Lost Monsters

I composed music and made sound design with my fellow composer, Peter Morris for a play called ‘Lost Monsters’@Liverpool Everyman (http://www.everymanplayhouse.com) directed by Matt Wild. It’s a historical theatre that produced many pronoun actors and actresses such as Julie Waters, Bill Naighy, Alan Bleasdale, Antony Sher, Bernard Hill etc. As soon as I read the script written by Laurence Wilson, I loved the story.  Although there were many changes later on, specially the end was changed into a slightly disappointing conclusion, I always liked the darkness and  hope in life of this play.  It was a great challenge for me to create such a versatile music for this story from a dub-step to a classical piano piece.  I specially enjoyed making a piece about ‘bumble bees’.  Especially based on the fact that they are now disappearing from this world, I feel, it is throwing a big question mark at us human beings, “When are we going to realize what we are doing on earth?”  I hope this play will come to London.

 

<Reviews>

http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/news/full-story.asp?Article_ID=642,

http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/entertainment-chester/news-reviews/2009/05/21/joe-mcgann-rebecca-ryan-star-in-lost-monsters-at-liverpool-everyman-59067-23671432/

Ditto “Love”

Sraight after the ballet “Red Balloon” at the Royal Opera House, I had to create a track for a brand new event at the Round House “ Ditto”, which features new digital music and films, one off  special event transmitted once only live online. There were some themes for the night and my slot was “Love”.  I collaborated with dancer, Clara Barbera Tomas from Ballet Rambert and Nick Sutton from Full Fat Film. We were asked to do something with a track called “Jolene” by Dolly Parton so I chanted “Joleeeeeeeene” over my Dubstep/Drum’n Bass track.  It was a quite contrast from my previous work “Red Balloon”. “It’s a healthy change….” commented one of my old mates. “Thanks”. Clara’s dance is so sharp like a leopard.  Nick’s editing is so cool like ice cubes. I also met nice people there, which always makes me feel positive about life. As to my live performance at the Roundhouse on the 16th May, my laptop was slightly asleep and the sync was a bit late, but hey, it’s live!

Moondog 30th May 09

It was a night of Moondog at Barbican Centre. A saw player/ multi instrumentalist/producer David Coulter (obviously not the Scottish Formula One driver) introduced me to this project. I recited a poem by Louis Hardin (Moondog’s real name) and sung one of his tracks “ Fujiyama”. At first there was a big mental wall against this Japanese poem written by the peculiarly and extremely talented American composer, as it seemed to me it was a Western fantasy about Japanese spirits. I locked myself in the backstage room (luckily I had my own) and repeatedly chanted the piece on a box of salad and some drink to connect myself to it. Nothing happens for a while but eventually after 3 or 4 hours of practice, my mind went into the mode and I genuinely started feeling like a person who was separated from her beloved by death – which is what the poem is about. I enjoyed the night very much discovering Moondog’s work, especially when they were played by Britten Sinfonia conducted by André de Ridder. This orchestra had such a modern attitude especially with this funky German conductor.