NORTH
ANDOVER, Mass. (June 9, 2008) - Converse, the creator of iconic
shoes including
the Chuck Taylor® All Star®, Jack Purcell® and One Star®,
announced today that it had brought together the
talents of Pharrell Williams,
N.E.R.D., Santogold and Julian Casablancas as
part of the brand’s Century
celebration. The artists recently joined forces to
create a brand new, all
original music track, “My Drive Thru,” that will be
distributed digitally
free of charge to a global audience exclusively on
converse.com
and authorized Converse web sites around the world. The track
will
be released on Tuesday, June 10.
“I’ve always wanted to work
with Julian and I’m a big fan of The Strokes.
Santogold is super-talented and
she cares about music so much that it’s
not just about sound, it’s a visual
aesthetic,” said Pharrell Williams,
the track’s producer. “Working together on
original music that
crossed all of our inspirations was completely refreshing
and I
love the track. As for partnering with Converse, I only wear
and support
the things that I like. The Chuck Taylor is the golden
goose egg.”
Converse has long been
associated with the worlds of music,
sport, art and fashion. The brand’s
current Century celebration
is largely inspired by its role in disrupting the
status quo over
the last 100 years. The Chuck Taylor shoe has been worn
by
musical icons ranging from Sid Vicious to current artists
like Common and
M.I.A.
“Converse has been embraced by an amazingly
diverse group
of musicians and artists over the years,” said Geoff Cottrill,
Chief Marketing Officer of Converse. “As we celebrate the
brand’s first
century, we thought it would be fun to bring together
Pharrell, Santogold, and
Julian, to create new music together
that bridges the styles they are known
for. The results are
everything we hoped for and we’re excited to add
‘My Drive
Thru’ into the mix of music that fans will listen
to this summer. We are also
providing a platform for a number
of emerging artists from around the world.
The music industry
is changing and this partnership is about the music and
sharing
it with fans for free.”
“As an artist that is just breaking, being
asked by Pharrell and
Julian to join them on this project was a dream,” said
Santogold,
whose debut CD was released in May 2008 to rave reviews.
“My inspirations come from sources ranging
from singers like
Nina Simone and Grace Jones to bands like Devo. Working
across musical genres was like creating a patchwork where
I got to weave
together various influences and allow them
to co-exist in a fresh and original
way.”



















