Simon's Muse
Post by Tin on May 30, 2012 9:33:59 GMT -5
www.examiner.com/article/duran-duran-releases-a-diamond-the-mind
1980's super hot pop group Duran Duran releases A Diamond In The Mind - a stunning recording of one of the band’s recent live concert performances (Pre-order) June 15th. After doing a world tour where many tumultuous circumstances occured, this performance captures these MTV legends at their best.
Hitting record stores on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, A Diamond In The Mind was filmed and recorded at Manchester’s MEN Arena in December of last year, where the band garnered some of the finest reviews of their career.
The band’s first live release in almost a decade, it intertwines classic hits with new tracks from their most recent album All You Need Is Now, which was produced by Grammy winner Mark Ronson.
Lead singer Simon Le Bon said; “The 2011 UK tour was particularly significant for all of us on a number of levels. In the early part of the year, I lost my voice and we were forced to cancel several months of touring, including all of our British dates. It was a really difficult time for us as a band as we had a new album out that we were just breaking in and loving playing live. When I blew my voice out in Cannes, at the film festival in mid-May, we weren’t sure when we would be able to resume and the summer wait was long and full of anxiety – especially for me. The UK shows which were finally rescheduled for December, proved to be some of the best we’ve ever done – so the year that had been rather a roller-coaster, ended on a really high note.”
Keyboardist, Nick Rhodes said “We wanted to create a dynamic, interactive show, combining new technology with edgy design. The brief for our lighting designer was 'Pixel Punk'. This manifested itself in the convergence of hi-tech screens with a powerful, asymmetrical lighting rig. The primary aim was to re-invent our songs visually and introduce material from the new album as a unique sensory experience. With this in mind, the screens were populated by science fiction, supermodels, anime, psychedelic patterns and graphic design. Four massive mechanical arms were programmed to swoop down over the stage, firing beams of light, like the aliens in War of the Worlds. And the audience was integrated with the show, as live cameras were turned on them, projecting their images behind the band. Hanging high above the stage, four giant heads presented another dimension to the production, as they came alive as band members, skulls, robots and a girl transforming into a leopard.
The show is a journey. It was already our movie, but the challenge loomed to translate this into a film that tells the same story for those who were not there on the night. In this case we used many cameras, to ensure no detail escaped. We deployed both slow motion, animation and various stylized film grades, which give the performance a dreamlike quality in places; but most of all, I think A Diamond in the Mind truly captures the widescreen energy and vibrancy of what really transpired that night, when Duran Duran played live in Manchester.”
Duran Duran proved to be an innovative band in the 80's and hasn't stopped creating using multi-media art forms to enhance their musical style and sound. Check out A Diamond In The Mind this June. Even if you caught them live, this is sure to give you yet another view of these 80's pop rockers.
1980's super hot pop group Duran Duran releases A Diamond In The Mind - a stunning recording of one of the band’s recent live concert performances (Pre-order) June 15th. After doing a world tour where many tumultuous circumstances occured, this performance captures these MTV legends at their best.
Hitting record stores on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, A Diamond In The Mind was filmed and recorded at Manchester’s MEN Arena in December of last year, where the band garnered some of the finest reviews of their career.
The band’s first live release in almost a decade, it intertwines classic hits with new tracks from their most recent album All You Need Is Now, which was produced by Grammy winner Mark Ronson.
Lead singer Simon Le Bon said; “The 2011 UK tour was particularly significant for all of us on a number of levels. In the early part of the year, I lost my voice and we were forced to cancel several months of touring, including all of our British dates. It was a really difficult time for us as a band as we had a new album out that we were just breaking in and loving playing live. When I blew my voice out in Cannes, at the film festival in mid-May, we weren’t sure when we would be able to resume and the summer wait was long and full of anxiety – especially for me. The UK shows which were finally rescheduled for December, proved to be some of the best we’ve ever done – so the year that had been rather a roller-coaster, ended on a really high note.”
Keyboardist, Nick Rhodes said “We wanted to create a dynamic, interactive show, combining new technology with edgy design. The brief for our lighting designer was 'Pixel Punk'. This manifested itself in the convergence of hi-tech screens with a powerful, asymmetrical lighting rig. The primary aim was to re-invent our songs visually and introduce material from the new album as a unique sensory experience. With this in mind, the screens were populated by science fiction, supermodels, anime, psychedelic patterns and graphic design. Four massive mechanical arms were programmed to swoop down over the stage, firing beams of light, like the aliens in War of the Worlds. And the audience was integrated with the show, as live cameras were turned on them, projecting their images behind the band. Hanging high above the stage, four giant heads presented another dimension to the production, as they came alive as band members, skulls, robots and a girl transforming into a leopard.
The show is a journey. It was already our movie, but the challenge loomed to translate this into a film that tells the same story for those who were not there on the night. In this case we used many cameras, to ensure no detail escaped. We deployed both slow motion, animation and various stylized film grades, which give the performance a dreamlike quality in places; but most of all, I think A Diamond in the Mind truly captures the widescreen energy and vibrancy of what really transpired that night, when Duran Duran played live in Manchester.”
Duran Duran proved to be an innovative band in the 80's and hasn't stopped creating using multi-media art forms to enhance their musical style and sound. Check out A Diamond In The Mind this June. Even if you caught them live, this is sure to give you yet another view of these 80's pop rockers.