FIDELIO: L'Odyssée d'Alice will be released on 5th August in our theatres.

A film by Lucie BORLETEAU
WithAriane LABED ('The Lobster', 'Before Midnight'), Melvil POUPAUD ('Laurence Anyways') and Anders DANIELSEN LIE ('Oslo, 31. August')

 
Thirty-year-old Alice's occupation is rather unusual for a woman : she works as an engineer on a freighter. She loves her job and does it competently but even in a greasy blue overall a woman will be a woman, with her heart, her desires and her seduction... In such conditions can an all-male crew really remain totally insensitive to her charms? A situation all the more complicated as not only does Alice leave her fiancé Felix behind but she also discovers on board the Fidélio that the captain is Gaël, her first love...

Though known as a touring and recording musician associated with Nine Inch Nails, Alessandro Cortini has really come into his own via his Forse trilogy, and his 2014 Hospital Productions debut, Sonno. For his Hospital follow-up, he maintains the grittiness and intimacy introduced on his debut, but expands upon it, offering a wider spectrum of emotion and depth. 

Like Sonno, Risveglio was written and recorded while on tour. The drive to create intimate works during late-night downtime reveal Cortini to be committed to personal vision beyond the call of duty. While Sonno was created using only a Roland 202 and delay, Risveglio adds a Roland TB303, synced to the 202.

In his own words, "The 303 can be such a haunting instrument used in a certain way, and I felt it completely fit the mood of the previous work I have done on the 202, especially when given a specific location in space....it’s such a living instrument." The addition of Roland TR606 gives one of the pieces a rhythmic pulse that separates it from the preceding synthscapes and renders Risveglio altogether a more dynamic affair than Sonno. 

With Risveglio, Cortini implores and emphasizes the imperfections and visceral textures of electronics vacant from so much contemporary solo synthesizer music. Furthermore Cortini carves out a similar space to what Kevin Drumm's Hospital releases have done for the worlds of Drone and Noise by finding the emotional and ultimately human voice within synthesis. 

Alessandro Cortini will be presenting both Sonno and Risveglio in a live audio-visual performance at this years upcoming Berlin Atonal festival taking place August 19th-23rd. 

soundcloud.com/alessandrocortini/la-sveglia/s-Xid8z?mc_cid=3809b15b47&mc_eid=9715ef9161

Rob Zombie is ready to expand beyond the horror genre. Zombie and Miranda Bailey have acquired the rights to Steve Stoliar’s memoir Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House. Love & Mercy co-writer Oren Moverman will write the screenplay and Zombie is attached to direct. Cold Iron Pictures’ Miranda Bailey and Amanda Marshall are producing along with Zombie and Andy Gould.

The book tells the bizarre story of the last years in the life of Groucho Marx, told by a young Marx Brothers fan who spent those years as his personal secretary and archivist. In addition to getting to know his hero, the author found himself in the orbit of Groucho’s brothers Zeppo and Gummo, Mae West, George Burns, Bob Hope, Jack Lemmon, S.J. Perelman, Steve Allen, and scores of other luminaries of stage, screen, TV and literature. The downside of this dream-come-true was getting close to his idol as the curtain was coming down, and dealing with Erin Fleming – the mercurial woman in charge of Groucho’s personal and professional life.

There have been proposed projects about the life of Groucho and his Marx Brothers, the most recent from Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the Big Eyes scribes who were going to direct a Marx Brothers movie but just could not get the budget down. This is a different way to tell the story and the choice of director is certainly unexpected.

Zombie, the multi-platinum recording artist-turned film director, made his mark directing small budget profitable genre films like House Of 1000 Corpses, two Halloween films, Lords Of Salem and the currently shooting 31, about five people kidnapped on the eve of Halloween and placed in a lethal funhouse called Murder World. But I’ve seen how meticulous Zombie is in the preparation and design of these fright films, and he could well make the kind of transition that Saw helmer James Wan and others have made from genre to more mainstream fare. He is separately writing to direct Broad Street Bullies, a film about the Philadelphia Flyers hockey teams that brawled their way to prominence. So while he would not be the obvious choice to make a touching film about the last days of iconic Groucho Marx based on his resume, turns out Zombie is a huge fan of the comic and is steeped in Marx Brothers lore.

“I have been a huge Groucho Marx fan ever since I was a child and have read countless book on the comic legend, but after reading the book Raised Eyebrows, a totally new perspective on Groucho’s life emerged,” says Zombie. “I immediately saw this project as Groucho’s Sunset Boulevard and knew I had to bring it to the big screen. It is a sad, funny and very dark tale of a one of Hollywood’s greatest stars final years.”

Bailey’s Cold Iron Pictures produced the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics film The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, which Marielle Heller directed with Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgard, Christopher Meloni and Bel Powley starring. Bailey twice worked with Morverman on Time Out Of Mind and Oppenheimer Strategies, both of which star Richard Gere.

“Steve’s story detailing his experience with one of the most iconic comedians of our time was so poignantly crafted, and such a compelling read, that I immediately knew it was a project I wanted to be involved with. Rob is the perfect visionary to direct Oren’s script to the screen.” ICM Partners is handling sales for the film. Moverman is repped by WME and Zombie is repped by UTA, Spectacle Entertainment and attorney David Fox.

Source: Deadline.com

Editors follow ‘No Harm’, their first new music in two years which “leaked” via a hidden track on a Play It Again Sam label sampler, with the release of a further new song, ‘Marching Orders’ today.

Coming in at just short of 8 minutes ‘Marching Orders’, in all its unexpurgated glory, was recorded by the band in the Western Highlands of Scotland in early 2015 and mixed by Alan Moulder.

In a similar spirit to the ‘release’ of ‘No Harm’ (discovered by and posted to Youtube by an excited fan) Editors will continue their long standing relationship with Oxfam by gifting 300 hand stamped 12” test pressings of Marching Orders. These will be randomly placed and sold in selected Oxfam stores in the UK, Germany and Belgium. The initiative continues a long standing relationship between the charity and the band as Tom Smith explains

"We've been supporters of Oxfam's amazing, vital work for many years, from supporting their Oxfam unwrapped campaign back in Xmas 2007, performing at Oxjam gigs and also hosting Oxfam campaigners on our tours to help raise funds and spread the word about the charity with our fans."

Editors have announced an extensive UK and European tour from October. All dates are as follows

October

Fri 9, UK, Belfast, Limelight

Sat 10, Ireland, Dublin, Olympia Theatre

Mon 12, UK, Bristol, Colston Hall

Tue 13, UK, London, Hammersmith Apollo

Thu 15, UK, Portsmouth, Pyramid Centre

Fri 16, UK, Birmingham, O2 Academy

Sat 17, UK, Leeds, O2 Academy

Sun 18, UK, Glasgow, O2 ABC

Tue 20, UK, Newcastle, O2 Academy

Wed 21, UK, Cambridge, Junction SOLD OUT

Thu 22, UK, Manchester, Manchester Academy SOLD OUT

Wed 28, France, Paris, Le Trianon

Thu 29, France, Lille, Splendide SOLD OUT

Sat 31, Belgium, Brussels, Palais 12

November

Sun 1, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Den Atelier

Mon 2, Germany, Cologne, Koln Palladium

Wed 4, Netherlands, Amsterdam, Heineken Music Hall SOLD OUT

Thu 5, Netherlands, Amsterdam, Heineken Music Hall SOLD OUT

Fri 6, Netherlands, Amsterdam, Heineken Music Hall

Sun 8, Germany, Hamburg, Mehr Theater

Mon 9, Germany, Berlin, Columbiahalle

Tue 10, Germany, Offenbach, Stadthalle

Thu 12, Germany, Munich, Tonhalle

Fri 13, France, Strasbourg, Laiterie

Sun 15, France, Lyon, Radiant

Mon 16, Spain, Barcelona, Razzmatazz

Tue 17, Spain, Madrid, La Riviera

Fri, 27 Switzerland, Lausanne, Les Docks

Sat 28, Italy, Bologna, Paladozza

Sun 29, Austria, Vienna, Gasometer

December

Tue 1, Slovenia, Ljubljana, Kino Siska

Wed 2, Croatia, Zagreb, Culture Factory

Fri 4, Greece, Athens, Gazi Music Hall

Sat 5, Greece, Thessaloniki, Principal Club Theatre

Sun 6, Turkey, Istanbul, Volkswagen Arena

Tue 8, Hungary, Budapest, Barba Negra

Wed 9, Czech Republic, Prague, Roxy

Thu 10, Poland, Warsaw, Progresja Music Zone

Fri 11, Poland, Poznan, MTP2

Sun 13, Switzerland, Zurich, X-tra

Mon 14, France, Marseille, Espace Julien

Tue 15, France, Bordeaux, Le Rocher De Palme

MERCURY REV announce new studio album, "The Light In You", released 18th September on Bella Union, unveil new track "The Queen Of Swans", and play in Brussels 8th November

Bella Union are excited to announce the long-awaited return of US alt-rock legends Mercury Rev whose new album The Light In You will be released 18th September via the label. The band have just unveiled a track from the LP entitled ‘The Queen Of Swans’, which is streaming HERE, and announced an extensive European tour, the dates of which are below.

As Mercury Rev began recording their eighth studio album in autumn 2013, when asked what people could expect, co-pilot Grasshopper responded, “Steel Resonator Mandolin. Timpani. Sleigh Bells. All sorts of electric guitars…..” He subsequently added, “It is the best stuff we have done in a long, long time. Gonna be big sounding!”

Two years on, The Light In You more than lives up to its billing. The record is filled with wondrous and voluminous kaleidoscopic detail, but also intimate moments of calm, and altogether stands up to the very best that this notable band of maverick explorers has ever created. Its ecstatic highs and shivery comedowns also reflect a particularly turbulent era in the lives of Grasshopper and fellow co-founder Jonathan Donahue, of calamities both personal and physical, but also rebirths and real births (Grasshopper became a father for the first time in 2014). There's a reason for the seven-year gap since the band's last album, Snowflake Midnight.

“It was one of those otherworldly life sequences, when everything you think is solid turns molten,” explains Jonathan. “But also, when something is worth saying, it can take a long time to say it, rather than just blurt it out.”

As well as The Light In You being the first Mercury Rev album with Bella Union, it’s also the first with only Jonathan and Grasshopper at the controls, as scheduling conflicts and travel between the Catskills and Dave Fridmann's Tarbox studio became too great to overcome. On The Light In You, Jonathan and Grasshopper decided they were best served being based at home in the Catskills for once. Surrounded by longtime friends such as engineer Scott Petito and bassist Anthony Molina, Jonathan and Grasshopper quickly found their stride recording themselves in their own basement studio as well as venturing out into the daylight to record tracks at some of their old haunts like NRS and White Light Studios. The two even found time to arrange backing vocal harmonies and record with Ken Stringfellow at his studio Son du Blé studios in Paris.

Yet from its title down, the album clearly reflects the core relationship between Jonathan and Grasshopper, best friends since they were teenagers, who accompanied each other through the musical changes, band fractures and exulted breakthroughs that has marked Mercury Rev’s career since they emerged with the extraordinary Yerself Is Steam in 1991.

“You can go as deep as you want with the title, on a metaphorical, spiritual level, or just poetic license,” Jonathan suggests. “It’s the beacon that shines and allows us to see ourselves – and then there’s the music between Grasshopper and I, which is how we reflect each other. The arc of the album, lyrically, is someone who’s gone through an incredible period of turbulence, sadness and uncertainty, and as the album progresses, a light appears on the water.”

The album’s track-listing follows a similar trajectory, from the opening slow-build cascade of ‘The Queen Of Swans’, through the epic lonely beauty of ‘Central Park East’ and the album’s half-way peak between ‘Emotional Freefall’ and ‘Are You Ready’ before the closing sequence, with the exhilarating pop beacons of ‘Sunflower’ and ‘Rainy Day Record’ sandwiching the more tranquil ‘Moth Light’. The light is reflected both by the album’s brilliantine colours and imagery drawn largely from the elements and the seasons, creating a world as only Mercury Rev know how. “It’s like taking a drug, but not actually taking a drug,” Grasshopper reckons. “Just sit back and enter and immerse yourself.”

Since Snowflake Midnight, Jonathan and Grasshopper have stayed productive, for example with their improvised collective, Mercury Rev's Cinematic Sound Tettix BrainWave Concerto Experiment at John Zorn's club in NYC, creating live soundtracks to favourite films at various junctures across Europe (most recently in London as part of Swans’ Mouth To Mouth festival in 2014). There were also occasional festival shows such as headlining 2014’s Green Man festival to celebrate the deluxe version of 1998 opus Deserter’s Songs.

“Playing tracks again from Deserter’s Songs helped us look at where we’ve been, and where we were going,” says Grasshopper. “Though by no means did we want to make Deserter’s Songs Two, we did feel we had some loose ends to tie up.”As Grasshopper once commented about Deserter’s Songs, “It’s special because that was the one that brought us back from the brink.” The Light In You is special for that very same reason.

The Light In You will be released worldwide on 18th September via Bella Union.

The Light In You tracklisting:

The Queen Of Swans

Amelie

You've Gone With So Little For So Long

Central Park East

Emotional Freefall

Coming Up For Air

Autumn's In The Air

Are You Ready?

Sunflower

Moth Light 

Rainy Day Record

Mercury Rev Autumn tour:

Friday 18 September – TILBURG – Incubate Festival

Sunday 4 October – LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club

Monday 5 October – BRISTOL – Trinity

Friday 6 November – COPENHAGEN – DR Studio 2

Sunday 8 November – BRUSSELS – Botanique Orangerie

Monday 9 November – KOLN – Studio 672

Wednesday 11 November – BERLIN – Postbahnhof

Friday 13 November – ZAGREB – Lauba

Saturday 14 November – RAVENNA – Bronson

Sunday 15 November – MUNICH – Kranhalle 

Monday 16 November – PARIS – Alhambra 

Tuesday 17 November – BRIGHTON – Komedia

Thursday 19 November – GATESHEAD – The Sage

Friday 20 November – GLASGOW – Art School

Sunday 22 November– DUBLIN – Button Factory

Monday 23 November – MANCHESTER – RNCM

Tuesday 24 November – LONDON – OVAL SPACE