STUART ARGABRIGHT of BLACK RAIN Guests on Morricone Youth Sun 2pm ET

London-based label Blackest Ever Black is releasing a limited edition compilation of post-industrial soundtrack compositions recorded between 1993 and 1994 by New York electronic duo Black Rain, available on vinyl for the first time. Morricone Youth host Devon E. Levins will welcome Stuart Argabright on the show this Sunday for an exclusive interview and listen to the new release and some of his other film and television music.

"Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1993-94" is a collection of cues by Stuart Argabright and his Death Comet Crew accomplice Shinichi Shimokawa. Working together as Black Rain, the two were commissioned to score Robert Longo's 1995 film "Johnny Mnemonic" and an audiobook version of seminal cyberpunk novel "Neuromancer," both coincidentally written by William Gibson. Argabright had been working with both Gibson and Longo on various projects since 1984. Ultimately these sounds never made it to the final cut of "Johnny Mnemonic" although collected on the 1995 and 1996 CD's released by D.C.'s Fifth Colvmn Records entitled "1.0" and "Nanarchy," respectively. Black Rain originally formed in 1989 as a post-punk/post-industrial band comprised of Argabright, Shimokawa, Dave Vulcan, Bones and Thom Furtado incorporating punk tempos, short concise song forms, turbo drumming, metal percussion and sound effects while performing at the likes of CBGB's, The Bank, Bond Street Café, C Squat and the Anniversary Party of the Tompkins Square Park Riots. Black Rain had their final show before scaling down to a duo opening for G.G. Allin at The Gas Station in 1993. 

Stuart Argabright has been working in NYC since 1978 as an artist, producer, director, composer and member of acts such as Ike Yard (a four-way synth attack which became the first American group to have a full-length released on Factory Recordsand later composing music for Tomas Koolhaas' documentary "REM"), The Rudements, Futants, Death Comet Crew (Nicholas Roeg's "Insignificance"), Dominatrix ("Grosse Pointe Blank"), The Voodooists (Jonathan Demme's "Married To The Mob"). From 1997 to 2002, Stuart joined ex-Bowie synth guitarist Chuck Hammer to compose over 80 original scores for cable television programs including "Trauma: Life In The ER," "Paramedics," "Breaking News," "Maternity Ward" and "World Birth Day." "Trauma" was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001. Black Rain will be performing this weekend at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn with Ukranian sound-collagist Kotra on Saturday, April 21, day three of the four day Unsound Festival. The bill is a part of the Unsound Labs Program featuring collaborations between musicians of different backgrounds working together for the first time in a series of unique free performances. Curated to cross borders related to matters of sound and geography, this year's program pairs artists from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia with musicians from the U.S.

Black Rain and Stuart Argabright's other music of the moving image highlights will be the subject of this Sunday's edition of Morricone Youth. Listen live starting at 2pm ET this Sunday.  As always the show will archived HERE!

MORRICONE YOUTH Live Scores Jean Rollin's FASCINATION Two Nights! 3/30 and 3/31

The sexual-psychological thriller masterpiece of renowned French filmmaker Jean Rollin, FASCINATION follows a swaggering thief who hides out in a lavish chateau, holding the occupants at gunpoint. When night falls, he realizes that these two maids are not only deadlier than he imagined, but are gatekeepers to a ring of women with a thirst for blood. The supernatural of the traditional vampire tale is here replaced by the perversity of the blood fetish. This is exploitation cinema of a wholly different kind.

Morricone Youth will provide the music and soundscape for Fascination for 2 nights Friday 3/30 and Saturday 3/31 at Midnight.  Advance tickets available here:
http://www.nitehawkcinema.com/movie.php?movie=143#

Co-Presented by Finders Keepers Records/B-Music who recently released the Original Soundtrack composed by Philippe D'Aram on March 12th.  Finders Keepers will be hosting a raffle of their new Jean Rollin comp: The B-Music of Jean Rollin both nights after the film!

http://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/discog_fkr054a.html

Composer Larry Groupé on Morricone Youth, Sun 3/25 @ 2p ET

On Morricone Youth this weekend, host Devon E. Levins will welcome acclaimed film and television soundtrack composer Larry Groupé for an exclusive interview and in-depth listen to his music. Larry Groupé might be most known for his collaborations with writer-director Rod Lurie, notably his latest 2011 score for the remake of the 1971 cult classic Straw Dogs (starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgård), sports docu-drama Resurrecting the Champ (Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett), doomsday thriller Deterrence (Kevin Pollack and Timothy Hutton), political dramas Nothing but the Truth (Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon and Alan Alda) and The Contender (Joan Allen, Gary Oldman and Jeff Bridges), the latter of which received multiple Academy Award nominations, and ABC TV's drama series Commander in Chief and Line of Fire, nominated for Emmy and Grammy awards as composer of best original score.



A graduate of the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific, Larry earned his Masters of Music in Composition at theUniversity of California San Diego where he studied with Toru Takemitsu, John Cage, Roger Reynolds and Pauline Oliveros. His composing, orchestrating and conducting skills subsequently lead him to the world of film scoring where he won the New York Film Awardfor "Best Score” for The Encounter and two Emmy awards for best documentary score for Jonas Salk: Personally Speaking and Residue. Other notable projects include Ed Wood's last script I Woke Up Early the Day I Died produced as a silent film by and starring Billy Zane, Mike Binder's HBO comedy series The Mind of the Married Man and comedy Man About Town (Ben Affleck), and docudrama Missionsperformed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.



Larry has composed, conducted and produced over eighty CD recordings and enjoyed special recognition when he teamed up with the Classic Rock legends YES co-composing ten original songs on the 2001 "Magnification" album, as well as writing overtures, arrangements and conducting the orchestra on the YESsymphonic Tour of the World. He will be revisiting this collaboration this summer when he and original YES vocalist Jon Anderson perform selected works from this album along with others at the EarthDay Festival in Matto Grosso, Brazil on September 8, 9 and 10, 2012. Larry's latest film projects in 2012 include Rocky Capella's Sleeping with the Lion and Jordan Alan's Cats Dancing on Jupiter and Deconstruction Red.

Larry Groupé's distinguished career will be the subject of this Sunday's edition of Morricone Youth. Listen live starting at 2pm ET this Sunday.

Also please visit Larry Groupe's site at http://www.larrygroupe.com/

John Lurie Returns on Lounge Lizards Special on Morricone Youth, Sun 3/18 @ 2pm ET

Be sure to listen to Morricone Youth on Sunday at 2pm ET as your host Devon E. Levins once again welcomes downtown NYC legend and accomplished painter John Lurie to the studio for a special show.

Last time Mr. Lurie graced the EVR studios with his magnanimous presence was this past autumn for a two-part special in which the musician-turned-painter talked about his soundtrack work (check that out here and here). This time, the show will focus on the genre-blurring work of Lurie’s band, The Lounge Lizards. Expect to hear classic cuts and Lurie’s insights into the formation and legacy of one of the most interesting musical acts to emerge at a time when New York City was bursting at the seams with them.

Listen live on Sunday, March 18th at 2pm ET right here or via our free mobile app for iPhone and Android.

3/11 2-4p EST: Tribute to Wrecking Crew Guitarist/Composer BILLY STRANGE (1930-2012)

Prolific composer, session guitarist, arranger, vocalist and actor Billy Strange (born William Everett Strange in Long Beach, CA) died on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 in Franklin, Tennessee. He was 81. Strange recorded with Elvis Presley (including many of his late 1960's film soundtracks), the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Wanda Jackson, Dean Martin, Willie Nelson and the Partridge Family; wrote No. 1 single "Limbo Rock" for Chubby Checker and 1962 instrumental hit "Tequila" recorded by the Champs; arranged and played on Nat King Cole’s hit “Ramblin’ Rose;” and arranged for all Nancy Sinatra’s albums in the 1960's including the No. 1 hits "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'," "Somethin' Stupid" (her duet with her father), and "Some Velvet Morning" (her duet with Lee Hazlewood).



A long term member of the celebrated cadre of young Hollywood studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew (because they took work away from the veteran session musicians of the time), Strange played on psychedelic touchstones like the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” and Love’s “Forever Changes.” Rock and roll, all the surf records, big orchestras, country albums, the crooners, he played it all. He made numerous recordings under his own name, including instrumental guitar albums with versions of James Bond and other spy themes and Morricone Westerns and eventually scored his own soundtracks for psychedelic "De Sade" and "Bunny O'Hare" films.



An occasional actor, Mr. Strange played the steel guitarist Speedy West in “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” the 1980 film about Loretta Lynn, appeared in the TV series “Rawhide,” and ghost sang the vocals for Steve McQueen in "Baby, The Rain Must Fall" in 1965. After more than two decades in Hollywood, Strange relocated to Nashville in the early 1970s to manage a music publishing firm of Frank and Nancy Sinatra. He was inducted into the Nashville Musicians Hall of Fame.

Here is a very incomplete discography:
http://www.janderrer.ch/music/billy-strange/billy-strange-credit-list.html



Tune into your source for all things soundtrack, Morricone Youth, this Sunday, March 11th from 2-4 p.m. ET, for host Devon E. Levins dedicates the entire two hours to the genius of Billy Strange.

Tune into your source for all things soundtrack, Morricone Youth, this Sunday, February 26, from 2-4pm ET, for a look back at the scores of films released in 2011 in honor of the 84th Academy Awards scheduled to take place later that day at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, CA.. Whereas last year's winner Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' work for The Social Network was built largely on electronic and ambient sounds created by the Swarmatron analog synth, all five nominees this year utilize a full orchestra with nods to scores past. The Artist to Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo; Hugo to Shore's early score for Big but with more French flair; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to spy thrillers such as John Barry's The IPCRESS File or Jerry Goldsmith's Russian House; and John Williams' War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin to...well, errr...John Williams. It was a pretty great year for film music.



Host Devon E. Levins will review the nominated original scores and songs, discuss his obvious pick for the coveted Oscar and conclude with some of his favorite overlooked music from the past year.

Best Original Score
The Artist - Ludovic Bource
The Adventures of Tintin - John Williams
War Horse - John Williams
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto Iglesias
Hugo - Howard Shore













Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets - Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from Rio - Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

DJ DEvon E. Levins spins OSTs at Nitehawk Theater in Williamsburg

Please join us at the Nitehawk Cinema's downstairs café for an evening of cinephilic reverie/revelry as DJs Casey Block, Devon E. Levins (Morricone Youth), and Amanda Chouette spin their favorite soundtracks for your listening pleasure.

Listen to Morricone Youth Pay Tribute to the Music of NFL Films, SuperBowl Sunday at 2pm ET

Anyone who remembers the old NFL Films highlight shows ("NFL Game of the Week") will fondly remember the music of synthesizer pioneer Sam Spence or KPM library music production composers Johnny Pearson, Syd Dale and Keith Mansfield. For most football fans, the music is etched into their memories. Nobody knew the names of the songs nor the composers but they surely recognized them when they heard them.



A former USC music instructor living and working in Munich in the 1960's, Sam Spence is a peculiar piece of the complicated krautrock puzzle hired in 1966 to score the mini-documentaries that conveyed NFL highlights and personalities to fans in the network-television era. Spence's music cues combined with the baritone voice of John Facenda to remarkable artistic effect. Initially Mahlon Merrick was asked to provide scores for NFL Films. Merrick asked friend Spence to help in the session adding his own orchestral compositions with strings and woodwinds, more like a Hollywood film score. It turned out Spence's contributions were NFL Films founder Ed Sabol's favorites and he offered Spence a three-year contract to write, conduct, and produce NFL Films' music.



NFL Films productions weren't just seen; they were felt. The music is what defined the style that set the standard. For NFL Films, music always held great importance in the production process and, along with the booming narrations and moving images of the game of pro football, music served as a key element of what has become known as The NFL Films Style. Steeped in tradition but relentlessly innovative, this music has created a reputation of the highest production quality, powerful, dramatic moods and dynamic support for the most compelling visual content. NFL Films Music shares DNA with great film scores and classic popular music. This is music that is designed to tell stories.


NFL Films made the fan albums available on vinyl in the 70's. If you were persistent, you could also find the additional KPM library production albums from which many of the other non-Spence tracks derived. Today, Spence's music is ubiquitous heard, on shows like The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond, King Of Queens, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Sponge Bob and several TV and radio commercials. Recently, Spence has received a resurgence with recent compilation releases "Sam Spence: Our Man In Munich" (All Score Media) and "Sam Spence Sounds" (Finders Keepers).

Tune into your source for all things soundtrack, Morricone Youth, this Super Bowl Sunday, February 5th from 2-4 p.m. ET, for host Devon E. Levins' curated listen to highlights of NFL Films Music. Expect tons of Spence, a bit of KPM and maybe a couple of random Giant or Patriot film scores thrown in for good measure.

Listen to Morricone Youth's The Sound of Film Noir [ARCHIVE]

 A private eye. A plainclothes cop. A law-abiding citizen turned to a life of crime. A victim of circumstance. Film noir, an often debated term to describe the stylish Hollywood crime melodramas initially regarded from the early 1940s to late 1950s, is a low key black and white visual style with roots in German Expressionistic cinematography with many of the prototypical stories derived from the hardboiled school of fiction which emerged in the U.S. during the Depression. Film Noir music, on the other hand, is obvious when you hear it. A haunting sax solo. A distant trumpet. A cocktail piano over a Latin beat. Sultry songs in a small, smoky nightclub oozing out into the dark, wet alleyway like neon from a flickering sign.  

Tune into your source for all things soundtrack HERE, Morricone Youth, this Sunday, January 29 from 2-4pm ET, for host Devon E. Levins' curated listen to sound of the Film Noir. Expect the original masters Miklós Rózsa, Franz Waxman, Adolph Deutsch and David Raksin as well as plenty of re-interpretations and contemporary takes on the music from this classic genre.

http://www.morriconeyouth.com/

Dances of Vice & Shien Lee Creative Group Present The Diamond Ace II A Salute to Classic Film Noir and Pulp Fiction

Dances of Vice calls all dangerous women, fugitive lovers, dashing desperadoes, lonely detectives and ne’er-do-wells are to the sequel to last year’s crime noir soiree “The Diamond Ace”, a 1960s themed salute to classic film noir at Public Assembly executed in grand pulp ...style.

Sponsored in part by New York crime fiction publisher Hard Case Crime, “The Diamond Ace II” promises a night of mystery, passion, suspense and seduction with live crime jazz and film noir music by Morricone Youth.

New York femme fatales Bettina May, Ruby Valentine and Tansy Tandora weave tales of violence and temptation before your eyes, and DJs Michael Leviton and Devon E. Levins provide a killer soundtrack for your dancing pleasure until the early hours.

Hard Case Crime prizes will be awarded to the most thematic dressed attendees.

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Dances of Vice & Shien Lee Creative Group Present
The Diamond Ace II
A Salute to Classic Film Noir and Pulp Fiction

January 28, 2012 - 10PM

Starring:
Morricone Youth

Bettina May
Ruby Valentine
Tansy Tandora

DJ Michael Leviton
DJ Devon E. Levins

Public Assembly
70 N6th St, Brooklyn NYC
Admission: $15 | 21+

www.dancesofvice.com
www.hardcasecrime.com