Search results for: “Heavyweight Vinyl”

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’ s acclaimed 2010 album Here Lies Love receives its firstever vinyl release to coincide with a new production opening on Broadway this summer. Here Lies Love is a doubledisc song cycle – improbably poignant, decidedly surreal, surprisingly thought provoking – about the rise and fall of the Philippines notorious Imelda Marcos. It was conceived by David Byrne composed by Byrne and DJrecording artist Fatboy Slim, AKA Norman Cook and performed by a dream cast drawn from the worlds of indie rock, alt country, R&B and pop. Byrnes taste in collaborators is as imaginative as it is impeccable, including Cyndi Lauper who recounts, to lighthearted disco beats, Imeldas courtship with Ferdinand Marcos, Steve Earle as the powerhungry Ferdinand, DapKings vocalist Sharon Jones recalling Imeldas introduction into New York society and Natalie Merchant as spurned Imelda confidante Estrella, anticipating the onset of martial law. Along with vocals turns from such stars as Tori Amos and the B52s Kate Pierson, Byrne works with rising indie rockers St. Vincent and My Brightest Diamond New York chanteuses Nellie McKay and Martha Wainwright and dancemusic divas Roacuteisiacuten Murphy and Santigold. Byrne himself appears as the voice of imperialistic America on ‘American Troglodyte’, a sendup that wouldnt have seemed out of places in Talking Heads True Stories. Byrne originally envisioned this as a musical theatre piece, to be mounted in disco and nightclub settings, reflecting the globetrotting Marcos taste for such velvetroped spots as Studio 54 and Regines. In 2006, he performed workinprogress versions to enthusiastic audiences at New York Citys Carnegie Hall and the Adelaide Festival in Australia. While plans for a US theatrical production continued to evolve, he delivered this unique recording. The awardwinning theatrical production eventually premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2013, travelled to London’ s National Theater for a soldout run 2014-15, and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater 2017.Here Lies Love has an effervescent disco feel, redolent of Fatboy Slims own dancefloor anthems, with warm undercurrents of the Latin rhythms that have percolated through Byrnes recent solo work. The sunny arrangements act in counterpoint to the reality of the Marcos increasingly repressive regime, reflecting the imagined inner life of the glamourobsessed Imelda. Explains Byrne, For me, the darker side of the excesses are, for the most part, a matter of record. A lot of the audience is going to come with that knowledge already. Whats more of a challenge is to get inside the head of the person who was behind all of that, and understand what made them tick. Byrne offers no judgment and avoids the obvious – there is no mention of Imeldas infamous shoe collection.Many of Byrnes lyrics are, astonishingly enough, constructed from actual Imelda “es, including the projects title, the words that Imelda, now returned to the Philippines from USassisted exile in Hawaii, would like to have inscribed on her gravestone. In addition to his new liner note, Byrne illustrates the story with archival photos. In a detailed preface, he reveals what drew him to this subject and the bumpy route he took to launch the project and, ultimately, record this album. The booklet is indeed a pageturner, just as Here Lies Love is a wonderfully oldschool album that rewards starttofinish listening. Once again, Byrne – beloved as musician, thinker and bicyclistabouttown – reveals the breadth and singularity of his vision.The new production of Here Lies Love will premiere at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Performances begin June 17, ahead of an official opening night on July 20. Tony Award winner Alex Timbers direction and Olivier Award nominee AnnieB Parson choreography reunite with Byrne concept, music, and lyrics and Fatboy Slim music to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway, continuing a tenplus year collaboration on the project. Tom Gandey and J Pardo contribute additional music. Here Lies Love is produced on Broadway by Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna for Plate Spinner Productions, Clint Ramos, and Jose Antonio Vargas. The staging at the Broadway Theatre will transform the venue’ s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theatre’ s reconstructed space. The producers of Here Lies Love said, “As a team of binational American producers – Filipinos among us – we are thrilled to bring Here Lies Love to Broadway We welcome everyone to experience this singularly exuberant piece of theatre. The history of the Philippines is inseparable from the history of the United States, and as both evolve, we cannot think of a more appropriate time to stage this show. See you on the dance floor” David Byrne’ s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutionsoriented stories about problems being solved all over the world 2019 Joan of Arc Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York 2017 The Institute Presents NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts Technology that question human perception and bias 2016 Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’ s Barclays Center and Toronto’ s Air Canada Centre 2015 Here Lies Love Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent 2012 and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music 2012.Byrne curated Southbank Centre’ s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A cofounder of the group Talking Heads 1976-88, he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’ s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’ s The Last Emperor and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’ s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing. He lives in New York City. In addition to 2019’ s cast album for American Utopia on Broadway, Nonesuch has released eight other David Byrne records since 2003, including 2018’ s American Utopia studio album and two versions of his musical Here Lies Love.