An animated visual interpretation of “I Can’t Give Everything Away” from David Bowie’s ★ (ISO/RCA) created by the album’s designer Jonathan Barnbrook has been unveiled.
Currently playlisted at BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is the third single from Bowie’s 28th and final record, ★.
Released January 8, 2016, ★ has since sold nearly 2 million copies globally, hitting #1 in more than 20 countries including the U.S., UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Barnbrook’s touching visualisation of “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is a tribute inspired by ★’s closing number, created by someone who played an integral role in the album’s visual identity and presentation.
“This is really a very simple little video that I wanted to be ultimately positive,” Barnbrook says. “We start off in black and white world of ★, but in the final chorus we move to brilliant colour, I saw it as a celebration of David, to say that despite the adversity we face, the difficult things that happen such as David’s passing, that human beings are naturally positive, they look forward and can take the good from the past and use it as something to help with the present. We are a naturally optimistic species and we celebrate the good that we are given.”
Jonathan Barnbrook’s working relationship with David Bowie stretches back to the art of 2002’s Heathen, which featured a prototype of the Barnbrook-designed Priori font. His work with Bowie would continue to include the covers of 2003’s Reality and 2013’s The Next Day, as well as the graphics for the V&A touring exhibition David Bowie is.