Ellis OST - by Woodkid & Nils Frahm (12") [Erased Tapes]

dan8885

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Feb 23, 2014
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Release: July 8, 2016
Purchase Link & Price:
Erased Tapes - 12,99 GBP
Amazon.com - 17,99 USD
Amazon.de - 15,79 EUR

Note: 12" EP by Woodkid & Nils Frahm for the short film "Ellis" by director JR starring Robert De Niro,
12-page picture booklet and Digital Download included

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Directed by renowned artist JR, ELLIS is a lens through which the story of Ellis Island is captured and retold by the words of one immigrant. Starring Robert De Niro and featuring the visually arresting Unframed art installation, which inhabits the abandoned Ellis Island hospital complex, the short film takes you on a compelling journey through the crumbling hallways of what once stood as the gateway to America. Entwined with this unfolding narrative is a score composed by multi-talented Woodkid, performed and co-written by Nils Frahm. Whilst the delicate piano motifs of Winter Morning I culminate in a crescendo of strings, it's atop the harmonium swells on the B-side that De Niro's narration evokes the presence of those who shaped modern America so clearly. There's perhaps not been a more relevant time for this story and its themes to be brought to life in such a special way, with all proceeds from this release going towards the Sea Watch initiative (sea-watch.org), a non-profit charity dedicated to the protection and rescue of civilian refugees. Following a screening as part of Nils s Barbican Weekender, the ELLIS score will be out July 8th and available in CD, LP and digital format.

ELLIS is a short film directed by French artist JR and starring Robert De Niro. It is about an immigrant (played by De Niro) who walks the abandoned hallways of the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. Woodkid composed the film’s score, which is played and also co-written by Nils Frahm. That score is now being released as a mini-album on CD, 12” vinyl, and digitally, along with a 12-page picture booklet. ELLIS is out July 8 via Erased Tapes. Below, watch a trailer for the film, listen to excerpts of “Winter Morning I” and “Winter Morning II” (with narration from De Niro) from the score, and see the ELLIS cover art.

In a press release Nils Frahm said:

"The opportunity to work on JR’s fantastic short film ELLIScame through my good friend Yoann aka Woodkid. We agreed on recording the piano parts in my studio in Berlin and so it happened that JR and Woodkid were guests at Durton studio on a wonderful late summer day in 2015. We managed to record all the crucial elements that day. The music fell in our laps and melted with the images: a wonderful experience. The film has stuck in my head ever since; it moved my heart and changed my soul.

A couple of weeks later I had to cancel a trip to Brussels because of a terror warning; all events got cancelled and I stayed home, having an unexpected day off. I felt rather depressed that day, thinking that the Europe I knew was already gone. I sat down at the harmonium, listened to Robert De Niro’s voice and played for the rest of the day. The result is “Winter Morning II,” the B-side of the ELLISsoundtrack release.

Robert says it all in 17 minutes. We are not facing a refugee crisis. We are facing a crisis because we do not embrace, we do not sympathise and we cannot give up fear. Art can encourage so I hope this project will help fight the fear in all of us."

Woodkid added:

"Ellis is my second collaboration with JR after the New York City Ballet piece for Les Bosquets. I initially wanted this piece to sound like it was recorded on an old piano that we found in the ruins of Ellis Island, in the restricted area that is not open to the public, where JR pasted the pictures on the walls for the film Ellis.

I had worked with Nils before and I wanted him to create a sound for this piano part that I composed that was extremely gentle and organic. I wanted the listener to hear the mechanisms, the breathing of the instrument. I wanted it to be imperfect, to sound like a ruin, a trace, an echo, the way the pastings on the walls seem to be ghosts, almost imperceptible.

After a few rehearsals, Nils stripped down my piano parts and we removed almost all orchestration around the piano. He then worked on the extended version that is his interpretation of my piece, with Robert de Niro’s vocals.

Because this film and this recording is historically meaningful, it was important for us to create this piece as an echo to the immigration situation in Europe, and decided to release it in support of Sea Watch."
 
Wookid? As in the rap/ hip hop DJ?

No mate :LOL: that's DJ Whoo Kid. This is Woodkid, french singer-songwriter, music video director and graphic designer. He did the videos for Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", Taylor Swift's "Back to December" or Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die". He is creative director for Pharrell Williams' 24 Hours of Happy music video concept. He performs regularly at Coachella, Montreal Jazz Festival ....
 
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No mate :LOL: that's DJ Whoo Kid. This is Woodkid, french singer-songwriter, music video director and graphic designer. He did the videos for Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", Taylor Swift's "Back to December" or Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die". He is creative director for Pharrell Williams' 24 Hours of Happy music video concept. He performs regularly at Coachella, Montreal Jazz Festival ....

Ohhhhh lol haven't heard of dj whoo kid in a while so I thought he changed his style or something lol
 
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