France's Nouvelle Vague Opens the Evening with Brazilian Twist to New Wave
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, AT 7:00 PM
Media Sponsor: KCRW 89.9 FM
The mesmerizing Dead Can Dance performs at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, September 25, at 7:00 p.m., as part of its first U.S. concert tour in nine years. This very special evening marks the orchestral debut of Dead Can Dance, performing with an orchestra conducted by award-winning composer Jeff Rona. The concert also concludes the Hollywood Bowl's summer music festival, presented annually by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. Opening the show is French duo Nouvelle Vague; KCRW's Nic Harcourt hosts.
With their blend of ethereal gothic pop and textured European folk, vocalist Lisa Gerrard and guitarist Brendan Perry (the two definitive members of Dead Can Dance), explored an enchanting musical direction during the '80s and '90s, ultimately pioneering a worldwide movement that has resonated on the pop music landscape for more than two decades. Perry continues to release projects on the groundbreaking 4AD label, and Gerrard is acclaimed for award-winning movie soundtracks and a series of acclaimed solo and collaborative albums. Her soundtrack work includes the recently released A Thousand Roads, which she co-composed with Rona, conductor of the orchestra this evening for Dead Can Dance. Gerrard's other soundtrack compositions include Gladiator, Insider, Ali, Whale Rider, Heat, and Mission Impossible 2. She is currently nominated for an Emmy for her work on the TV mini-series Salem's Lot.
The phrase "nouvelle vague" translates to "new wave" in French and "bossa nova" in Portuguese; in English, it's a proper noun. Nouvelle Vague, a project by French producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, reinvents the duo's favorite tracks by such '80s new-wave icons as the Dead Kennedys, The Cure, Joy Division, and XTC as playful '60s pop with samba-style Latin beats. Making a very rare U.S. appearance, Nouvelle Vague has earned rave reviews from Mojo, Q, Rolling Stone Italy and numerous other music publications.
DEAD CAN DANCE is known as one of the most influential forces in modern music. Blending ethereal gothic pop with textured European folk music, vocalist Lisa Gerrard and guitarist Brendan Perry first began creating hypnotic soundscapes 25 years ago. Their mesmerizing sound launched a movement that continues to resonate around the world. The two definitive members of Dead Can Dance, Gerrard and Perry, have pursued successful solo careers in the years following the last Dead Can Dance tour in 1996. Golden Globe winning composer and musician LISA GERRARD has joined forces with composer Jeff Rona on A Thousand Roads soundtrack, released August 23 (Wide Blue Sky/Reincarnate Music). The 40-minute film originally debuted at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and is now a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. In addition to her work on A Thousand Roads, Gerrard's career spans more than two decades. She is acclaimed for award-winning movie soundtracks and a series of solo and collaborative albums. Her soundtrack compositions include Gladiator, Insider, Ali, Whale Rider, Heat, and Mission Impossible 2. BRENDAN PERRY formed Dead Can Dance in Australia in late 1981. A few months later Gerrard joined the band, performing electronic percussion and backing vocals. Dead Can Dance relocated to London, where they were signed by Ivo Watts-Russell to 4AD, subsequently recording 10 albums. Born in London, Perry relocated to Australia as a teenager, when his family moved to Auckland. It was there he received his musical education, playing acoustic guitar with his Maori and Polynesian classmates. In 1999, after 16 years with Dead Can Dance, Perry released his first solo album on 4AD.
JEFF RONA is a contemporary composer, sound artist, and performer. The son of European immigrants, he studied music, art and photography in college, but left to pursue music as his life's work. He composed for dance companies, theater productions, art galleries and contemporary concert venues around the world using both traditional musicians and cutting edge digital electronics. Eventually he worked as a musician, arranger, ethnic woodwind player, sound designer, synthesist and music programmer in Los Angeles and New York. Prior to establishing himself as a composer, he was closely involved in a number of technical aspects of electronic music, including the development of musical software and new instrument design, and was a leading figure in making MIDI a groundbreaking world-wide phenomenon. He worked as a highly in-demand musician on numerous film and records before landing his first solo composing project, scoring the acclaimed television series Homicide: Life On The Street for director Barry Levinson. Since then he has scored a number of other films and television projects with directors such as Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Wong Kar-wai, Robert Altman, Steven Soderbergh, Mark Pellington, Frank Darabont, among others. His projects have received numerous awards including Peabody and Emmy awards, as well as film festival awards around the world. He is a recipient of the ASCAP film and television music award. Among his album projects he recorded and performed as a member of Jon Hassell's highly regarded group, during which he co-composed and produced the highly acclaimed City-Works Of Fiction record for Opal/Warner records. The group toured and performed with legendary producer/composer Brian Eno. He performed with the Eastern fusion ensemble Axiom Of Choice, and appears on their records. In addition to his album work with Hassell, his music is also on the critically praised world-beat Transplanet series on Triloka Records, and the electronica compilation Leaves From The Tree on Vitamin Records. Jeff has been chronicling his experiences in the film music world over the past several years in his very popular column in Keyboard Magazine, "The Reel World." The column, which is also the basis of his major book on film music, is read by over 100,000 people each month.
NOUVELLE VAGUE is a French project initialized by producers Marc Collin and Oliver Libaux. Collin was a genuine "French touch" figure (with his band Ollano), moving from movie soundtrack ("The Kidnapper's Theme") to club music (he recorded for Paper recordings) until becoming a creative and eclectic producer. Libaux was involved with many French pop acts throughout the '90s and started working with Collin in 1998. He recently released his first solo album L'héroïne au bain on French label Naïve. Nouvelle Vague ("new wave" in French and "bossa nova" in Portuguese) revisits a number of both Collin and Libaux's favorite tracks of the early '80s, from Joy Division to XTC. Their idea was to forget the initial punk or new wave background of each song, keep simple fundamental chords, work with young singers who had never heard the original versions, and re-work the songs as bossa nova, jazz and '60s pop.
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduced audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 37th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2005, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue at the 16th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards; the Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2005 at 7:00 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood
DEAD CAN DANCE WITH ORCHESTRA
JEFF RONA, conductor
NOUVELLE VAGUE
NIC HARCOURT, host
Media Sponsor: KCRW 89.9 FM
Tickets ($4 - $110) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.
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Cathy Williams, 213.972.3689; Photos: 213.973.3034