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| Stephen Emmer's compelling new album Supertracks Records is pleased to announce the 7th April 2008 UK release of Stephen Emmer's 'Recitement' – a fascinating album comprising an eclectic collection of literary source texts set to original music compositions. Emmer, one of Holland's leading avant-garde music composers, first started his music career in the late 70s in the industrial post punk experimental band Minny Pops (who were originally signed to Factory Records). The combination of pop music and spoken word is a unique phenomenon throughout the history of music. The album contains 17 different compositions in 7 different languages and styles, performed, arranged and composed by Stephen Emmer. On Recitement everything comes together: past and present, death and life, writers and singers, poems and music. Recitement is a unique music and spoken word album where classic and modern spoken word is performed by famous writers (Allen Ginsberg, Samuel Beckett), singers (Lou Reed, Kazu Makino) and actors (Richard Burton, Michael Lonsdale, Sylvia Kristel), and reinterpreted in an innovative way that combines new and original music to each vocal performance in seven different languages. It's a kind of rap 2.0, created the other way around, like with a libretto for an opera: first the text, then the music. You could also call it Spoken Word Goes Pop where poetry becomes a classical film soundtrack, classic prose rap and rock and travel stories become jazz-noir or chamber pop. The album was recorded at Studio 150 by Joeri Saal and Stephen Emmer in Amsterdam, and was mixed by Tony Visconti at Phillip Glass' Looking Glass Studios in New York City (the latter's credits include David Bowie, T.Rex, Morrissey), and features several musical performers including Blonde Redhead's singer Kazu Makino, jazz musician Benjamin Herman, legendary pianist Mike Garson (David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins), classical singer Maja Roodveldt, old school rapper Shyrock, and Joost Kroon of New Cool Collective and pop duo Bauer (ex Bettie Serveert). The linernotes in the CD booklet are written by Michael Brocken from the UK, who also wrote the one and only Burt Bacharach biography called Maestro! The life of a Pop Genius. Michael Brocken is Senior Lecturer in Creative and Performing Arts at Liverpool Hope University College. He is also a regular broadcaster at BBC Radio Merseyside, where he has his own series, 'Brock 'n' Roll'. Michael Brocken is also the author of The British Folk Revival and Bob Dylan: The Robert Shelton Conference. He has contributed to Wire, Mojo, Record Collector, and Radio Times. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |