The Knife - Tomorrow In A Year

I seriously cannot WAIT for this!!!

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Commissioned by Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma to write the music for their opera based on Charles Darwin and his book ‘On the Origin of the Species’, The Knife decided to make this a collaborative process, working with artists Mt. Sims and Planningtorock for the first time, to capture the huge width of the Darwin and evolution theme. They extensively researched Darwin related literature and articles, with Olof attending a field recording workshop in the Amazon to find inspiration and to record sounds.

‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ is a unique musical project. Richard Dawkins’s gene trees have formed the basis of some of the musical composition, artificial sounds have been mixed with field recordings, with the music inspired by everything from the different stages of a bird learning its melody, to a song based on Darwin’s loving letters about his daughter Anne. These are compositions that challenge the conventional conception of opera music.

Pushing the experimental process further still, composer, choreographer, costume designer and set designer worked separately, only coming together 3 and a half months before the first performance of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ in Copenhagen on the 2nd September 2009. Described as “shifting the position of operartic art in a single leap”, further performances of ‘Tomorrow, In A Year’ are confirmed to take place in Athens (8-9 Jan), Stockholm (29 Jan-1 Feb), and Munster (5 June), with further dates to be announced.

Olof Dreijer says: “At first it was very difficult as we really didn’t know anything about opera. We’d never been to one. I didn’t even know what the word libretto meant. But after some studying, and just getting used to opera’s essence of pretentious and dramatic gestures, I found that there is a lot to learn and play with. In fact, our ignorance gave us a positive respectless approach to making opera. It took me about a year to become emotionally moved by an opera singer and now I really do. I really like the basic theatrical values of opera and the easy way it brings forward a narrative. We’ve approached this before in The Knife but never in such a clear way.”

The first track to be taken from the album, called Colouring of Pigeons, is free to download now for all mailing list subscribers

Tracklist:

CD 1

01. Intro

02. Epochs

03. Geology

04. Upheaved

05. Minerals

06. Ebb Tide Explorer

07. Variation of Birds

08. Letter to Henslow

09. Schoal Swarm Orchestra

CD 2

01. Annie’s Box

02. Tumult

03. Colouring of Pigeons

04. Seeds

05. Tomorrow in a Year

06. The Height of Summer

Bonus track

07. Annie's Box (alt. vocal)

Listen to "Colouring of Pigeons" here:

http://theknife.net/tommorow-in-a-year-information.html?utm_source=newsletter%201&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tiay%20announcement

Sign up for mailing list to download it or visit the soundcloud page:

This is something I like!

Found out about this album yesterday, but didn't realize it was to be a soundtrack. Should be interesting.

Not a soundtrack, an OPERA!!!!

It's out today - or rather, if you pre-order the CD, you get MP3 download immediately!

I'm so excited I am bouncing up and down in my seat as it D/Ls

The preview track they sent out the other week just sounded so amazingly astonishing I can't wait to hear this!

  On 1/28/2010 at 4:53 PM, Masonic Boom said:

Not a soundtrack, an OPERA!!!!

 

It's out today - or rather, if you pre-order the CD, you get MP3 download immediately!

 

I'm so excited I am bouncing up and down in my seat as it D/Ls

 

The preview track they sent out the other week just sounded so amazingly astonishing I can't wait to hear this!

 

Soundtrack to an Opera - doy!

Can't wait to hear it myself. Waiting for D/L Can't wait for U.S. dates!

I just wish Karin/Mt Sims/Planningtorock were going to perform the vocals in the actual touring opera but that would be crazy.

It's very... odd in places. But you kinda expect that with The Knife. By odd, I guess I mean, it's obviously an opera so there's quite a bit of interstitial music rather than a series of popsongs. But, being The Knife, that really suits them.

I keep hoping that someone brings the opera itself to London as that would pretty much make my universe. Come on, ENO, you can do it!

I saw a vid a few weeks ago, part of the opera I guess. I lost interest.

Fuck yeah.

Lots of synthesized sound textures and ambiance. I'd say noise fans might dig it if they didn't mind the occasional vocals.

I'm about halfway through it and dig it immensely.

Haven't seen any videos of the Opera yet.

Here is the video I saw:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Hr-mtAFbo

I guess the opera singing is not necessarily part of the OST?

  On 1/28/2010 at 11:24 PM, sidewinder said:

Here is the video I saw:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Hr-mtAFbo

 

I guess the opera singing is not necessarily part of the OST?

I think this video is meant to capture some highlights so there is a lot of singing shown. But on first listen, the album overall seems to have vocals only about 30% of the time and the rest is instrumental. From what I can remember.

4:21 - Cool green laser "grass" looks like sound waves

5:54 - The Knife's signature sound comes in

  On 1/28/2010 at 11:54 PM, Superstix said:

 

I think this video is meant to capture some highlights so there is a lot of singing shown. But on first listen, the album overall seems to have vocals only about 30% of the time and the rest is instrumental. From what I can remember.

I see. And are the vocals operatic?

  On 1/29/2010 at 12:26 AM, sidewinder said:

  On 1/28/2010 at 11:54 PM, Superstix said:

 

I think this video is meant to capture some highlights so there is a lot of singing shown. But on first listen, the album overall seems to have vocals only about 30% of the time and the rest is instrumental. From what I can remember.

I see. And are the vocals operatic?

There are definitely operatic vocals, yes. The music is great, but if Opera just annoys you then it's probably not for you. There are other styles of singing as well.

You can stream the entire album on The Knife's website right now if you're still curious. theknife.net

Cool I'll check it out, thanks. Opera does annoy me, but then again I was able to get into a lot of 70s Italian Progressive Rock which is not opera but can remind you of it. But I'm also more partial to male vocals. I'll have a listen.

ordered the cd + flac and currently downloading...

It's only January and this might be my album of the year. (Again)

Basically, everything the Dreijer siblings have touched since Silent Shout has been utterly unbeatable.

I love it, sounds great!

holy shit.

On another forum, I have a friend who's an opera singer who did a track by track assessment of why exactly this is so good from a modern classical point of view, as well as an electropop POV which just made me love it more. I can't think of another band out there at the moment that could pull something like this off.

what i've heard so far strangely reminds me of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_(album)

I dislike some of it, some is bearable, two or three tracks are decent. I'll probably end up listening to it three times and never again.

it's kind of weird how the female's vocals sound like traditional opera, but the guy's vocals are all modern rock/pop.

Get back home lady gaga:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCP6zC_qJU

  On 1/30/2010 at 10:30 AM, Gocab said:

I dislike some of it, some is bearable, two or three tracks are decent. I'll probably end up listening to it three times and never again.

you stupid cunt, what you downloaded is a fake.