Kevin Bronson on September 25th, 2013

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Can music be intimate and expansive at the same time? Washington, D.C., ex-pat Matthew Hemerlein, now doing business as Lo-Fang, seems to have arrived at the formula. Hemerlein, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who is classically trained in violin, cello, bass, piano and guitar, debuted his first pop mini-symphony, “#88,” back in August. His signing to 4AD was officially announced this week, and Lo-Fang’s album “Blue Film” will come out next year. To whet appetites, 4AD will release a 12-inch on Oct. 8 that includes a cover of Swiss/German duo Boy’s single “Boris.” As with his take on the “Grease” hit “You’re the One That I Want” (and his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” done while he was making music under his own name), Lo-Fang’s “Boris” ranks as a little bit more than a cover, with its recast lyrics and rearrangement. The original is here. File under constructive deconstruction.

||| Stream: “Boris”