Popular song alone cannot confine AV Super Sunshine’s ambition. His latest single “X File: 8675309” isn’t aimed at the charts alone but also represents an opening musical salvo for an independent sci-fi film Sunshine shopped around before COVID-19 erupted around the world. The often cinematic flavor of his songwriting and music is a natural fit for soundtrack use, without question, but this single works as a standalone composition. It’s another notable success for Wisconsin’s AV Super Sunshine and has him working once again with longtime producer and songwriting partner Michael Bradford.
URL: https://www.avsupersunshine.com/
It has unusual origins, however. The band Tommy Tutone recorded the seminal pop classic “876-5309/Jenny” in 1982 and scored a lasting hit listeners still recognize today. Years following the track’s initial heyday lead singer Tommy Heath planted the seed for the song’s birth when he mused about his hope a younger artist might use his master recording of the song’s immortal hook to create something new. Wrench, a longtime promotional ally for Sunshine, proposed the idea to AV and inspired this new single.
AV Super Sunshine marries that legendary chorus to a song half-finished at the time. Falling in line with his penchant for unusual subject matter, the bulk of “X File: 8675309” is about a couple who are abducted by aliens and then become subjects of an FBI coverup. It may sound like a cut and paste job before hearing the track, but even a single listen to the track illustrates the duo discovered a memorable way to thread these two disparate tracks into an unified whole.
AV’s custom is releasing more than one mix of his new releases and this is no exception. There are two versions of this track, an initial and dance mix respectively, and these varying interpretations of the material allows Sunshine and Bradford an opportunity to flex their creativity. There’s a light eighties influence in the relentless electronic pulse in the heart of the cut, but AV Super Sunshine brings other musical elements to bear as well.
The first mix for this track has a running time of a little over four minutes. The dance mix, however, clocks in over six minutes and provides Bradford and AV Super Sunshine an opportunity to stretch their talents. It begins on a surprising note with evocative piano playing and lays down a much faster pace than the first version. The physicality defining this take on the song will be a favorite for many listeners; it’s a powerful variant on the initial track that could stand on its own.
Both mixes of “X File: 876-5309” are among Sunshine’s finest recordings yet and proves this cutting edge modern artist is far from slowing down. Let’s hope his fruitful and long-standing partnership with Michael Bradford continues for years to come. They have an impressive track record they can only add to because they are working at or near the peak of their partnership. Let’s hope that movie project gets wide distribution either as an indie film or on some platform.
Garth Thomas
The music of AV Super Sunshine has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division. Learn more https://musikandfilm.com