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EFTERKLANG &
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135 dkk/18€ |
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MAJESTIC LIVE ALBUM, POETIC AND HUGE CONCERT FILM, INTRIGUING DOCUMENTARY AND 7 MUSIC VIDEOS
- ALL IN ONE PACKAGE!
tracklist:
1.Polygyne (live)
2.Mirador (live)
3.Him Poe Poe (live)
4.Horseback Tenors (live)
5.Mimeo (live)
6.Frida Found a Friend (live)
7.Maison de Réflexion (live)
8.Blowing Lungs like Bubbles (live)
9.Caravan (live) - click to watch the video on Vimeo.com
10.Illuminant (live)
11.Cutting Ice to Snow (live) (free MP3)
The inimitable Danish outfit Efterklang is back with the release of Performing Parades, their most ambitious project yet. A limited edition deluxe gatefold CD+DVD and LP+DVD package, it features Efterklang performing their
acclaimed 2007 album Parades in full, accompanied by The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, in their
hometown of Copenhagen. A sweepingly majestic affair, the performance takes Efterklang’s sumptuous,
otherworldly pop songs to new heights of heart-bursting joy and wonder.
Shortly after the release of Parades, Karl Bjerre Skibsted from DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) approached
Efterklang with a proposal to work with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra. Efterklang leapt at the
opportunity. From the off, the intention was to unite the two groups as a single musical unit: 50 musicians on stage
in full Efterklang regalia. Composer and arranger Karsten Fundal was invited to write orchestral arrangements for
the songs, and after ten months of preparation, the first performance took place on September 26 2008 at DRīs
brand new Koncerthuset in Copenhagen in front of a capacity audience. The show was recorded for posterity in
sound and on film.
The original Parades album recording involved more than 30 guest musicians, including a string quartet, a brass
quintet and three separate choirs. On Performing Parades the music is brought to life in new arrangements in a way
that is both dazzling and profoundly moving. Or, as Mojo described the performance in their live review: “uplifting, celebratory and gloriously ridiculous, like an alternate national anthem for a new northern utopia of untrammelled
happiness.”
“In many ways this release marks the pinnacle of what we have been trying to achieve with our two albums, Tripper
and Parades,” says Casper Clausen of Efterklang. “It also closes a chapter as we work on taking our music in a new
direction.”
The live recording is packaged with an intimate 55-minute concert film directed by Benjamin Hesselholdt. The DVD
also includes a behind the scenes documentary (with English and Danish subtitles), made by Ralf Christensen and Anders Bøtter, of the preparations for the event,
as well as all six video clips made for songs from Parades, including lead single ‘Mirador’, which now has racked
up over a million (1,000,000!) views on Youtube. An acoustic performance of the same song is also featured on the DVD.
The artwork for the project is by the acclaimed design duo Hvass&Hannibal, who also produced the artwork for
Under Giant Trees and Parades, as well as the costumes, production and stage design for the Copenhagen show.
Efterklang will celebrate the release of Performing Parades with a major concert at London’s Barbican Hall October 28th 2009 in which the
orchestral version of Parades will be staged with The Britten Sinfonia.
On Performing Parades (2009):
Artrocker 5 of 5 stars! "This is Pop at its most elegant, neo-classical at its most accessible"
Skinny Magazine 4 of 5 stars! "The DVD pushes the package from curio to essential for existing Efterklang fans, and marks them an overdue discovery for anyone else."
On Parades (2007):
Drowned In Sound 10 of 10! “This is their Dark Side Of The Moon, their OK Computer; it’s the album Björk wishes she’d conjured in her mind when realising Vespertine, full of mystery and long-term intrigue.”
The Milk Factory 5 of 5 stars! "Parades is, quite simply, a masterpiece"
Subba-Cultcha.com 5 of 5 stars! “Beautiful and downright amazing…Without doubt, this is one of the best records released this year.”
Music-News.com (uk) 5 of 5 stars "Arguably Sufjan Stevens is their closest fellow traveller, but even his astounding and often artistically complex and referential output falls short by comparison."
The Irish Star 4 of 5 stars "Parades is an intelligent and masterful epic upon which intricate layers of dreamy guitar, horns, strings and choral vocals mesmerise in harmony"
Mojo Magazine 4 of 5 stars “Every so often an album comes along that’s so original it’s difficult to accurately liken it to anything else – even Efterklang’s last album, Tripper, is left behind by Parades."
The Independent on Saturday – The Information 4 of 5 stars “Wholly mesmerizing”
Uncut Magazine 4 of 5 stars "More organic than their 2004 debut, Parades is just as richly rewarding”
Rocksound 8 of 10 stars “Hugely impressive in scope…Superb”
Word Magazine "Great Danes make gloriously romantic pastoral chamber pop .. very very lovely music"
Clash Magazine "What Efterklang have created is one of those rare albums that you feel you’ve actually gained something from after listening to. Parades is an intelligent, heartwarming, sublime record which is more than worthy to follow the seminal debut, Tripper. There are some moments of true beauty here. Make sure you experience them”