|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ABOUT |
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
NY - David Byrne returned to his birthplace, Scotland, to compose the score Lead Us Not Into Temptation – the soundtrack for Young Adam – a new film directed by David MacKenzie. Byrne had been approached to score the soundtrack for Young Adam by his friends Hercules and Jeremy at the Recorded Picture Company, also producers of Bernardo Bertolucci's film The Last Emperor . Byrne co-wrote the score for The Last Emperor with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su, and ultimately won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award (1987) for Best Original Score . Young Adam is an adaptation of the 1954 novel by the Scottish beat writer Alexander Trocchi, starring Ewan McGregor, Peter Mullan and Tilda Swinton The film, an entirely Scottish production, is set against a very grim and repressed post-war Scotland “They said it was an adaptation of a book written by a Scottish beat writer. The Alexander Trocchi book smelled like a sleazier version of Camus' The Stranger, set in a colder climate. Trocchi, it turned out, was a legendary character who sowed addiction and destruction wherever he went- from Glasgow to LA. I suspect he could be the subject of another movie.” – Byrne In order to capture that mood, both MacKenzie and Byrne agreed that working with a group of Glaswegian musicians would be ideal. Byrne put together an ensemble of contemporary musicians from critically acclaimed Scottish bands that include Mogwai , Belle & Sebastian, The Delgados and Appendix Out . The musicians recorded Byrne's compositions at a studio in Glasgow . “ I'd write some stuff in NY using samplers and such, mainly to have a framework to work from- and then the musicians and I built on those ideas. It went great - the musicians captured the right combinations of dark moods, sadness and sex.” – Byrne David Byrne is well known for his ground breaking and adventurous solo albums, for the genre smashing music of the Talking Heads albums and as well for his eclectic and adventurous label Luaka Bop. Founded in ‘88, Luaka Bop has evolved from a label specializing in “world music” compilations to one with emerging acts such as Cornershop , Geggy Tah , Susana Baca , Zap Mama and a host of Alternalatino bands such as Bloque , Los Amigos Invisibles and King Chango . He has toured throughout the world and worked with a vast number of directors, choreographers and musicians including Brian Eno , Twyla Tharp , Robert Wilson , the Wim Vandekeybus and Jonathan Demme . He is additionally well known as a photographer, having shown in museums worldwide and having published several books. His most recent solo exhibit was at his New York gallery Pace/MacGill Gallery in March-April 2003. It therefore comes as no surprise that Byrne approached his composition and ensemble direction in an unconventional and pioneering manner. Being a visual artist he is particularly attuned to the texture and tone of visual images. He created compositional guidelines allowing the ensemble the space and freedom to exercise their creative energy and interpretations of scenes. The resulting Lead Us Not Into Temptation is a musical document that need not be tied to the film. The graceful details and elegant forms stand alone. The moods are so well articulated and movements so clear that it is an engulfing listen. “ As is often the case, much of this music is not actually heard in the film- so this record represents another film, one with even less dialogue and a lot more music.” – Byrne Lead Us Not Into Temptation will be released this September on Thrill Jockey Records. info: davidbyrne.com |
| REVIEW |
|
Lead Us Not into Temptation started as music for the film Young Adam , but has evolved to sit somewhere between a true soundtrack and a David Byrne solo album. Since the cast and director of Young Adam were all Scottish, and Byrne himself was born in Scotland, the choice of recording with young Scottish musicians ( Belle & Sebastian , Mogwai ) appealed to him from a conceptual standpoint, and after director David MacKenzie assembled a listening list, Byrne chose a group of musicians to work with. The end result is that Byrne leaves behind all the international rhythms that have dominated his solo work and turned in an album of moody, subtle beauty. Byrne sketched out some musical ideas to have a framework established, then worked with the Glaswegian musicians to elaborate on the sketches. Oftentimes, this was accomplished by Byrne giving the musicians a set choice of notes to be used on any given piece, but allowing the musicians themselves the decision of what notes to play and when (these sort of chance operations also play a part in both the music of John Cage and Brian Eno , among others). The music often echoes the gloom and dankness of the Scottish climate, sometimes mournful without being depressing or bleak, at other times tempered by a subdued optimism. Strings, piano, and Rhodes rise and fall in the mix, adding impetus to songs that could have too easily become static. Vocals appear only on the last two tracks: "Speechless," with its double-tracked, near unintelligible delivery, and the stately "Great Western Road." The only real departure from the basic mood of the album is a wonderful (albeit brief) arrangement of Mingus ' "Haitian Fight Song" performed by the Hung Drawn Quintet . Lead Us Not into Temptation is somber and beautiful in a way listeners have not heard from David Byrne, and although he was probably pushed in this direction by the nature of the project, the fact is that this is one of the strongest albums of his solo career. info: allmusic.com |
| CREDITS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| LYRICS |
|
Man sticks his fingers Man takes a pencil How they dance- in a trance Man goes to Show World Wake Up- My little lambs Baker man- soldier man
|
