David Byrne has released the digital deluxe edition of his latest album, Who Is the Sky?, expanding the record with four bonus tracks. Stream it below.
The new additions to Who Is the Sky? are “T Shirt,” “My Madness,” “What and Where,” and “¿Cuál Es La Razón?,” the last of which reimagines “What Is the Reason for It?” with the Mexican Institute of Sound and Natalia Lafourcade.
In a statement reflecting on how streaming has changed the boundaries of an album, Byrne explained his decision to revisit Who Is the Sky? a year after its original release. “What’s an album? Good question. Vinyl fans and crate diggers have a sense of an album as fixed thing — a set of songs on a physical object — in a specific order that presumably the artist thinks makes for a cohesive listening experience,” he said. “But streaming and downloads turned all that on its head. Albums can be super long, super short, and the songs can change over time. The only consistent thing might be that the songs were composed and recorded around a similar time — so they speak to that time and place, and have some sort of sonic continuity.”
Byrne continued, “So here’s my most recent album now expanded with 2 songs that were cut, not because they weren’t good (I hope) but to give the initial album a nice variety of grooves and subjects. ‘My Madness’ — this is one of my personal favorites — the singer imagines their ‘madness’ as a separate entity from themselves, one that they come to love, understand and respect. There’s a reconciliation. There’s an old song (‘T Shirt’) that we added to our set list with images of statements folks wear on their T Shirts. And a wonderful reimagining of ‘What Is The Reason for It’ created by Mexican Institute of Sound and co-written and sung by Natalia Lafourcade.”
Who Is the Sky? arrived in September last year and was Byrne’s first album since 2018. Produced by Kid Harpoon, it features arrangements from New York chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra and guest appearances from Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner.
The Talking Heads veteran is currently nearing the end of the sprawling “Who Is the Sky? Tour,” which has logged more than 150 performances across four continents. Following a September 17th stop in Saratoga Springs, New York, the trek is set to conclude at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on September 19th. Look for deals and get tickets to sold-out shows here (fans can save $20 on their first order of $200 or more with promo code COS20 at checkout). The tour is also headed to the big screen, as he recently announced a concert film that captured his hometown performances at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on 70mm.
What’s more, Byrne has an upcoming book titled Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up, set for release on October 6th in North America by Penguin Press, and on October 8th in the UK. See the accompanyingg book tour schedule below.
Who Is the Sky? (Digital Deluxe) Artwork:
Who Is the Sky? (Digital Deluxe) Tracklist:
01. Everybody Laughs
02. When We Are Singing
03. My Apartment Is My Friend
04. A Door Called No
05. What Is the Reason for It?
06. I Met The Buddha at a Downtown Party
07. Don’t Be Like That
08. The Avant Garde
09. Moisturizing Thing
10. I’m an Outside
11. She Explains Things to Me
12. The Truth
13. T Shirt
14. My Madness
15. What and Where
16. ¿Cuál Es La Razón?
David Byrne 2026 Book Tour Dates:
10/06 — New York, NY — Riverside Church (presented by McNally Jackson)
10/10 — Toronto, ON C Koerner Hall (presented by TIFA and Type Books)
10/11 — San Francisco, CA @ Sydney Goldstein Theater (presented by City Arts & Lectures)
10/13 — Los Angeles, CA @ Robert Frost Auditorium (presented by Live Talks Los Angeles)
10/14 — Seattle, WA @ Meany Center for the Performing Arts (Town Hall Seattle & Elliott Bay Book Company)
10/15 — Chicago, IL @ Athenaeum Theatre (Chicago Humanities and Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture)
11/08 — London, UK @ Hackney Empire
11/09 — Brighton, UK @ Theatre Royal
11/11 — Manchester, UK @ Stoller Hall
11/12 — Bristol, UK @ St. George’s
11/13 — Edinburgh, UK @ Assembly Rooms
