David Bowie believed that Lorde was “the future of music”, according to pianist and frequent collaborator Mike Garson.

The Guardian report that Garson made the revelation during a Periscope Q&A with fans. “David really liked Lorde, and he felt like she was the future of music,” he said, “They had a few wonderful moments together.”

Garson was explaining how Lorde came to perform a tribute to Bowie at this year's BRIT awards. The New Zealand artist performed “Life on Mars?” alongside Garson and members of Bowie's backing band at the request of Bowie's management and family. “It was an amazing, momentous experience, and she really did justice to him,” he said, “She was so nervous. She actually said if she didn’t sing the song to David, she couldn’t have gotten through it.”

Garson first started recording with Bowie on his 1973 album Aladdin Sane, contributing the iconic piano solo to the title track. They recorded together on many of Bowie's albums during the first half of the 1970s before reuniting during the 1990s.

Although Bowie declined to give interviews during his final years, collaborators like Tony Visconti and Donny McCaslin have revealed that he remained committed to new music up to his death. His final album Blackstar was reportedly inspired by Death Grips, Boards of Canada, and Kendrick Lamar, and most recently Visconti revealed that Bowie was a fan of Sun Kil Moon.