Go download this new Smashing Pumpkins song for free, it is beautiful!!! It’s one of the songs Billy Corgan had me play on tour last year, performed live as Billy on acoustic guitar and voice, with Kevin Dippold on mandolin and me on acoustic violin. My violin lines have evolved for this final definitive recording, playing off the acoustic guitar’s melody lines to add a hook and counter melody to this beautifully produced song. Love it!
“A Stitch in Time” will be packaged with “A Song for a Son,” “Widow Wake My Mind” and an upcoming track called “Astral Planes” to comprise the first limited edition EP from the Teargarden package. The first EP, Volume 1/Songs For a Sailor, will be released April 20th.
Download here: A Stitch In Time
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Tags: a stitch in time, billy corgan, smashing pumpkins |
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Jonathan Wilson has the best smelling studio in the galaxy perhaps. No stinky drummer smells in his space at all, not a whiff of stale beer. Instead, it’s an elegant wood loft, with high ceilings, and it’s distinctly aromatic with pleasing sandalwood / frankincense notes. And the smell of hot tape, vintage BBC microphones and a nice warm Neumann high above my violin.
I was here today recording a song for Wil Oldham (Bonnie Prince Billy), Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) was there too with his flugelhorn, not a word I get to use very often, so I’m going to say it again… F-L-U-gelhorn! And I ran into Gillian Welch on the way in, one of the finest female vocalists in this beautiful land.
A lovely afternoon, and a good strings day. I love the sound Jonathan captured with his special sensitive warm mics and lovely desk. Mmmmm.
Meanwhile, Julia Kent was recording my cello parts in New York for the movie soundtrack, and tonight I’m going to finish the mix with Henry Strange… then I’m heading out to San Diego ready to play a live show for a fashion show featuring Dies Van Noten, Donna Karan, Prada, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana and a host of fabulousness… (including Jimmy Choo shoes)
Time to pack the bags!
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Tags: bonnie prince billy, gillian welch, jonathan wilson, nate walcott, wil oldham |
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I’m super excited about playing strings for Imaad Wasif. His new album, The Voidist, came out on Tee Pee Records, home of spacey guitar rock bands like The Warlocks, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Ya Ho Wa 13. His biggest gig to date was composing music for Spike Jonze’s “Where The Wild Things Are“.
Imaad is a seriously talented, inventive guitarist, an intense vocalist, and strong songwriter. It’s heavy, psychedelic, intelligent music, with intricate harmonies and catchy melodies. Think Devandra Banhart meets Nick Drake, add some Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and a touch of Pumpkins, and it’s somewhere like that.
The music we make together is truly sublime. It’s one of those projects that seems greater than any of the parts individually. Transcendent.
Here’s us playing at Spaceland in Los Angeles on February 11…
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The Smashing Pumpkins released a new song from the album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. It’s called Widow Wake My Mind.
Billy Corgan wrote the track last year, and it’s one of the songs I played with him on the Spirits in the Sky tour last Fall. The musicianship on that tour was out of control, not to mention the high level of fun and happiness. The audience at those shows totally loved this song, and I’m sure you’re going to love this definitive produced version, which has my viola deep in the mix.
The Wall Street Journal wrote:
“The new song has mid-career Beatles-like feel, with a bright melody and expansive production.”
Spin, Rolling Stone and Kerrang have all given the song props, so check it out for free!
Download Widow Wake My Mind here.
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The Owls, one of two feature films I scored in 2009, has just been selected for the Berlin Film Festival. The World Premiere will be at the Cinemaxx7 in Berlin on February 18 2010.
I’m delighted, it’s a fantastic film. Part documentary, part fiction, it’s a unique piece of cinema in terms of format, and a deep and radical movie.
My score features generous amounts of strings plus other instruments, including horns, real drums, drum machines, vintage synths, bass and vocals.
This strings track is written for a daytime scene in the garden:
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Here’s a short piece of background music I composed for piano to accompany a monolgue. It’s meant to capture a reflective moment:
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This strings track is for a scene that the director wanted to add a little more tension to.
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I’m playing a couple of shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco with David J. We’re playing a collection of Bouquets, Wreaths and Laurels… which means to say, Love songs, Laments and Songs of Glory.
They’re beautifully aged, all played on strings, piano, mandolin, ukulele, banjo, drums and stand up bass. Think antique modern gothic, and you’ll be in the right mood.
Here’s a secret video of us rehearsing Bela Lugosi at a haunted mansion in San Francisco…
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Tags: David J; Bauhaus; Love & Rockets |
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