Listen to Morricone Youth's tribute to Lalo Schifrin for his 80th Birthday June 21, 2012 [ARCHIVE] and check out the playlist HERE. Sun, 24 Jun 2012 12:51:06
In honor of legendary film and television composer, pianist and conductor Lalo Schifrin's 80th birthday, Morricone Youth
paid tribute to one of the show's biggest influences. If you missed it,
check out the on-demand archive at the bottom of the page.
Schifrin (nee Boris Claudio Schifrin)
was born 80 years ago today in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has written
over 100 film and television scores including Mission Impossible, Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Amityville Horror,Enter The Dragon, four of the Dirty Harry films, and more recently the Rush Hourtrilogy.
Lalo Schifrin has won five Grammys along with multiple Oscar noms and
has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also just announced last week,
Lalo Schifrin will be the recipient of the prestigious Max Steiner Film
Music Achievement Award to be presented on October 22 of this year
during the Hollywood of Vienna concert.
“I am very fortunate to have been invited by the City of Vienna to receive the Max Steiner Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Schifrin. “This means so very much to me because of the great legacy that this implies, especially because of its music history.”
Encore: Morricone Youth Live Scores Jean Rollin's "Fascination" for Opening Night of the Northside Festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Nitehawk Cinema Monday 6/18
Fascination | Dir. Jean Rollin | 80min | France | 1979 | French
This
erotic horror film, set in 1905, tells the story of a thief (Jean-Marie
Lemaire) who seeks refuge in a castle owned by two women, Eva (Brigitte
Lahaie) and Elizabeth (Franca Mai). Their seductive behavior toward the
uninvited guest soon gives way to the revelation that they are part of
an aristocratic cult of vampires. Buy tickets here Buy badges here
http://www.northsidefestival.com/film/film-schedule
http://www.nitehawkcinema.com/movie.php?movie=143
In the wake of what one can only describe as a Zombie Apocalypse, one must get prepared. Zombie Prepared. Join host Devon E. Levins on Morricone Youth at East Village Radio today from 2-4p ET, Sunday May 27th, for two hours of unadulterated flesh-eating horror music around. Listen live or to the archive HERE!
On Morricone Youth yesterday, Sunday May 20th, host Devon E. Levins welcomed John Woods,
Cinema Director of Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg to curate the show. Many may recognize John as the co-founder of
Williamsburg's Reel Life Video back in 1997...or as the lead singer of New York hardcore band Hell No (1991-1999)...or as the editor of hardcore fanzineHot Poop (1990-1993)...or as the documentarian ofStay High149...but he also currently wears the hat of Cinema Director at Nitehawk Cinema as well as that of an ardent soundtrack collector. We think he knows a thing or two about film and film music.
For those not in the know, Nitehawk Cinema is a unique triplex movie
theater located at 136 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, BK featuring
first run films with individual table-side food and beverage service
inside each of their three theaters in addition to having a separate bar
and cafe for those waiting to see a film. The menu, designed by Saul
Bolton, owner of Saul in Boerum Hill and The Vanderbilt in Prospect
Heights, Brooklyn, includes a selection of made-over classic
film-watching snacks, as well as full entrees, desserts, specialty
popcorn, cocktails, beer and wine. Programming also includes monthly
"Live Music & Moving Pictures" and "Midnight Music Movie" series of
silent films and midnight movies, respectively, both scored by live
musicians and bands, Q&A screenings with directors and actors,
Raspberry Brothers comedy/sing-a-longs to classic bad movies, and
children-friendly weekend brunch screenings. Nighthawk was recently
announced as one of the curators for the upcoming Northside Film
Festival this summer.
John Woods will be
spun and discussed his favorite soundtrack vinyl for the entire action-packed two
hour installment of Morricone Youth. Listen HERE!
On Morricone Youth this Sunday (2pm ET), host Devon E. Levins welcomes Silencio, a Pittsburgh-based sextet inspired by the film and television music of David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti. The
mystery and dark intrigue surrounding the cooperative works of Lynch
and Badalamenti has mesmerized and haunted many a subconscious over the
years. There’s something unique about the pairing of Badalamenti’s
musical scores to Lynch’s dreamy scenery that is unsettling and
simultaneously familiar. There’s also an era of innocence in the music
that creates a timeless appeal without regard to the modern, nightmarish
and sometimes corrupt scenarios presented within the films. It’s these
things that keep people perpetually fascinated with the works of these
genius artists, and it’s these things that have initiated the project
Silencio, a formation of musicians situated around two core members from
the Pittsburgh band Mandrake Project…A group that’s no stranger to working within the cinematic genre.
Silencio began as a recording project between David Jamison and Kirk Salopek
who had shared a longtime mutual admiration for the work of Lynch’s
films and Badalamenti’s eerie, jazzy scores. They also realized to
their surprise that nothing quite like Silencio really existed. Of
course there are the droves of Lynch/Badalamenti devotees, inspirees and
bands covering the occasional movie theme, but no one seems to have
embraced the WHOLE concept as a direct and focused project. Both
Salopek and Jamison had a number of original ideas inspired directly
from the musical selections in "Twin Peaks," "Mulholland Drive" and "Lost Highway" which
quickly took shape into material for their debut album scheduled for
release on June 30th. Not long after recording began, the search for
additional players ensued and the decision to perform the project as an
entire Lynch tribute was solidified. What was first planned as a
rotating line-up of members turned into a dedicated, full-time cast
adopting Matt Booth (upright & electric bass), Lee Hintenlang (sax), Dan Barrett (keys) and the uber-sultry Dessa Poljak handling the haunting, smoky duty of vocals.
Silencio performs selections from all of Lynch’s films spanning “Eraserhead” to “Inland Empire”, with a focus on the works from the “Twin Peaks” series and “Fire Walk With Me”
film. The group’s original offerings seamlessly intersperse throughout
the movie material and fit the occasion as if it were written as
outtakes from some of Badalamenti’s “Lynch-iest” sessions. If there
were ever a group to perform for an event and capture the vibe of a “damn fine cup of coffee”, cherry pie and wind through the Douglas Firs, then Silencio is that group. The band will be performing later that evening, Sunday, May 20 at Le Poisson Rouge at 7:30pm ET.
Listen live or to the archive HERE starting at 2pm ET this Sunday!
Morricone Youth returns to Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (136 Metropolitan Avenue) to provide the live score to F.W. Murnau's 1927 silent film classic "Sunrise" this Sunday 5/13 12p and Tuesday 5/15 7:30p. Buy advance tickets HERE. This event will sell out.
SUNRISE is the supreme silent film, the highest peak of a lost
art form. F.W. Murnau, the German director of "Nosferatu: A Symphony of
Horror," was brought to Hollywood, given an unlimited budget. The result
is Murnau's masterwork, "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans," It's a
timeless tale of murder, love, emotion, seduction, and reconciliation. A
couple's love is set against the hostile, destructive forces of the
Jazz Age City. A mythical story played out in polar oppositions,
sunrise/sunset, light/dark, farm/city... Almost without any dialogue
(there are just a few intertitles), it is the use of images that brings
this film to such significance. It uses all the unique abilities of the
silent film to create ideas , sensations, a living dream.
Be sure to listen to Morricone Youth on Sunday, May 6th starting at 2pm ET, as host Devon E. Levins will welcome acclaimed film and television soundtrack composer Danny Elfman for an exclusive interview and in-depth listen to his music. Danny Elfman's score to Dark Shadows, along with the composer's highly distinguished career, will be the subject of this special show.
Los Angeles-born and raised Daniel Robert Elfman spent his youth in the
flickering light of a movie theater, where his affinity for film music
was born. His musical idols of the time were all film composers: Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Max Steiner. Despite a career that started with a rock band (Oingo Boingo,of
course), Elfman would eventually move into scoring films, where he
would not only showcase a talent that payed homage to the film score
masters, but to the 1930s bouncing jazz sounds of artists like Cab Calloway and classical composers Prokofiev and Stravinsky.
His personal tastes for the off-kilter and bizarre made him a popular
choice for the darker edges of cinema, but that reputation as a "dark"
composer seemed unearned judging by his credits. His first studio film
score was for Tim Burton's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985), where Elfman scored the comic exploits of Pee-Wee Herman with a Nino Rota-like carnival score. Comedy assignments followed -- Back To School and Summer School
-- both of which benefited from Elfman's orchestral scores. His efforts
at this point belied his lack of formal musical training. In fact,
Elfman had not studied composition, orchestration, counterpoint or
conducting, instead picking up these skills through trial and error, and
by simply composing. His Oingo Boingo bandmate Steve Bartek acted as Elfman's orchestrator.
Despite his outsider status in a part of the film industry dominated by
traditions, Elfman continued to set film music trends. His breezy rock
n' roll style score for Midnight Run inspired a
never-ending wave of imitators, but it wasn't until 1989 when Elfman
turned heads with his towering masterwork for Tim Burton's Batman.
It was this score that catapulted Elfman into A-list assignments that
were often tuned into his sensibilities. It also allowed the composer to
work with directors for whom he admired. In the early '90s he
collaborated with Clive Barker (Nightbreed) and Sam Raimi (Darkman). His success with Batman made him a natural choice to score Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy. It was at this point that Elfman had earned his reputation as the darker film composer alternative. Richard Donner's Scrooged, Burton's Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, all helped solidify the "Elfman sound." Elfman has since scored a broad range of films for a who's who of directors including Gus Van Zant (Good Will Hunting and Milk, both Oscar-nominated scores), Barry Sonnenfeld (Men In Black, Oscar nominated score), Brian de Palma (Mission: Impossible), Sam Raimi (A Simple Plan, starring Elfman's wife Bridget Fonda, Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2), Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy 2), Peter Jackson (The Frighteners) and, obviously, further collaborations with Burton (Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, an Oscar nominated score, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland).
A Danny Elfman bio would be remiss without referencing Oingo Boingo. The band arose out of the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo,
an avant-garde comedy/music/theatre troupe founded by Danny Elfman's
older brother Richard in 1972. During that period Richard directed the
underground cult film Forbbiden Zone (1980),
for which Danny provided the music. When the Mystic Knights dissolved in
1978, the younger Elfman consolidated it's musical elements into a more
manageable band format. With a scaled-down name, their new line-up as
an octet went on to become a cult phenomenon producing eight studio
albums while working around the demands of Elfman's budding career as a
film composer penning ska-influnced new wave hits such as Dead Man's Party, Private Life and Weird Science. The group's final album was 1994's Boingo,
released before they officially bid adieu to their hometown fans with a
performance at the Universal Amphitheatre on Halloween 1995.
27 years since Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Elfman has gone on to score all but two of Burton's major studio releases—Ed Wood and Sweeney Todd—including Burton's latest, Dark Shadows, a film based on the 1966-1971 gothic soap opera, starring Johnny Depp as the 200-year old vampire Barnabas Collins and Michelle Pfeiffer
as his reclusive cousin and matriarch of the Collins family. The film
is in theaters on May 11, 2012 and the soundtrack is available on WaterTower Records on Tuesday, May 8, 2012.
Listen live here, or via EVR's free mobile app for iPhone and Android, starting at 2pm ET on Sunday, May 6th!
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 duoBlack Rain, available on vinyl for the first time. Morricone Youth host Devon E. Levins will welcomeStuart 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!
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
