Old world in the new world - esthetics of classical traditions with contemporary sensibility

18 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, EASY LISTENING: Mature



Details:
On the days off while on tour, the Chinaman took out his laptop and keyboard and wrote away the weariness of touring. Thus begins the story of Day OFF, the ensemble of violinist Simon Claude, cellist Alexandre Castonguay from Montreal and pianist/composer Njo Kong Kie from Toronto. This CD is a direct result of our touring experience.

We use the very classical instrumentation to make music that is contemporary - old world in the new world. We are not saying that we don't make some old sounding stuff, as we do, and we love it, but these are all original works (No Bach, Beethoven and Brahms here). Inevitably our contemporary experiences influence what comes out of us - which is mainly a music tree with classical roots but with oddly-shaped fruits. There have been much cross pollenization here, resulting in a blend of the esthetics, techniques and performance practice of various musical styles including minimalism, world music and popular music. Our works have been said to be reminiscent of artists ranging from Rachelsâ to Rob Dougan to God speed you black emperor to Peccatum.

The three troubadors met while touring as members of Canada's pre-eminent modern dance company, La La La Human Steps. We have performed in many cities across Europe, North America and Asia.

Apart from touring the show Amelia with the company, we also recorded and contributed original music to the soundtrack of the award winning dance film of the same name, directed by Edouard Lock. The film has won many awards worldwide, and was nominated for an international Emmy.

There is more about us on www.dayoff.ca