Formed in New York in 2006, Harper Blynn is comprised of J. Blynn (vocals/guitar), Harper, Whynot Jansveld (bass), and Sarab Singh (drums). In 2010 the quartet released their debut album, Loneliest Generation, followed by a five-song self-titled EP. The group subsequently landed spots on tour with artists including Ingrid Michaelson and Greg Laswell, among others. In April Harper Blynn released their sophomore album, Busy Hands, which was co-produced by John O'Mahony (Coldplay, Metric) and features 13 tracks co-written by Blynn and Harper that explore themes such as long-distance relationships, infatuation and betrayal, among others. The album was released on the band's own the Baby Jackal Records. In June the group released a studio version of their cover of Beyoncé's "Halo." Harper Blynn will play live at the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles on Sept. 15.