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07 septembre 2007

Dive Into the Lost World of Marine Reptiles With 'Sea Monsters 3D: A Prehistoric Adventure'

LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/07/07 -- Extraordinary marine reptiles from the dinosaur age come to life on the giant screen with 3D technology in National Geographic's new film "Sea Monsters 3D: A Prehistoric Adventure," opening October 5, 2007 at the California Science Center IMAX Theater. From the giraffe-necked Styxosaurus and 20-foot "bulldog" fish Xiphactinus to the T-Rex of the ocean -- the 40-foot super-predator Tylosaurus -- these wondrous beasts defy imagination.

The film, narrated by Tony Award-winning actor Liev Schreiber with an original score by longtime musical collaborators Richard Evans, David Rhodes and Peter Gabriel, takes audiences on a remarkable journey into the relatively unexplored world of the "other dinosaurs," those reptiles that lived beneath the water. Funded in part through a grant from the National Science Foundation, the film delivers to the giant screen the fascinating science behind what we know, and a vision of history's grandest ocean creatures.

"This is the first giant-screen film about what lived in the water during the dinosaur age," said producer Lisa Truitt, president of National Geographic Giant Screen Films and Special Projects. "It is perfect subject matter for such an immersive format, one that allows these giants to literally swim off the screen and directly into the audience." (....)


Turn it on again ?

(....) Un livre de Genesis sortira bientôt, alors qu'il y aura un compact audio des meilleures prises des chansons de la tournée européenne et un DVD du spectacle de Rome. Pas mal de trucs, en fait, mais pas de nouveau matériel ni de retrouvailles avec Peter Gabriel pour The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

«Oui, j'ai vu The Musical Box faire le spectacle The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, a admis Collins en parlant du groupe-hommage montréalais, mais on avait déjà discuté de la possibilité de la reprise de cette tournée avec Peter (Gabriel) et Steve (Hackett). Cette idée, elle a germé la première fois en 1997, à la parution d'un coffret de Genesis. On voulait faire quelque chose pour les 30 ans de The Lamb... et on en a reparlé à Glasgow en 2004.»

Agenda

La suite est connue. Gabriel ayant prétexté l'agenda d'un disque solo, Collins, Banks et Rutherford ont mis «cinq minutes pour décider à reprendre du service».

«Peut-être que quelques spectacles s'ajouteront, note Tony Banks, mais on ne s'est pas remis à l'écriture, et quant à une reprise de The Lamb..., il y a la nature indécise de Peter, mais il a toujours été comme ça.»

Pour sa part, Rutherford estime que la plus grande difficulté fut de «jouer les bonnes notes», mais il ne sait trop si la musique de Genesis «est encore pertinente». (....)

Philippe Rezzonico /Le Journal de Montréal

06 septembre 2007

England’s dreaming

A star-studded musical collaboration is bringing English folk into the 21st century.

In the unprepossessing surroundings of a converted corrugated-iron aircraft hangar in Wiltshire, a stellar group of musicians has assembled to reimagine what it is to be English. This is the first rehearsal for the Imagined Village, an ambitious project bringing together folk musicians including Eliza and Martin Carthy with established pop and rock acts - Paul Weller, Billy Bragg - and a flavour of multicultural England from Transglobal Underground, the British-Asian singer Sheila Chandra and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah.

Their aim is no less than to redefine our ideas about Englishness through their unique collaboration. "You shouldn't try to define Englishness, because it's personal," says Bragg. "The key to appreciating it is understanding how all these things come to be here at this particular time. Imagined Village is a snapshot of this, because it attempts to draw together some of the things that are part of the culture of England, in both a traditional and a contemporary sense."

The group are putting together an album that will be out this month, featuring ancient songs such as "John Barleycorn", "Tam Lyn", "Cold Hailey Rainy Night" and "Hard Times of Old England" given an Asian, dub, drum'n'bass, African and lushly orchestrated twist. It is an album that is restless in its affectionate exploration of the oral folk tradition. Such fusion projects always run the risk of going horribly wrong, but this is an enticing, intoxicating journey into England's past and future.

Musicians at the rehearsal include the cellist Barney Morse-Brown, the bass player Francis Hylton and the sitar player Sheema Mukherjee. Eliza and Martin Carthy are practising the album's opener - "'Ouses, 'ouses, 'ouses" - and "John Barleycorn" in one room, while the percussion section of Johnny Kalsi and Andy Gangadeen tackles complex backbeats, surrounded by cables and Mac laptops.

Chandra supplies accompaniment on "'Ouses . . ." and joint lead vocals on "Welcome Sailor", while Bragg offers a modern countryside-angst take on "Hard Times of Old England". Joining them later on in the week will be the celebrated English folkster Chris Wood, the Copper Family singers from Rottingdean in Sussex (John Copper provides the album's atmospheric opener, reminiscing about chalk downs and handing down oral traditions), the Dhol Foundation and the Gloworms, a new ceilidh squeezebox-and-fiddle trio who feature in a medley alongside their older counterparts Tiger Moth in "Kit Whites 1 and 2".

What they are trying to achieve in five days is ambitious, but even in a couple of hours Sheema Mukherjee, Martin Carthy and Morse-Brown seem to have mastered a unique instrumental version of "Scarborough Fair". They play it later as part of their set at the Womad music festival, accompanied by Billy Bragg, reading a paragraph or two from his book The Progressive Patriot - a "revisionist celebration of Englishness".

The project has been masterminded by Simon Emmerson, a DJ and producer best known for his work with the Afro-Celt Sound System and with African acts such as Baaba Maal and Manu Dibango. Emmerson was determined for traditional English music to assume its rightful place on the "world music" scene. "Until recently there weren't any English acts at Womad," he tells me when we sit down to a late lunch. "You would go to any world music festival and there would be music from all around the world - but not from England. Until five or six years ago there were English folk festivals in one corner and world music festivals in the other. I think Eliza [Carthy] broke that mould. She was the first one to say that we should be up there on the main stage, and it's now happening."

After a long career working with African musicians, he draws parallels between the two traditions. "The first vocal on the album is by John Copper, and in it he's referring back to his father and his father's father. He is evoking his family. In effect, they are the English equivalent of griots [the Malian musical dynasties] - they've kept the oral tradition going."

Bragg agrees. "What is English folk music if it isn't world music? The term itself is just a fancy name for a genre that often has its roots in tradition, which is what we're touching on here."

The ensemble will set out on an extensive UK tour in November. Unfortunately, Paul Weller is unlikely to appear, but his presence looms large on the album. He contributes to Tunng's "Death and the Maiden" and to "John Barleycorn" with Martin and Eliza Carthy. Another highlight of the album is Benjamin Zephaniah's bold reinterpretation of the old Scottish ballad "Tam Lyn". He turns an ancient story of phantasmagorical love involving a pregnant maiden and her bewitched changeling lover into a modern tale about a girl falling in love with an immigrant who's about to be deported: "There's no peace in my nation/I'm a war refugee/There are people in uniforms/Out to get me . . ./If you really do love me/Will you stay by my side?"

"I think Englishness is to do with mongrelness," the twice Mercury Prize-nominated Eliza Carthy tells me later. "This country has always been a nation of travellers. There have always been people here from other cultures, right down to the Vikings. I actually think that being English is living in a transient nation: people that live together and make this place their own. I know there are people here whose family was in the Domesday Book and all that kind of stuff, but my family are all gypsies. Gypsies and musicians - seven generations of musicians on Dad's side . . . on Mum's side no one knows, because they're all gypsies!"

Sheila Chandra is of Indian descent, and sang with the band Monsoon before forging a successful solo career. She believes she has been "completely absorbed into English culture", and disputes the idea that Englishness should involve inherited guilt. "Englishness isn't about Westminster. The people in Lancashire 150 years ago were being colonised by Westminster in exactly the same way as people in India were. So I think there's a ruling-class guilt that should be put in its correct place. I don't think there's anything wrong in celebrating English culture per se, as long as you're not using it to make a culturally superior stand against any other culture."

It is likely that the Imagined Village project will get a sniffy reception from some in the folk world. It is full of electronic manipulation, with a big sound that Eliza Carthy describes as "slightly Hollywood". But her father isn't worried about such negative reactions.

"Some folk musicians are scared of change," Martin says. "I think it's down to the fact that there is a real lack of confidence in this music, its resilience, and its ability to absorb anything. There's still this attitude that you must protect it, which comes from people like Cecil Sharp, who stated that 'this is a delicate flower, and if we don't take care of it now it will disappear'. Well, it's taking an awful long time."

Bragg sums up the Imagined Village experience when we discuss our Anglo-Saxon origins. "What sound could be more multicultural than Anglo-hyphen-Saxon? Tell me another nation in the world that's got a hyphen in their racial title. Even back to our earliest origins we've always been a mixed people, and we've always revelled in that mix."

"Imagined Village" is out on 10 September. A full UK tour starts in November. For more info log on to: http://imaginedvillage.com

Phil Meadley

Genesis reunion : Tour and DVD but no new music planned by band

TORONTO - The Turn It On Again Tour, Genesis' first North American tour in 15 years which starts Friday, was hatched in a Glasgow Holiday Inn four years ago.

Phil Collins told a media conference at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on Wednesday that he and the other four original members of Genesis -- Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett -- assembled to discuss the possibility of doing a 30th-anniversary tour of the 1974 album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

Gabriel begged off at the time, however, saying he was finishing up a new solo album and preparing for a tour. "Here it is four years later and there's still no new album and no tour," Collins said. "We weren't surprised, actually. I think Peter would like to do it, but he just won't commit to it."

So a decision was made among Collins, Rutherford and Banks to revive the 1980s hit version of the band. There's nothing new in terms of recordings from the remaining trio, either, and nothing on the horizon, said Banks.

"There are no plans at this point to take this any further," said Banks. Collins added: "We're doing it simply because we want to. We won't make any money on the European tour and probably won't make anything in North America. (...)

SSL, TuneCore.com, Eventful Offer Special Promotion

Solid State Logic announces a partnership with TuneCore.com (a delivery and distribution service and portfolio company of Guitar Center) and online events site Eventful to send up to five bandmembers on a one-week, all-expense-paid trip to England to record at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios. Real World has hosted sessions for artists such as The Cure, Bonnie Raitt, Super Furry Animals, Beth Orton, Goldfrapp, Deep Purple, Robbie Williams, Paul Oakenfold and Sigur Ros.

The number of individual “Demands” received at Eventful.com will determine the winner. This grand prize includes studio time, airfare, ground transportation, food, lodging, an engineer and assistant, and unlimited access and complete lockout of Real World's "Big Room” for five days. (Approximate value: $25,000.)

“The Big Room” is renowned for its 72-channel SSL XL9000 K Series analog console, its large selection of vintage gear, and its varied array of outboard equipment in a room that is famous for its view of the flowing mill pond. Real World's team brings a wealth of experience, passion and commitment to help musicians realize the full potential of the studio.

To enter, bands will register as a Performer on Eventful (www.eventful.com/tunecore) and opt-in to participate in the competition. Then they need only encourage their fans to “Demand” at Eventful that they win. The unsigned band with the most Eventful “Demands” at the end of the day, October 31, 2007 (Eastern Standard Time) wins the grand prize.

Bands with the second and third highest Eventful “Demands” each win a Solid State Logic Duende DSP processing engine. The Top 10 bands with the highest “Demands” each receive one album, with an unlimited number of songs (not to exceed 74 minutes), placed for free into all digital stores they choose to which TuneCore delivers, including the first year's maintenance and storage.

Complete details about the promotion can be found at: www.tunecore.com/realworld. For more information on Solid State Logic, visit www.solid-state-logic.com.

05 septembre 2007

Dan Lanois studio work filmed

Daniel Lanois, who has worked with many of the heavyweights of popular music, is the subject of the moody-but-informative documentary Here Is What Is, a behind-the scenes-look at the producer at work in his and other studios. (GREG HENKENHAF/SUN MEDIA)

For years, people have asked Canadian uber-producer Daniel Lanois exactly how he works in the studio.

The interest has been high given his impressive client roster over the past three decades includes U2, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson and Emmylou Harris, to mention a few.

So the 55-year-old Hull-born, Hamilton-raised Lanois finally got around to making a movie about the experience, Here Is What Is, which debuts Sunday night at the Toronto International Film Festival.

That world premiere of the moody-but-informative black-and-white documentary will be followed by two Lanois performances at The Great Hall in Toronto on Sept. 10 and 11.

"It's okay to give away secrets, especially if they're technological or systematic," said Lanois, while strumming an electric guitar near a studio board recently in his massive, 5,000-square-foot downtown Toronto studio. "And the thing that always belongs to you really is your heart and soul and your driving force and everyone is unique in that special way. So passing on a technique -- always happy to do it -- even if they use that technique they'll get a different result because they are a different person."

Lanois
was filmed by co-director-editor and Canfield, Ont., native Adam Vollick, while working on his next solo record with the likes of The Band's Garth Hudson and longtime collaborator Brian Blade on drums.

The new disc likely will be called Here Is What Is -- based on the Jamaican proverb "don't look to tomorrow, look to right now," explained Lanois -- and released next March, although it's currently without a distributor, as is the film.

"I met Adam Vollick through my brother Bob," said Lanois, who was first shot by the young photographer when he got his honorary PhD in Hamilton.

"I thought he had a good eye and a twinkle in the eye. I always like to work with up-and-coming young people if they have an appetite for good work, so it was nice to have him on board."

Lanois is also seen working in Morocco with fellow producer Brian Eno and U2 on the Irish band's next record and with Sinead O'Connor in Dublin on a song for the new film The Water Horse. There's also snippets of archival footage of sessions with Aaron Neville, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.

"A friend of mine said there was not a lot of footage of me working and that it might be nice if there was an opportunity to see that at this point," explained Lanois of why he decided to film himself so intensively at this point in his career.

"And so rather than dwelling too much on the past we decided to just film over the course of the year, kind of the current creative process, just to see what we would get."

By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media

Sanctuary to distribute through we7.com


The Sanctuary record label has signed up with Peter Gabriel's downloads service We7.com, which means Morrissey, the Charlatans and the full Trojan back catalogue will be on offer. The service differs to other downloads services because it grafts targetted ads onto tracks - hence claiming to be the first legal, free music downloads service of its kind. Tracks are DRM-free and users get the option to buy the track without ads after a while. (we7.com)

04 septembre 2007

GABRIEL SCORES PREHISTORIC SEA MONSTER MOVIE

Click for the PETER GABRIEL Gallery

Veteran rocker PETER GABRIEL has offered his musical skills to a new movie about ancient sea creatures by composing the picture's musical score. The former Genesis frontman has scored new National Geographic 3D film Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure. Gabriel has previously been behind soundtracks for Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Phillip Noyce's 'Rabbit-Proof Fence' and has provided tracks for Babe: Pig In The City and Natural Born Killers. Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure is slated to open at IMAX cinemas in the U.K. from 20 October (07).