Berlin dream pop artist Rhonda Star, aka Ronja Violett, and her creative partner Alex, have reimagined The Cure’s sombre 1981 track from the band’s third studio album Faith, for her latest single following signing to Duchess Box Records.
The song was originally written by Cure frontman Robert Smith for his deceased grandparents. Upon hearing this story, Ronja felt deeply moved by feelings of both happiness and sadness, inspiring her to create her own soaring, dreamy, and bitter-sweet version of the classic song.
Recorded with The Strokes producer Gordon Raphael in Berlin, her version of the song is dedicated to “a wise, very kind friend had organized his own funeral before his death and had a grand piano placed in the middle of the event. All the funeral guests made music and partied late into the night” explains Ronja.
Watch the video for “The Funeral Party” below:
Musician Ronja Violett adopted the name Rhonda from the name of the girlfriend of Alf, the alien puppet from the titular 1980s sitcom, who lived far away on the planet Melmac.
Growing up in a musical family, Ronja went to music school as a child, but one of her biggest inspirations came from the stories told her by her Uncle, who had tragically taken his own life at the age of 34.
After losing a dear friend in 2020, Ronja decided to cover this track and make it part of her band’s forthcoming new EP,
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