Angel Studios July 2009. Robert Taylor photography. taylor-photo.co.uk.
谁影响了我
Angel Studios Islington, July 2009. In this photo left to right; Ian Humphries, Catherine Musker, Martin Elliot, Tony Hinnigan, Michael Nyman, David McAlmont. Robert Taylor photograph. taylor-photo.co.uk
音乐之声
In this photograph left to right; Rob Buckland, Dave Lee, David Roach, Nigel Barr, Andy Findon, Austin Ince,Michael Nyman, David McAlmont. Angel Studios. July 2009. Robert Taylor photography. taylor-photo.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/McAlmont-Nyman-David-Michael-Band/dp/B002N5KEOM
Michael Nyman and David McAlmont first met at the Sigmund Freud Museum, Hampstead in the summer of 2000. They were guests of Author Victoria De Rijke who was launching her celebration of the nose in art, Nose Book: Representations of the Nose in Literature and The Arts. David had been a student of Victoria’s at Middlesex Polytechnic and Michael was at the event to perform an appropriately written aria.
Michael’s appearance was a bit of a buzz at the gathering that evening. David was especially excited as they were signed to the same label Virgin but had never met. A few years before the evening at the
Freud David had seen the Peter Greenaway film The Cook, The Thief, His wife and her Lover and he had become utterly entranced by the soundtrack. Soon after he had acquired a Michael Nyman box set and become a huge fan.
They met briefly at the Nose do and exchanged pleasantries as Nyman was swamped with fans and well wishers. In the following years it was mentioned on the grapevine that Michael Nyman might be interested in working with David but this was all hearsay until 2007 when David in creative frustration decided to join Facebook. Nyman contacted him within a week. They remembered their first encounter to each other and quickly began plotting a collaboration. During a hastily arranged lunch meeting at The Fishworks on Upper Street Michael stated that he was far too post modern to write about feelings and David had a Eureka moment as he had become bored with the navel gazing futility of penning love songs about his own feelings and at 40 wanted to create something more worthwhile with his lyric writing.
At this point Gericault’s Raft Of The Medusa emerged as a subject of interest but instead of pursuing
that specific angle David became fascinated with the life of the 19th French painter especially his determination to create documentary canvases based on contemporary life; battle-field injury, asylum
inmates and shipwreck memoirs. Using this approach as an inspiration it was then decided that David would select Nyman compositions and use them as backing tracks. David listened to and absorbed the music and then turned to the worldwide news web for suitable story sources.
Rather than inspire pieces based on heartbreak or the trials of love this process enabled writing of more pertinent pieces on subjects as varied as 21st century Piracy (Going To America), trafficked prostitution in Europe(A City Called Turin), Lothario world leaders (In Re Don Giovanni), assisted suicide (Friendly Fire), reality television (The Glare), international jewellery heists (Dorothy), African orphan migration (Fever Sticks and Bones), banking errors (Take The Money And Run) and Drug Mules (In Laos). It was also felt that the songs were most effective when written from the first person
point of view of individual characters in researched reports.
This approach provided an emotional engagement with the subjects that is lost by the time their stories emerge in the glare of the 24 hour news media. This process of course caused initial concern for McAlmont because he was taking already brilliant compositions, adding to and adjusting them. Fortunately, Michael Nyman was delighted with the result.
hello david,just popped by to wish you all the very best with your new CD.we did connect on facebook until it became a little too much for me so i'm back to the safety of good old myspace. do drop in and sample the tunes if you've the time.
I am web camming with my Sis who lives in Philly....we are doing a little memory lane thing.....she is playing the song I played at my wedding......."I'm A Better Man" via her web cam......she said she still plays it all the time! Thank you again for an amazing song!
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xxx
