Thomas Dolby, the multi-Grammy nominated artist and producer, takes his new live show - part film, part concert, part transmedia event - on the road this fall. Each show will be a unique event that cannot be replicated outside of Dolby's theater performance.
In a 20-date tour of historic arthouse cinemas and independent film festivals, Dolby will perform a live narration and musical score in front of a projected film image, accompanied by Foley artist/musician/sound designer Blake Leyh. Between them they will bring to U.S. audiences an innovative hybrid of documentary and art installation, as they manipulate sound, music and lighting to dramatic effect.
The Invisible
Lighthouse is a new film that Thomas shot and edited entirely himself, detailing the closure of a beautiful lighthouse on the tip of a mysterious ex-military island off the East Coast of England. Thomas has known the evocative flash of this lighthouse since he was a child. Moved to pick up a film camera and document its imminent closure, he received little co-operation from the authorities. So he risked a clandestine dawn raid on the island in an RIB (rigid inflatable boat), and captured the eerie atmosphere of the island and the final flash of its iconic landmark using a remote controlled drone and a selection of high-tech spy cameras.
Dolby's film is attracting attention in high places.
J.J. Abrams (director of Star Trek Into Darkness and the forthcoming Star Wars feature film) described it as "touching, evocative, and beautiful." Meanwhile XM Sirius Radio's
Richard Blade simply said the show was "breathtaking."
The Invisible
Lighthouse has already received acclaim at U.S. film festivals including the Los Angeles DIY Film Festival, where it won the awards for Best Documentary and Best Director, L.A.'s Hollyshorts, the Albuquerque Film & Media Experience, the Columbia Gorge Film Festival, and JamFest in New Orleans, where it won for Best Documentary Short. The U.S. tour this fall will kick off with a special evening at the Mill Valley Film
Festival on October 10th, at which Dolby will conduct interviews and musical jams with several special guests before staging a full live performance of his film.
Also on the road will be The Time Capsule, an intriguing 1930s teardrop trailer bristling with high-tech equipment. VIP guests will be invited to step into the trailer and ask Thomas a question in person. The best conversations will be instantly uploaded to Dolby's YouTube channel.
About Thomas Dolby:
Thomas Dolby was an indelible part of the electronic music landscape on both sides of the Atlantic in the '80s. The Zelig of synthpop, he was seemingly there or thereabouts at all points of that crucial decade. He enjoyed huge solo success with the singles "She Blinded Me With Science" and "Hyperactive!," composed and performed on hits for everyone from AOR giants
Foreigner to none-more-quirky new-wave girl Lene Lovich, produced three superlative albums for Prefab Sprout, and even co-wrote the much-sampled early rap classic "Magic's Wand" by Whodini. In 2011 he released A Map of the Floating City, his first solo album in almost two decades. A "travelog across three imaginary continents," A Map . . . comprises Amerikana, Oceanea and Urbanoia, available as three separate EPs as well as an album consisting of those same constituent parts. Luckily,
Thomas Dolby has been both - pop star and now esoteric and experimental but highly accessible albums artist. "I'm happy," he says, "to settle into Chapter 2 of my career and make a bunch of albums that are challenging, adventurous and eye-opening." His short film
The Invisible Lighthouse won two awards at the 2013 DIY Film festival in Los Angeles.
About Blake Leyh: Blake Leyh is a composer, music supervisor, music producer and sound designer who lives in New York City. Born in New York but raised in England until age 15, Leyh has worked in film post-production sound and music for 30 years. His sound credits include films by
James Cameron, The Coen Brothers,
Spike Lee,
Ang Lee,
John Waters,
Jonathan Demme,
Julie Taymor, and
Stephen Daldry. Leyh was the music supervisor and composer for all five seasons of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire, and was the music supervisor for David Simon's New
Orleans series Treme. He has composed musical scores for more than 20 feature films, including many award-winning documentaries.
The Invisible Lighthouse live dates:
Thurs., Oct. 10 MILL VALLEY, CA Mill Valley Film Festival
Sun., Oct. 20 ORLANDO, FL Orlando Film
Festival
Wed., Oct. 23 SELLERSVILLE, PA Sellersville Theater
Thurs., Oct. 24 PHILADELPHIA, PA The
Trocadero Theatre in association with the Philadelphia Film Festival
Fri., Oct. 25 ALBANY, NY Swyer Theater
Sat., Oct. 26 SOMERVILLE, MA Somerville Theatre
Mon., Oct. 28 NEW YORK, NY Gramercy Theatre
Tues., Oct. 29 CARNEGIE, PA Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall
Wed., Oct. 30 TORONTO, ON 99 Sudbury
Fri., Nov. 1 GLOUCESTER, MA Cape Anne Film Festival
Sun., Nov. 3 ROYAL OAK, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
Mon., Nov. 4 CHICAGO, IL Mayne Stage
Tues., Nov. 5 MINNEAPOLIS, MN Cedar Cultural Center
Wed., Nov. 6 MADISON, WI
Majestic Theatre
Thurs., Nov. 7 MILWAUKEE, WI Shank Hall
Sat., Nov. 9 ST LOUIS, MO Blueberry Hill in association with the St. Louis Film Festival
Mon., Nov. 11 LAWRENCE, KS Liberty Hall
Tues., Nov. 19 PORTLAND, OR Alberta Rose Theater
Thurs., Nov. 21 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Swedish American Music Hall
Fri., Nov. 22 LOS ANGELES, CA
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Sat., Nov. 23 SACRAMENTO, CA Crest Theater
Dates TBA:
BOULDER, CO
SALT LAKE CITY, UT
VANCOUVER, BC
SEATTLE, WA
DENVER, CO
