Dangerous Song  Blue  

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Dangerous Song  Blue  

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Dangerous Song  Blue  

Performed  by  Linsey  Pollak  &  Lizzie  O'Keefe      

   

 

We protect what we love Jacques Cousteau*

 

"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand;

and, we will understand only what we are taught." Baba Dioum#

 

   

 

 *Jacques  Cousteau  was  a  French  undersea  explorer,  researcher,  photographer  and  documentary  host  who  invented  diving  and  scuba  devices    #Baba  Dioum  is  an  environmentalist  well-­‐known  for  a  speech  he  made  in  1968  In  New  Delhi,  India,  to  the  general  assembly  of  the  International  Union  for  Conservation  of  Nature.  

 

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Introduction    

“People ask: Why should I care about the ocean? Because

It’s the cornerstone of earth's life support system, It shapes climate and weather

It holds most of life on earth 97% of earth's water is there

It's the blue heart of the planet — and, we should take care of our heart.” Dr Sylvia Earle**

Dangerous Song  Blue –  connects our hearts with the planet’s heart through the exquisite harmonisation of endangered marine creature’s calls with the human voice and stunning underwater cinematography. The one hour performance EVOKES an emotional connection and response to the sometimes “hard to swallow” facts about our ocean’s endangered species inspiring understanding, love and action. There is no narrative, as we already know most of the story, even if we choose to ignore it and don’t know the ending. It’s a song for the planet, an inter-species choral work, and they’re singing for their lives! If their calls don’t affect you then nothing will.  

The performance  Dangerous Song  Blue combines the human voice with the sounds of endangered and extinct animals to create an intriguing and moving musical performance, and ultimately a new musical language.

Linsey Pollak plays a midi wind controller where breath, lip pressure and fingering control the performance of animal call samples mostly sourced from the Centre for Biological Diversity. He uses Live-looping technology to instantaneously record layers of music as he plays. The animals are from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and include a diverse range of species including whales, seals, dolphins, otters, walrus, fish, sea birds and sea lions. (See list of animals in Appendix).

Lizzie O’Keefe joins him, weaving her voice in and out of the musical landscape of animal sounds that Linsey provides in a series of original “songs”. This collaboration takes us to a world of sound where the human and the animal combine into a sort of sonic morphing.

This sonic world is mirrored by the visual superimposition of the natural world onto the human performers using projection. To do this Linsey and Lizzie perform from within a 3D scrim (semi-transparent screen) with the shape of a giant aquarium. Underwater moving images are then projected onto the aquarium shaped scrim giving the impression that the musicians are performing underwater.

Renowned and celebrated underwater cinematographer David Hannan (Ocean Ark Alliance) has provided the stunning moving images and they are truly magical.

Dangerous Song  Blue is second in the series – the first being Black, which has been performed in both performance and concert mode to a wonderful response. A CD of Black was launched in October 2016. Blue will receive its premiere season at Woodford Folk Festival 28 – 30 December 2016.

   **Dr  Sylvia  Earle  is  an  oceanographer,  explorer,  author  and  lecturer  with  experience  as  a  field  research  scientist,  government  official,  and  director  for  corporate  and  non-­‐profit  organizations    

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The artists

  Linsey  Pollak  -­‐  Live  music  from  animal  calls  

Linsey is well known all around Australia as a musician, instrument maker, composer, musical director and community music facilitator. He has toured his solo shows extensively in Europe, Nth America and Asia since 1996. He has recorded 32 albums (solo & with various groups) and performed at most major festivals around Australia where he has devised many large festival pieces such as “BimBamBoo!” (Woodford and Brisbane Festivals), “Sound Forest” (Qld Music Festival) and “The Dream of Zedkat Nabu” (APRA Performance of the Year - Queensland 2013). Linsey has a reputation for making and playing instruments made from found objects such as rubber gloves, carrots, watering cans, chairs, brooms and bins. First developed in his solo show “Bang it with a Fork” and further in the acclaimed children’s show “Out of the Frying Pan”, this line of musical inventiveness has ultimately led him to spearhead live-looping and develop his solo shows such as “Knocking on Kevin’s Door”: “Playpen”; “The Art of Food”; "Making Jam"; “Cycology” and “Live & Loopy”. Linsey’s current musical projects include his solo show “Live & Loopy”, world music duo “Dva” with Tunji Beier, "Dangerous Song" with singer Lizzie O'Keefe, and the Community Balkan Gypsy style street band "The Unusual Suspects". Lizzie O'Keefe - Voice Moving elegantly through jazz, folk, classical and Middle Eastern styles, Lizzie is a dynamic and commanding vocalist. Studying opera, classical and jazz from an early age, Lizzie has developed a completely unique signature style. She has lived and performed in Australia, Indonesia and the UK. During this time she has recorded with the Mitchell and Dewbury Band (Brighton), Jazzanova (Berlin), Razoof (Cologne) and Drumagick (Brazil). Whilst living in Indonesia she formed the duo Paramitsha, releasing a self-titled EP in 2013. The project pulled on many strains of world music, from flamenco, Arabic and jazz to folk and classical. Having returned to Australia early 2013, Lizzie is now based in Maleny, Queensland; and is quickly gaining recognition throughout the upper echelons of the Australian music industry. The release of her debut solo EP Leaden Heart, in mid 2014, cast Lizzie into the spotlight with the title track making her a finalist in the jazz category for the 2015 Queensland Music Awards.

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David Hannan – Cinematographer and supplier of footage. David Hannan, founder of the Ocean Ark Alliance, is an acclaimed multi-Emmy award-winning underwater film-maker, explorer, artist, educator and conservationist. David’s startlingly beautiful cinematography of the marine world is featured in many of the world’s most successful natural history documentaries, feature films and digital media exhibitions, including David’s own productions Coral Sea Dreaming, Antarctica Dreaming, Undersea Edens, Rob Stewart’s Sharkwater and Revolution, Yann Bertrand’s Planet Ocean, National Geographic’s Great Migrations and Secret Life of Predators, BBC’s Blue Planet, Lynette Wallsworth’s Coral Re-Kindling Venus, the Capacitor Group’s Okeanos and Twinstar Film’s 3D feature film for Disney Aldabra. Over thousands of dives, David has amassed one of the world’s largest and most coveted tropical marine footage libraries, as well as an extensive archive of Antarctic subjects on HD. The Ocean Ark Alliance has established the David Hannan Media Legacy initiative for ongoing archiving, indexing and hosting of David’s media collection and life’s work. Over the years, many marine-related campaigns have had support and input from Dave Hannan’s extensive digital media collection. As a Founding Director of Ocean Ark Alliance, David’s vision is to develop and expand an ongoing legacy of accessible media materials, and in turn, merge it with the greater media collection now gathering under the umbrella of Ocean Ark Alliance. A prototype “Online Footage Resource” has been established here. Ocean Ark Alliance recognises that human beings cannot survive without healthy oceans, and that in a rapidly changing biosphere, saving the oceans is the same as saving ourselves. Meanwhile, the imperative to explore and document still living reefs, especially throughout The Coral Triangle, continues to motivate many more determined dive hours filming tropical marine life in all its amazing diversity. www.oceanarkalliance.org.au/

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REVIEWS, FEEDBACK AND TESTIMONIALS  from “Dangerous Song - Black” (the first show in the series) “By elevating this vexed and painful cause to this level, you seem to have evoked something more powerful than emotional or intellectual activity could do. … If others even remotely feel what was evoked in me then what you have created could have a profound impact on a much wider audience spanning cultures and languages”.

Audience Member -Stephen Alexander (April, 2015 World Premiere)

“I feel that this is one of the most powerfully emotive pieces of music (all the songs) I have ever heard.

Audience member – Wayne Petty (March, 2016)

“There is hope, perhaps, that such spellbinding depth and consummate sharing of this song of the earth, will change our human priorities back to a connection with this fragile world and all its inhabitants” - Tamsin Kerr, Director of the Cooroora Institute. “Honestly that was one of the most unique and beautiful shows I have ever been too. It was a true privilege to see it live and up close. This should go global!” - Sam Manger 28/2/16 Dangerous Song is sublime - "meditative", "magnificent" and "sacred" were words spoken by so many. … This is the most poignant, delicate and exceptionally beautiful work of art - a magical, empathetic, absorption into nature. … this is genuinely world class. - Audience member Jacqueline Twigg – 30/1/16 “The moments of contemplative silence before the applause and the standing ovation at the end begins to tell you something of the marvels of the sound.”

Tamsin Kerr Director of the Cooroora Institute. (13/12/15) “This event was not about the musician’s or singer’s technique, though both were masterful, or the audience as mere spectators. This experience was a joint exploration of our relationship with the natural world. The power of the merging of the human and animal cries had a visceral effect on all of us. Looking around at one time I could see that many of us had closed our eyes and moved into a meditative state to live for that moment totally present to the music. Lizzie’s pure tones and harmonics, sometimes through delicious dissonance, bridged the natural world and brought us to the heart of the disappearing life on our planet: a conduit more direct than any lecture or documentary. Linsey’s echoing and playful juggling of bird and animal cries, closely partnering with Lizzie’s vocals, connected us directly with the drama of extinction. What follows from this connection is an expansion of our consciousness around this issue. It is amazing how many sounds stay with you: wolf, frog, cockatoo, macaw, whale, seal, gorilla. Their cries are cries for help, yet the beauty of the sound they set free in the world is a wonderful thing to be celebrated and makes their disappearance even more heart rending.”

- Jude Pippen PhD - Artsworker - 25th July 2015

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SEE, HEAR & FIND OUT MORE…. LINKS Video (clips from “Dangerous Song – black”)

Creatures of the Deep Hoo Dunnit Nawar & Athar

Music Dangerous Song Album

https://dangeroussong.bandcamp.com/releases Images http://www.dangeroussong.com/ - Media

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS & FEE STRUCTURE

1. FULL SHOW Music and projection experience. No narration during the performance however opportunity for questions and discussions post show. AUDIENCE PROFILE

Music lovers, theatre regulars, festival goers, environmentalists and science lovers Aged 16 and up

 PRODUCTION DETAILS

Performance duration – 60 minutes (no interval) Bump in: 3 hours (ideally completed 2 hours prior show start) Bump out: 1 hour Example bump in Schedule Arrive - 1pm Bump in - 2pm – 5pm Show starts - 7pm Show ends - 8pm Bump out - 8.30pm – 9.30pm

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES PER WEEK

10 performances per week (2 per day) with a minimum break of one hour between performances.

VENUE SPECIFICATION

Blackoutable space required Minimum Stage size 5/6m wide x 4m deep x 3m high Raised stage (60cm plus) or flat floor with tiered seating Ideal capacity - 100 – 300

LICENCING AGREEMENTS

Not applicable – copyright rests with performer PERSONNEL

The touring party consists of three people • Linsey Pollak – Performer • Lizzie O’Keefe – Performer • Daniel Endicott – Production/technician

VENUE TO SUPPLY

CREW • Unloader, where possible – Approx 7 pieces (70kgs.) • Audio Technician for set up and performance • FOH

AUDIO

“Dangerous Song” relies on high quality audio and requires high quality full range speakers. The live-looping requires high quality monitor speakers (setup as side fill). The venue should provide:

• 2 high quality sidefill monitor speakers for the live-looping • 4 x DIs • 1 x black boom microphone stand • 1 x black straight microphone stand • 1 x black music stand

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AV AND LIGHTING • House lighting and two central spots (for final bows) • Where available, a short throw front projector set up floor front of stage –

8000 lumen minimum.

DRESSING ROOM AND RIDER • Small room to act as dressing room and vocal warm up space • Access to boiling water and tea cups

 COMPANY TO SUPPLY

• Scrim / screen (3m wide x 1.5m deep x 2 m high) which surrounds performers with free-standing frame.

• Projector (where not provided by venue) / laptop • Musical Instruments / sound processors • Micro low level lighting set up and operated by our technician

 FEE

ONE  OFF  FEE:  Brisbane area - $3,000, plus travel (petrol – Maleny to Brisbane; and parking); Accommodation (3 singles) and per diems (3 people) Elsewhere - $3,500 - $6,500 plus travel for 3 people; freight; Accommodation (3 singles) and per diems (3 people)

 WEEKLY FEE:

$11,500 - $15,000 plus travel, accommodation and per diems for 3 people; freight.

PLUS Remount fee (if necessary): $1,100

   

2. CONCERT VERSION Music experience without projection. Linsey and Lizzie introduce each piece and discuss the themes.  AUDIENCE PROFILE

Music lovers, theatre regulars, festival goers, environmentalists and science lovers Aged 16 and up

 PRODUCTION DETAILS

Performance duration – 60 minutes (no interval) Bump in: 1 hour (ideally completed 2 hours prior show start) Bump out: 30 minutes Example bump in Schedule Arrive - 3pm Bump in - 4pm – 5pm Show starts - 7pm Show ends - 8pm Bump out - 8.30pm – 9pm

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES PER WEEK

10 performances per week (2 per day) with a minimum break of one hour between performances.

VENUE SPECIFICATION

Very flexible – however a minimum staging area of 5m wide x 2m deep is desirable

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LICENCING AGREEMENTS Not applicable – copyright rests with performer

PERSONNEL

The touring party consists of two people • Linsey Pollak – Performer • Lizzie O’Keefe – Performer

VENUE TO SUPPLY

CREW • Audio Technician for set up and performance • FOH

AUDIO

“Dangerous Song” relies on high quality audio and requires high quality full range speakers. The live-looping requires high quality monitor speakers (setup as side fill). The venue should provide:

• 2 high quality sidefill monitor speakers for the live-looping • 4 x DIs • 1 x black boom microphone stand • 1 x black straight microphone stand • 1 x black music stand

LIGHTING

• Concert Lighting and operator if required

DRESSING ROOM AND RIDER • Small room to act as dressing room and vocal warm up space • Access to boiling water and tea cups

 COMPANY TO SUPPLY

• Musical Instruments / sound processors  FEE

ONE  OFF  FEE:  Brisbane area - $2,000, plus travel (petrol – Maleny to Brisbane; and parking); Accommodation (2 singles) and per diems (2 people) Elsewhere - $2,300 - $4,500 plus travel for 2 people; freight; Accommodation (2 singles) and per diems (2 people)

 WEEKLY FEE:

$9,000 - 12,000 plus travel, accommodation and per diems for 2 people; freight. No remount fee.

 

CONTACT Linsey Pollak ph: 61.7.5499 9372 email: linsey@spiderweb.com.au www.dangeroussong.com Libby Lincoln Ph: 0427 750 410 Email: libbylincoln50@gmail.com www.dangeroussong.com