For those who not yet know it the following is placed on Michael's
MySpace site:

Michael broke his collar bone biking last week and his tour will be
postponed until January. More news coming soon, as well as blogs from
Michael. He's very excited about the tour and regrets this news.

Fred

I have no idea (not so strange as i life in The Netherlands) but you
could try the official site of the club

http://www.revivalbar.com/

Fred

--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, Bob Guido <bobguido1@...> wrote:
>
> Fred,
>
>   tTanks a lot for the heads up.  Where can I purchase tickets for
the Toronto show? I want to buy them now.
>
>   Thanks Fred,
>
>   Bob
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com.  Check it out.
>

The first tour dates from Michael Brook are announced overhere:

http://www.thinkpress.net/brook_tour.html

Michael Brook will tour in the following cities:


September 11, MONTREAL, QB, La Tulipe

September 13, TORONTO, ON, Revival

September 15, BOSTON, MA, Paradise

September 16, NEW YORK, NY, Hiro Ballroom

September 17, PHILADELPHIA, PA, Northstar

September 18, BALTIMORE, MD, Sonar

September 20, CHICAGO, IL, Schuba's

September 22, LOS ANGELES, CA, KCRW Morning Becomes Ecelctic

September 22, LOS ANGELES, CA, Largo

September 23, LOS ANGELES, CA, Amoeba Records In-store

Fred

TUNE IN! - Michael Brook will be featured on PRI's The World on Monday,
July 31. For local stations / air times, please check The World for
details.

Here's the link to the online interview. You have scroll to the borrom
of the page :-)

http://www.theworld.org/latesteditions/07/20060731.shtml
Global Hit (4:50)
Host Marco Werman speaks with Canadian guitarist and composer Michael
Brook about his eclectic music and his latest CD
called "RockPaperScissors."

Fred

ps What are your thoughts of the new Michael Brook album bytheway?

Finaly got the album last friday and it's growing more and more as i
listen to it. Love the track with the spoken word from Richard
Burton, remind me sometimes on Rain Tree Crow.
Anway it's a great album

Bytheway i just read this on: http://www.thinkpress.net/news.html

Quote:
SEPTEMBER 2006 - Michael Brook announces North American tour
beginning Setpember 11 in Montreal. Band includes Richard Evans and
Lisa Germano. Full itinerary and details TBA


Fred

--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Chad Ossman" <clo@...> wrote:
>
> I was there! I hadn't heard the new album yet, so it was an
interesting introduction to the
> new music. But the full band arrangement of Ultramarine sent chills
down my spine. When
> I have a chance, I'm going to write a mini review for my blog, but
so far you can see two
> utterly crappy photos I took with my cell phone:
>
> http://www.thedorkreport.com/2006/07/18/michael-brook-joes-pub-new-
york-city/
>
> My only complaint is that I hate venues that serve food. The wait
staff must walked in front
> of me and bumped into me an average of once a minute.
>
> Here's another positive review from the Star Ledger:
>
>
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-
1/
> 1153377822254570.xml&coll=1
>
> Oh, and one other thing. They were selling copies of
the "Inconvenient Truth" soundtrack,
> which I don't think has been released in stores yet.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Bruinenberg" <fred7691@>
wrote:
> >
> > Nice review!!
> >
> > http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/20/185525.php
> >
> > Renowned guitarist, producer, and composer Michael Brook has
become a
> > more visible figure during 2006 than he has been in years past.
Most
> > recently, he composed the soundtrack for Al Gore's acclaimed
> > documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which released back in May.
And
> > now we are treated to RockPaperScissors, which is his first solo
> > album in over a decade.
> >
> > Brook has not been idle in the years since his previous solo
album
> > and instrumental epic Cobalt Blue in 1992. But his work as
producer
> > and songwriter, as well as guitarist and collaborator, has put
him in
> > a less public light. He first came to prominence with the album
> > Hybrid, a collaboration in 1985 with himself, Daniel Lanois, and
> > Brian Eno. Brook reportedly learned a great deal from both
Lanois,
> > whom he began assisting in the producer's studio, and Eno, in
regard
> > to an overall approach to songwriting and production sound, which
he
> > carried with him on to his later work.
> >
> > Musically, Cobalt Blue expanded on the music of Hybrid, and
showcased
> > the style of guitar work that had arisen from Brook and his
> > compatriot musician friends, The Edge and Lanois. It was a
shimmering
> > reverb that found as much punch from controlled use of echo
effects
> > as in the strumming of strings. He followed up the album the next
> > year with the ancillary release Live At The Aquarium. Although
his
> > fellow musicians took the sound on to more popular waters,
Brook's
> > stamp as a sound designer was unmistakable, especially as both
Edge
> > and Lanois used Brook's musical invention, the "Infinity Guitar"
to
> > help fashion much of their own sound and style.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors takes a different turn and showcases how Brook
has
> > been using his talents during these past few years. It finds its
> > direction as a soundtrack through various landscapes of texture,
> > light, and shadow. Brook's role becomes less a part of a
performance
> > showcase (although he still handless a good portion of the
musical
> > responsibilities) and more that of a composer and architect of
sound.
> > In fact, at its core, it works best as a passport through the
> > different styles and mediums Brook conjures for his various other
> > musical forms.
> >
> > The album opens with "Strange Procession," which begins with an
> > aleatoric choral prelude from the Bulgarian Classical Choir
before
> > finally kicking into a more orchestral-driven guitar track. This,
and
> > later "Doges," are the two selections that tie most closely to
> > Brook's previous solo outings, and feature him as more of the
> > instrumental lead. Richard Evans collaborates with Brook as
string
> > and choral arranger for much of the album, forces that help to
bring
> > a more lush feeling to Brook's palette.
> >
> > As a whole, RockPaperScissors is very classically oriented. Every
> > track features either strings or choir, or both. And not just
string
> > arrangements tacked on to existing songs, but music that is built
> > from the ground up to be a symphonic journey. It's not disimilar
in
> > scope to Craig Armstrong, for a reference point. In the same way,
> > Brook himself is bringing his considerable soundtrack and writing
> > work over to his own releases, and incorporating everything
together
> > into a larger musical vision. It's not one or the other (although
> > taken as a whole, Brook's guitar work does seem to take a back
seat)
> > but builds on top of both. Between this and Brook's previous
> > collaborations on world music, which all seem to come together
and
> > bolster the short and sweet "Tangerine," not only is everything
fair
> > game, but everything is essential.
> >
> > But collaborations are what form the bulk of the record. "Want"
> > features the vocals of Lisa Germano, and captures early on a
slower
> > and more restrained tenderness. Similar in tone, "Pond" is a
> > collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, where a world
edge
> > meets with glacial strings and light percussion to produce one of
the
> > more moving tracks on the record. On the complete other side of
the
> > specturum, with "Dark Room," Brook creates a musical backdrop for
Sir
> > Richard Burton's reading of the Dylan Thomas poem, "Under Milk
Wood."
> > It's an interesting mix, but one that drastically sticks out from
the
> > rest of the album.
> >
> > The title track, "RockPaperScissors," is a writing parnership
between
> > Brook and singer-songwriter Shira Myrow, as well as a performance
> > collaboration with UK singer Paul Buchanan. It works reasonably
well,
> > but lyrically is a little convoluted, and has more of a standard
> > pop/rock song setup to it than the rest of the record.
Overall, "Dark
> > Room" and "RockPaperScissors" jar the flow of the album
considerably,
> > and although fine on their own, are too isolated as musical
thoughts
> > to complement the rest of the album.
> >
> > Closing out the record is the two-part composition, "Pasadena."
It
> > begins with a slow and sparse vocal from Ben Christophers, and
then
> > over the course of fourteen minutes, a slow epic of loss from the
> > Bulgarian Studio Orchestra gradually recedes and fades into
nothing.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors is a very creative and enjoyable album that
> > stretches how we generally view two of the more dominant forms of
> > western music: classical and rock. By balancing all these
varying,
> > and often disparate, strains of musical thought, Michael Brook
has
> > succeeded in crafting a sumptuous feast of a record. Although
> > containing instances of jarring inconsistency (as mentioned with
> > tracks four and five), the broader scope of the music wins out.
As a
> > soundtrack with no particular movie in mind, consider the
soundtrack
> > your own.
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > ps. anyone been to the cd release party at Joe's Pub NY last
tuesday?
> >
>

http://www.behindthebeat.net/genre.asp?g=49

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?
page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/563/music/michael_brook.xml

http://www.scienceblog.com/store/13-36-B000G1ALSE-RockPaperScissors.html

Fred

Just trying to get all the details on Michael's current gear and
effects setup that he curetnly uses with his guitar and also
interested in knowing what tools he is using in his recording studio
setup in LA to make his wonderful sounding recordings.

Mixing Console?
Monitors?
Reverbs?
Delays?
Pitch Shifters?
Modulation effects?
Multi-effects?
Mic Preamps?
Compressors?
Effects pedals?
Amps?
Software effects and instrumetns?
Synthesizers?
Does he uses MIDI controllers for his gear?
Looping devices he uses?

Thanks for the links Chad sure it's a nice review from the Star
Ledger.
Can't wait for the tour. At Big Helium the told me in a e-mail that
he also will to a european tour so looking forward to that.
Still waiting till my copy of RockPaperScissors arrives.
Also looking forward to your review of the gig at Joe's Pub.
Looks like Brook had a great night.

Fred


--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Chad Ossman" <clo@...> wrote:
>
> I was there! I hadn't heard the new album yet, so it was an
interesting introduction to the
> new music. But the full band arrangement of Ultramarine sent chills
down my spine. When
> I have a chance, I'm going to write a mini review for my blog, but
so far you can see two
> utterly crappy photos I took with my cell phone:
>
> http://www.thedorkreport.com/2006/07/18/michael-brook-joes-pub-new-
york-city/
>
> My only complaint is that I hate venues that serve food. The wait
staff must walked in front
> of me and bumped into me an average of once a minute.
>
> Here's another positive review from the Star Ledger:
>
>
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-
1/
> 1153377822254570.xml&coll=1
>
> Oh, and one other thing. They were selling copies of
the "Inconvenient Truth" soundtrack,
> which I don't think has been released in stores yet.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Bruinenberg" <fred7691@>
wrote:
> >
> > Nice review!!
> >
> > http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/20/185525.php
> >
> > Renowned guitarist, producer, and composer Michael Brook has
become a
> > more visible figure during 2006 than he has been in years past.
Most
> > recently, he composed the soundtrack for Al Gore's acclaimed
> > documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which released back in May.
And
> > now we are treated to RockPaperScissors, which is his first solo
> > album in over a decade.
> >
> > Brook has not been idle in the years since his previous solo
album
> > and instrumental epic Cobalt Blue in 1992. But his work as
producer
> > and songwriter, as well as guitarist and collaborator, has put
him in
> > a less public light. He first came to prominence with the album
> > Hybrid, a collaboration in 1985 with himself, Daniel Lanois, and
> > Brian Eno. Brook reportedly learned a great deal from both
Lanois,
> > whom he began assisting in the producer's studio, and Eno, in
regard
> > to an overall approach to songwriting and production sound, which
he
> > carried with him on to his later work.
> >
> > Musically, Cobalt Blue expanded on the music of Hybrid, and
showcased
> > the style of guitar work that had arisen from Brook and his
> > compatriot musician friends, The Edge and Lanois. It was a
shimmering
> > reverb that found as much punch from controlled use of echo
effects
> > as in the strumming of strings. He followed up the album the next
> > year with the ancillary release Live At The Aquarium. Although
his
> > fellow musicians took the sound on to more popular waters,
Brook's
> > stamp as a sound designer was unmistakable, especially as both
Edge
> > and Lanois used Brook's musical invention, the "Infinity Guitar"
to
> > help fashion much of their own sound and style.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors takes a different turn and showcases how Brook
has
> > been using his talents during these past few years. It finds its
> > direction as a soundtrack through various landscapes of texture,
> > light, and shadow. Brook's role becomes less a part of a
performance
> > showcase (although he still handless a good portion of the
musical
> > responsibilities) and more that of a composer and architect of
sound.
> > In fact, at its core, it works best as a passport through the
> > different styles and mediums Brook conjures for his various other
> > musical forms.
> >
> > The album opens with "Strange Procession," which begins with an
> > aleatoric choral prelude from the Bulgarian Classical Choir
before
> > finally kicking into a more orchestral-driven guitar track. This,
and
> > later "Doges," are the two selections that tie most closely to
> > Brook's previous solo outings, and feature him as more of the
> > instrumental lead. Richard Evans collaborates with Brook as
string
> > and choral arranger for much of the album, forces that help to
bring
> > a more lush feeling to Brook's palette.
> >
> > As a whole, RockPaperScissors is very classically oriented. Every
> > track features either strings or choir, or both. And not just
string
> > arrangements tacked on to existing songs, but music that is built
> > from the ground up to be a symphonic journey. It's not disimilar
in
> > scope to Craig Armstrong, for a reference point. In the same way,
> > Brook himself is bringing his considerable soundtrack and writing
> > work over to his own releases, and incorporating everything
together
> > into a larger musical vision. It's not one or the other (although
> > taken as a whole, Brook's guitar work does seem to take a back
seat)
> > but builds on top of both. Between this and Brook's previous
> > collaborations on world music, which all seem to come together
and
> > bolster the short and sweet "Tangerine," not only is everything
fair
> > game, but everything is essential.
> >
> > But collaborations are what form the bulk of the record. "Want"
> > features the vocals of Lisa Germano, and captures early on a
slower
> > and more restrained tenderness. Similar in tone, "Pond" is a
> > collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, where a world
edge
> > meets with glacial strings and light percussion to produce one of
the
> > more moving tracks on the record. On the complete other side of
the
> > specturum, with "Dark Room," Brook creates a musical backdrop for
Sir
> > Richard Burton's reading of the Dylan Thomas poem, "Under Milk
Wood."
> > It's an interesting mix, but one that drastically sticks out from
the
> > rest of the album.
> >
> > The title track, "RockPaperScissors," is a writing parnership
between
> > Brook and singer-songwriter Shira Myrow, as well as a performance
> > collaboration with UK singer Paul Buchanan. It works reasonably
well,
> > but lyrically is a little convoluted, and has more of a standard
> > pop/rock song setup to it than the rest of the record.
Overall, "Dark
> > Room" and "RockPaperScissors" jar the flow of the album
considerably,
> > and although fine on their own, are too isolated as musical
thoughts
> > to complement the rest of the album.
> >
> > Closing out the record is the two-part composition, "Pasadena."
It
> > begins with a slow and sparse vocal from Ben Christophers, and
then
> > over the course of fourteen minutes, a slow epic of loss from the
> > Bulgarian Studio Orchestra gradually recedes and fades into
nothing.
> >
> > RockPaperScissors is a very creative and enjoyable album that
> > stretches how we generally view two of the more dominant forms of
> > western music: classical and rock. By balancing all these
varying,
> > and often disparate, strains of musical thought, Michael Brook
has
> > succeeded in crafting a sumptuous feast of a record. Although
> > containing instances of jarring inconsistency (as mentioned with
> > tracks four and five), the broader scope of the music wins out.
As a
> > soundtrack with no particular movie in mind, consider the
soundtrack
> > your own.
> >
> > Fred
> >
> > ps. anyone been to the cd release party at Joe's Pub NY last
tuesday?
> >
>

I was there! I hadn't heard the new album yet, so it was an interesting
introduction to the
new music. But the full band arrangement of Ultramarine sent chills down my
spine. When
I have a chance, I'm going to write a mini review for my blog, but so far you
can see two
utterly crappy photos I took with my cell phone:

http://www.thedorkreport.com/2006/07/18/michael-brook-joes-pub-new-york-city/

My only complaint is that I hate venues that serve food. The wait staff must
walked in front
of me and bumped into me an average of once a minute.

Here's another positive review from the Star Ledger:

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/
1153377822254570.xml&coll=1

Oh, and one other thing. They were selling copies of the "Inconvenient Truth"
soundtrack,
which I don't think has been released in stores yet.





--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Fred Bruinenberg" <fred7691@...> wrote:
>
> Nice review!!
>
> http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/20/185525.php
>
> Renowned guitarist, producer, and composer Michael Brook has become a
> more visible figure during 2006 than he has been in years past. Most
> recently, he composed the soundtrack for Al Gore's acclaimed
> documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which released back in May. And
> now we are treated to RockPaperScissors, which is his first solo
> album in over a decade.
>
> Brook has not been idle in the years since his previous solo album
> and instrumental epic Cobalt Blue in 1992. But his work as producer
> and songwriter, as well as guitarist and collaborator, has put him in
> a less public light. He first came to prominence with the album
> Hybrid, a collaboration in 1985 with himself, Daniel Lanois, and
> Brian Eno. Brook reportedly learned a great deal from both Lanois,
> whom he began assisting in the producer's studio, and Eno, in regard
> to an overall approach to songwriting and production sound, which he
> carried with him on to his later work.
>
> Musically, Cobalt Blue expanded on the music of Hybrid, and showcased
> the style of guitar work that had arisen from Brook and his
> compatriot musician friends, The Edge and Lanois. It was a shimmering
> reverb that found as much punch from controlled use of echo effects
> as in the strumming of strings. He followed up the album the next
> year with the ancillary release Live At The Aquarium. Although his
> fellow musicians took the sound on to more popular waters, Brook's
> stamp as a sound designer was unmistakable, especially as both Edge
> and Lanois used Brook's musical invention, the "Infinity Guitar" to
> help fashion much of their own sound and style.
>
> RockPaperScissors takes a different turn and showcases how Brook has
> been using his talents during these past few years. It finds its
> direction as a soundtrack through various landscapes of texture,
> light, and shadow. Brook's role becomes less a part of a performance
> showcase (although he still handless a good portion of the musical
> responsibilities) and more that of a composer and architect of sound.
> In fact, at its core, it works best as a passport through the
> different styles and mediums Brook conjures for his various other
> musical forms.
>
> The album opens with "Strange Procession," which begins with an
> aleatoric choral prelude from the Bulgarian Classical Choir before
> finally kicking into a more orchestral-driven guitar track. This, and
> later "Doges," are the two selections that tie most closely to
> Brook's previous solo outings, and feature him as more of the
> instrumental lead. Richard Evans collaborates with Brook as string
> and choral arranger for much of the album, forces that help to bring
> a more lush feeling to Brook's palette.
>
> As a whole, RockPaperScissors is very classically oriented. Every
> track features either strings or choir, or both. And not just string
> arrangements tacked on to existing songs, but music that is built
> from the ground up to be a symphonic journey. It's not disimilar in
> scope to Craig Armstrong, for a reference point. In the same way,
> Brook himself is bringing his considerable soundtrack and writing
> work over to his own releases, and incorporating everything together
> into a larger musical vision. It's not one or the other (although
> taken as a whole, Brook's guitar work does seem to take a back seat)
> but builds on top of both. Between this and Brook's previous
> collaborations on world music, which all seem to come together and
> bolster the short and sweet "Tangerine," not only is everything fair
> game, but everything is essential.
>
> But collaborations are what form the bulk of the record. "Want"
> features the vocals of Lisa Germano, and captures early on a slower
> and more restrained tenderness. Similar in tone, "Pond" is a
> collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, where a world edge
> meets with glacial strings and light percussion to produce one of the
> more moving tracks on the record. On the complete other side of the
> specturum, with "Dark Room," Brook creates a musical backdrop for Sir
> Richard Burton's reading of the Dylan Thomas poem, "Under Milk Wood."
> It's an interesting mix, but one that drastically sticks out from the
> rest of the album.
>
> The title track, "RockPaperScissors," is a writing parnership between
> Brook and singer-songwriter Shira Myrow, as well as a performance
> collaboration with UK singer Paul Buchanan. It works reasonably well,
> but lyrically is a little convoluted, and has more of a standard
> pop/rock song setup to it than the rest of the record. Overall, "Dark
> Room" and "RockPaperScissors" jar the flow of the album considerably,
> and although fine on their own, are too isolated as musical thoughts
> to complement the rest of the album.
>
> Closing out the record is the two-part composition, "Pasadena." It
> begins with a slow and sparse vocal from Ben Christophers, and then
> over the course of fourteen minutes, a slow epic of loss from the
> Bulgarian Studio Orchestra gradually recedes and fades into nothing.
>
> RockPaperScissors is a very creative and enjoyable album that
> stretches how we generally view two of the more dominant forms of
> western music: classical and rock. By balancing all these varying,
> and often disparate, strains of musical thought, Michael Brook has
> succeeded in crafting a sumptuous feast of a record. Although
> containing instances of jarring inconsistency (as mentioned with
> tracks four and five), the broader scope of the music wins out. As a
> soundtrack with no particular movie in mind, consider the soundtrack
> your own.
>
> Fred
>
> ps. anyone been to the cd release party at Joe's Pub NY last tuesday?
>

Nice review!!

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/07/20/185525.php

Renowned guitarist, producer, and composer Michael Brook has become a
more visible figure during 2006 than he has been in years past. Most
recently, he composed the soundtrack for Al Gore's acclaimed
documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, which released back in May. And
now we are treated to RockPaperScissors, which is his first solo
album in over a decade.

Brook has not been idle in the years since his previous solo album
and instrumental epic Cobalt Blue in 1992. But his work as producer
and songwriter, as well as guitarist and collaborator, has put him in
a less public light. He first came to prominence with the album
Hybrid, a collaboration in 1985 with himself, Daniel Lanois, and
Brian Eno. Brook reportedly learned a great deal from both Lanois,
whom he began assisting in the producer's studio, and Eno, in regard
to an overall approach to songwriting and production sound, which he
carried with him on to his later work.

Musically, Cobalt Blue expanded on the music of Hybrid, and showcased
the style of guitar work that had arisen from Brook and his
compatriot musician friends, The Edge and Lanois. It was a shimmering
reverb that found as much punch from controlled use of echo effects
as in the strumming of strings. He followed up the album the next
year with the ancillary release Live At The Aquarium. Although his
fellow musicians took the sound on to more popular waters, Brook's
stamp as a sound designer was unmistakable, especially as both Edge
and Lanois used Brook's musical invention, the "Infinity Guitar" to
help fashion much of their own sound and style.

RockPaperScissors takes a different turn and showcases how Brook has
been using his talents during these past few years. It finds its
direction as a soundtrack through various landscapes of texture,
light, and shadow. Brook's role becomes less a part of a performance
showcase (although he still handless a good portion of the musical
responsibilities) and more that of a composer and architect of sound.
In fact, at its core, it works best as a passport through the
different styles and mediums Brook conjures for his various other
musical forms.

The album opens with "Strange Procession," which begins with an
aleatoric choral prelude from the Bulgarian Classical Choir before
finally kicking into a more orchestral-driven guitar track. This, and
later "Doges," are the two selections that tie most closely to
Brook's previous solo outings, and feature him as more of the
instrumental lead. Richard Evans collaborates with Brook as string
and choral arranger for much of the album, forces that help to bring
a more lush feeling to Brook's palette.

As a whole, RockPaperScissors is very classically oriented. Every
track features either strings or choir, or both. And not just string
arrangements tacked on to existing songs, but music that is built
from the ground up to be a symphonic journey. It's not disimilar in
scope to Craig Armstrong, for a reference point. In the same way,
Brook himself is bringing his considerable soundtrack and writing
work over to his own releases, and incorporating everything together
into a larger musical vision. It's not one or the other (although
taken as a whole, Brook's guitar work does seem to take a back seat)
but builds on top of both. Between this and Brook's previous
collaborations on world music, which all seem to come together and
bolster the short and sweet "Tangerine," not only is everything fair
game, but everything is essential.

But collaborations are what form the bulk of the record. "Want"
features the vocals of Lisa Germano, and captures early on a slower
and more restrained tenderness. Similar in tone, "Pond" is a
collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, where a world edge
meets with glacial strings and light percussion to produce one of the
more moving tracks on the record. On the complete other side of the
specturum, with "Dark Room," Brook creates a musical backdrop for Sir
Richard Burton's reading of the Dylan Thomas poem, "Under Milk Wood."
It's an interesting mix, but one that drastically sticks out from the
rest of the album.

The title track, "RockPaperScissors," is a writing parnership between
Brook and singer-songwriter Shira Myrow, as well as a performance
collaboration with UK singer Paul Buchanan. It works reasonably well,
but lyrically is a little convoluted, and has more of a standard
pop/rock song setup to it than the rest of the record. Overall, "Dark
Room" and "RockPaperScissors" jar the flow of the album considerably,
and although fine on their own, are too isolated as musical thoughts
to complement the rest of the album.

Closing out the record is the two-part composition, "Pasadena." It
begins with a slow and sparse vocal from Ben Christophers, and then
over the course of fourteen minutes, a slow epic of loss from the
Bulgarian Studio Orchestra gradually recedes and fades into nothing.

RockPaperScissors is a very creative and enjoyable album that
stretches how we generally view two of the more dominant forms of
western music: classical and rock. By balancing all these varying,
and often disparate, strains of musical thought, Michael Brook has
succeeded in crafting a sumptuous feast of a record. Although
containing instances of jarring inconsistency (as mentioned with
tracks four and five), the broader scope of the music wins out. As a
soundtrack with no particular movie in mind, consider the soundtrack
your own.

Fred

ps. anyone been to the cd release party at Joe's Pub NY last tuesday?

Small update:

July 30, 2006 - TUNE IN! - Michael Brook will be featured on NPR's
Weekend Edition Sunday with Liane Hansen on Sunday, July 30. For local
stations / air times, please check http://www.npr.org/ for details.

Fred

I did some googling and found this about it:

http://64.233.183.104/search?
q=cache:neHv739ZA5AJ:www.orisonmusic.com/news.html+eastmountainsouth+m
ichael+brook&hl=en&gl=nl&ct=clnk&cd=1

And Peter amd Michael are on the same label:

http://64.233.183.104/search?
q=cache:yqCIetzfqYwJ:www.thinkpress.net/news.html+eastmountainsouth+mi
chael+brook&hl=en&gl=nl&ct=clnk&cd=3

Fred

ps i never heard from eastmountainsouth, Peter and Quin so it's
something to check out for me :-)



--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Connell" <wctrader@...>
wrote:
>
> Included in the video...other than of course Lisa Germano,  I
couldn't help but notice the drummer Quinn as well as Peter Bradley
Adams formerly of eastmountiansouth.
>
> Did they every collaborate?
>

Flash v.8

you can download the latest player plug-in from Macromedia.com

> > Over on www.michaelbrookmusic.com you can now watch a video stream: [
> > www.michaelbrookmusic.com/rockpaperscissors-5min-video.html ] Michael
> > Brook: The making of RockPaperScissors.
>
> > Bytheway is there someone who can tell me what sort of stream it is
> > (quicktime, realplayer or someting like that). For some strange reason
> > i can't watch it :evil:
> >
> > Fred












Thanks for link, Fred!

To watch this you need to install flash-player.
Or maybe upgrade to last version if you have older
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFl\
ash


Mishka

Over on www.michaelbrookmusic.com you can now watch a video stream: [
www.michaelbrookmusic.com/rockpaperscissors-5min-video.html ] Michael
Brook: The making of RockPaperScissors.

Bytheway is there someone who can tell me what sort of stream it is
(quicktime, realplayer or someting like that). For some strange reason
i can't watch it  :evil:

Fred

Fred,

I will be away in July but I will post the event on
our concert calendar.

Michael - WFITNYC

--- Fred Bruinenberg <fred7691@...> wrote:

> Well for those who live in New York:
>
> http://www.thinkpress.net/brook_tour.html
> July 18 - NEW YORK, NY - Joe's Pub - CD RELEASE
> PARTY
>
> Sheers
>
> Fred
>
> PS....is the list dead?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


Professor Michael J. Cokkinos
Advertising & Marketing Communications
Fashion Institute of Technology
Room B403  Phone 212.217.8472 Fax 212.217.8269

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

So far this is the only i found:
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7202982/a/Rockpapersciss
ors.htm

And a review on AMG
http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ozpyxdfb6oly
The early 21st century certainly wasn't as fertile a period for
ambient music as, say, the '80s were. But there are a few exceptions,
such as Toronto by way of New York composer/producer/guitarist,
Michael Brook. Although not as dedicated to the ambient genre as say,
Brian Eno once was, Brook's 2006 release, RockPaperScissors, manages
to combine elements of the aforementioned genre with more traditional
pop. Schooled by the likes of Daniel Lanois (Brook once worked as an
engineer at Lanois' studio) and none other than Eno himself — both
appeared on Brook's 1985 debut, Hybrid — RockPaperScissors shows that
Brook obviously picked up a thing or two stylistically from his
mentors. Included is a guest vocal by Lisa Germano on the
airy "Want," as well as a posthumous contribution by Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan on the track "Pond" (Brook utilized some outtake vocals from the
late Pakistani singer — Brook produced Khan's 1994 release, The Last
Prophet). Teetering between ambient and new age at times,
RockPaperScissors sounds like the perfect background soundtrack for
an art gallery opening.

Fred / Netherlands :-)

--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, Antesis <antesis@...> wrote:
>
> Oh no - not dead! Or at least I am here, and grateful for every bit
of news
> from this new recording. Thanks, Fred!
>
> I am really looking forward to this cd - but not any news on the
sites where
> I usually buy cds in US. Have you seen anything?
>
> Best,
> Henrik / Denmark
>
>
>
>
>
> On 6/8/06, Fred Bruinenberg <fred7691@...> wrote:
>
> Well for those who live in New York:
>
> http://www.thinkpress.net/brook_tour.html
> July 18 - NEW YORK, NY - Joe's Pub - CD RELEASE PARTY
>
> Sheers
>
> Fred
>
> PS....is the list dead?
>

Well for those who live in New York:

http://www.thinkpress.net/brook_tour.html
July 18 - NEW YORK, NY - Joe's Pub - CD RELEASE PARTY

Sheers

Fred

PS....is the list dead?

Just got a e-mail from bigHelium entertainment and the had this to
say  :

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Fred,

Yes we've been waiting for Michael's new cd for a long time. The
release date is July 18th and it will be available that day on iTunes
and all the other main digital sites as well. And of course in
stores. His new website front page is just up today -
www.michaelbrookmusic.com - perhaps it may be available there earlier
but we can't say for sure yet. He also has samples of his new music
on his myspace site at www.myspace.com/michaelbrook

However Michael did do the music for the "An Inconvenient Truth" the
new Al Gore documentary and although we're not sure about when it
will be available in hard copy I believe it's just up today on iTunes
under Michael Brook.

Touring information is TBA. Hope that works as a beginning, and thank
you for your interest.

All the best,

Bill Janis
bigHelium entertainment
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Fred

ps. there are some beautiful tracks on his myspace site!!

A song sample of the track with Paul Buchanan can be found here:
http://www.bighelium.com/MichaelBrook.htm

"RockPaperScissors"

Track by Track:

Track 1
"StrangeProcession" -- I like that it begins with a Bulgarian choir,
ends with a Lebanese violinist, and has a rock band from Turkey in-
between. It develops at times into a tongue-in-cheek homage to Led
Zeppelin when they were doing their eastern rock thing
(i.e. "Kashmir").

Track 2
"Want" is a collaboration with Lisa Germano and I think she did an
amazing job creating personal and strong lyrics. The scenario for
this song is where someone in a relationship has essentially decided
it's the wrong thing. But they can't end it as the other person is
always happy and they don't want to rain on their parade; or the
person is always sad and they don't want to kick them when they're
down. Richard Evans did a great job of taking the original chord
progression played on a keyboard (which is slightly irregular but has
a very emotional quality) and orchestrating it for the Bulgarian
orchestra. The conductor of the Bulgarian orchestra was fantastic and
had a strong understanding of the feel we were going for, which was a
little more rigorous than romantic. And Lisa's vocal performance is
emotionally involving without being overwrought.

Track 3
"Doges" -- There isn't really a story behind this piece. In general
for me there is not an idea and then the music. I tend to play
randomly and improvise and then something comes out that I like; then
I record and develop it. You work on the music and each time
something there suggests what you should do next. It's an incremental
process and at the start I don't know what the ending will be. It's
making music that sounds good to me at the time.

Track 4
"Dark Room" has an amazing reading in it by Sir Richard Burton. I was
playing the track to Rich Evans and we thought there should be some
spoken word -- something that really appealed to me to try on this
project. I randomly heard a clip of Burton reading something from
Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood"… the power and emotion of his voice,
and the abstract imagery that created with the words, suddenly
brought new life into the music. It's just a list of things but it is
done with such vigor that it creates a hard to specify but moving
experience for me.

The contents of the piece probably sound very weird: Burton
reading "Under Milk Wood", our amazing Lebanese violinist, a
Bulgarian orchestra and then the sort of slightly fake rock music
that I do. I think the thing that pervades the album is an
affectionate but also at times tongue-in-cheek look at rock music,
which is what I grew up listening to and playing. But I find it too
youthful in almost every way these days to hold much interest for me.
Yet it's still what I know how to do, and it's what comes out most of
the time.

Track 5
"RockPaperScissors" is a collaboration with Shira Myrow, a very
talented singer and songwriter whom I saw perform, and was impressed
by her lyrical ability. Then we were lucky enough to get Paul
Buchanan, the extraordinary vocalist from the Blue Nile, to sing on
the track, at Craig Armstrong's studio in Glasgow. The idea behind
this one was how it seems to me that people always envy what other
people have. The title is a sort of metaphor for the idea that what
we don't have always seems more attractive than what we do have.

I think Shira did a great job of taking the intellectual concept and
putting it into a flowing, song-like structure. It was interesting
for me as I tried to edit and add my own lyrical contributions and
found that they seemed flat, pedantic, and intellectual. But her
words convey the ideas and the spirit behind the concept of the song
but do it in an artful way. The music is in a small way an homage to
Timbaland, the producer who does a lot of Missy Elliot's stuff, with
a bit of a hip hop drum beat.

Track 6
"Tangerine" was one of the few pieces that was different in the way
it was created. In some ways I'm from the 52 pick-up school of
composition where I create a bunch of little snippets of ideas and
then I try to compose by editing. But this one actually started as
just a guitar arpeggio. And then the slide guitar, which initially
was the prime melodic force, is just a real time performance. Claude
Chalhoub doubled what the guitar was doing, and in mixing it I have
one or the other or both included it to give light and dark shades.
This piece is actually like what real musicians do. It's like a
performance and I like the simplicity.

Track 7
"LightStar," which I think has turned into a real winner, definitely
had a troubled history. It always felt kind of generic to me and I
felt uncomfortable with it. I was going to throw it out. But then we
asked the traditional Bulgarian choir we were working with to sing
over the music. It is was beautiful and moving, but the second part
of their contribution didn't work with the backing track. So good old
Rich Evans got a friend of his to transcribe what the traditional
song did, and orchestrate it, and he slipped it into a recording
session he was doing in Hungary. So this song has a rock band, a
traditional Bulgarian choir, a classical Bulgarian orchestra for the
first half, and then a classical Hungarian orchestra for the second
half. And then I thought it would be nice to take it to a sort of
dream sequence thing where it drifts in at the end to the choir
sounding like they are coming off an old `78' being broadcast over
the short wave. I really like this piece, it's a journey. What I
enjoy about a lot of this music is that often it doesn't use
repetitive structure.

Track 8
"Pond" -- This has a long and complicated history. It started out as
a just kind of white noise drone with a little dissonant melody in it
played on a synthesizer. Then we had an orchestra play it, which I
liked, and then added piano and percussion, and then added some
outtakes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan singing, from one of the album
sessions I did with him. This song also has Djivan Gasparayan playing
duduk at the end. Two incredible musicians. Gasparayan is 73-years
old now and is considered a national treasure in Armenia. He's also
always a pleasure to work with.

Track 9
"Silverized" is a kind of transcendental cowboy song. I like the
mixture of elements. There is almost a spaghetti western Marlboro man
guitar, and then an ecstatic growing organ swell with the orchestra,
and then the choir. We were looking for words to have the choir sing
and Rich suggested that they could sing just any old Latin. His wife,
who is an Egyptologist, had a book from her university days of the
writings of Lucretius and I really liked a lot of the things he said
(he was a very skeptical philosopher). It was surprising how few
words you can get out with a choir when they are singing slowly…I
don't think we made it through one paragraph of Lucretius. I think it
ended up sounding really nice and I love the way this piece goes off
on this psychedelic thing at the end. So it's psychedelic,
transcendental, country and spaghetti western music. Sort of.

Tracks 10 & 11
"Pasadena Pt 1 & Pt 2" was a journey. It starts with a great
contribution from London-based singer-songwriter Ben Christophers.
The second part is an orchestral thing that was inspired by Arvo
Part. I really think he's great. He does simple, beautiful music.
Then it has Djivan Gasparyan playing on the third section and at the
very end there are these long sections of Claude Chalhoub. It is
another journey composition which I personally like a lot.

Michael Brook,
May 2006

Coming soon: www.michaelbrook.com

Fred

Great news he is finally back with his third solo album

http://www.thinkpress.net/brook_press.html

MIchael Brook - RockPaperScissors

MICHAEL BROOK, COMPOSER-PRODUCER-INNOVATOR,
READIES THIRD SOLO RELEASE
Features Contributions From Paul Buchanan,
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Lisa Germano…

LOS ANGELES, CA. – Musicians' musician and sound innovator Michael
Brook has put the finishing touches to his highly anticipated third
solo disc RockPaperScissors due out July 18 on bigHelium/Canadian
Rational. Recorded in Los Angeles, England, Scotland and Bulgaria,
the disc features contributions from renowned artists Richard Evans
(Peter Gabriel), Paul Buchanan (Blue Nile), Claude Chalhoub, Ben
Christophers and Lisa Germano, as well as an exquisite posthumous
collaboration with the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

With several arrangements for full orchestra, and the celebrated
Bulgarian Women's Cosmic Voices choir, the album is the culmination
of three years' work -- which Brook has described as "excavating your
muse!" The sound is unique: beautifully arranged, atmospheric and
ambient elements create the space for his self-
described "deconstructed rock" to flourish.

Collaboration has been at the heart of Brook's career, working with a
diversity of international artists such as Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois,
Youssou N'Dour, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Bryan Ferry, and The Pogues, to
scratch the surface. He invented the infinite guitar , as played by
U2's Edge. He has also contributed scores or individual pieces to
movies such as "Heat," "Albino Alligator," and "Affliction".

With his latest collection of songs, Brook worked with co-producer
Richard Evans and an eclectic cast of talent. Lisa Germano's personal
lyrics and haunting vocal set the tone for "Want," while
singer/songwriter Shira Myrow's lyrical contribution to the
infectious title track was interpreted by beloved Blue Nile vocalist
Paul Buchanan.

Widely known to music connoisseurs, Brook feels that
RockPaperScissors is for him, relatively mainstream: "It is
accessible music, more accessible than what I've done in the past."
He adds, "the record is a kind of travelogue… so I hope people find
it evocative and that it takes them somewhere intriguing."

Brook debuted in 1985 with the critically acclaimed Hybrid on EG
Records. His 1992 follow-up Cobalt Blue was released on 4AD along
with the 1993 recording Live at the Aquarium . Recent projects
include production for Jorane (Six Degrees), the music for the much
lauded "Ashes and Snow" exhibition, currently in L.A., and the score
for Paramount Classics' upcoming global warming documentary "An
Inconvenient Truth."

A U.S. tour is planned in support of RockPaperScissors . Details to
follow

Fred

Hi Henrik,

Yes, it's amazing what Yahoo's spam filters let through, isn't it? So what I've
done is
change this to a "Moderated" group, meaning that every message has to be
approved by
me before going out.

And for some actual Michael Brook content: the makers of the documentary "Who
Killed
the Electric Car" emailed me to let me know that Brook did the score. Here's the
official
site:

     http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/

Hopefully the forthcoming trailer will offer a taste of the music.

best,
Chad



--- In breakdown@yahoogroups.com, h@... wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi - even though not much happens here: Is there really no other way to avoid
> these stupid spammails than  to unsubscribe?
>
> henrik
>

Hi - even though not much happens here: Is there really no other way to avoid
these stupid spammails than  to unsubscribe?

henrik