Rostam has shared the original, pre-Vampire Weekend version of ‘Campus’. You can listen to it below.
The former co-founding member of the New York City band posted a video yesterday (Thursday February 19), titled ‘The Story Of ‘Campus”. It traces the origins of the track, which appears on Vampire Weekend’s 2008 self-titled debut album.
Rostam produced the record, and is listed as a co-writer on ‘Campus’ alongside frontman Ezra Koenig.
The video begins with some lo-fi footage of Koenig and co. performing the song for the first time at Columbia University in 2006. “The Vampire Weekend version of the song was a kind of adaptation of a strings version that was never finished,” Rostam explained, before we cut to a performance from Reading Festival 2008.
He went on to recall recording an early rendition of ‘Campus’ in his dorm at Columbia. Rostam cited US composer Mark Mothersbaugh, “and many of his Wes Anderson scores”, as inspiration.
Rostam told viewers how he began “building out the song”, adding: “It was easy for me to just not think too much about what the lyrics should be, and almost embody this character. It removed a lot of my inhibitions.
“I had a vision that I was kind of like pursuing for this strings version of the song.”
This early recording of ‘Campus’ is streaming online now, and is being released on a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl on May 15. Pre-order here.
Per an official listing, 51 per cent of the proceeds from the master recording of ‘Campus (Original Version)’ will be donated to: Palestine Legal, CHIRLA, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Sudanese American Physicians Association.
Elsewhere in the new video, Rostam remembered sharing his version of ‘Campus’ on Myspace back in the ’00s, and said some fans had “ripped it down” and posted it on YouTube.
“I never really felt like it was finished,” he said. “This year I’m excited to finally release the original version of ‘Campus’.”
In a separate statement, Rostam explained: “I wrote most of this song in December of 2005, we came together as a band a few months later.
“Ezra wrote pretty much all of the lyrics on our debut album, but this song was an exception. I was interested in creating a piece of music that was built around a cello, a kick drum, and a vocal that told a story. Robyn’s ‘Be Mine’ was an inspiration.”
He continued: “From the first time we tried playing it as a band with rock instruments, it happened to work. That was a happy accident, but I always intended for this original version to see the light of day someday.
“The strings in this version were recorded in my dorm room at Columbia in 2006. It’s just one cellist and one violinist that I built up into an ensemble with multi-tracking.”
Rostam went on to note “some small differences” in the lyrics between the two versions, saying he was “sure some people will notice them”. He added: “I’m happy that version exists and I’m also happy this one is out in the world now, too.”
The musician and producer is set to release his new solo album ‘American Stories’ this year, following on from 2021’s ‘Changephobia’. He has also worked as a producer for the likes of Haim, Clairo, Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen and Maggie Rogers.
Vampire Weekend’s fifth and latest record, ‘Only God Was Above Us’, arrived in 2024. They announced Rostam’s departure in 2016, though he has continued to produce for the group.
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