Influential veteran soundtrack composer ENNIO MORRICONE is to make his first live UK performance at a film-related season at LONDON BARBICAN CENTRE in March.
Members of Portishead, The Delgados, Asian Dub Foundation and Tortoise are also contributing to ‘Only Connect’, a live event where bands provide soundtracks to films and art.
Organisers of the sessions, which commence on March 1 at the Barbican, claim the month long series of events to be a “kick back against the formulaic” offering “artists much needed space and perfect conditions for experimentation, collaboration and the creation of new work”.
As part of the series, Asian Dub Foundation will provide a live soundtrack to the French film set in the inner city of Paris, ‘La Haine’.
Elsewhere, Portishead’s Adrian Utley provides the score to a new short film by Nicolas Roeg featuring supermodel Claudia Schiffer, The Delgados will provide music to the work of artist Joe Coleman, and Chicago post-rockers Tortoise form the backing band for Tom Ze, the Brazilian Tropicala founder.
For many, however, the highlight of the programme is the Morricone event on March 10 and 11, which will feature a selection of his greatest film scores – which include archetypal Western themes such as ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ – and two contemporary classical compositions. Two hundred musicians will perform on stage with Morricone conducting. The March 10 performance will be followed by a late-night screening of ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’ in the main hall.
The dates for the shows are:
Nicholas Roeg/Adrian Utley (March 1)
Joe Coleman /The Delgados (22)
Asian Dub Foundation/’La Haine’ (March 31)
Tortoise/Tom Ze (April 9)
The shows form part of a larger, month long series of events. Details will be confirmed on the Barbican website, [url=]www.barbican.org.uk, from the start of February.