dates
The Disappearances Project by version 1.0
judith wright centre, brisbane july 3-7 2012 ->
ac arts, adelaide feb22 - mar3 2012 ->
State Theatre Centre W.A. July 26-30 2011 ->
performance space/ carriageworks, sydney may 3-7 2011 ->
Jack&theBeanstalk: a musical fable by chiari guidi / jeff stein
robbie avenaim, jim denley, veren grigorov, paul prestipino, laura tanata
campbelltown arts centre Feb 17-19 2012 ->
Buried City by urban theatre projects / belvoir / sydney festival
Jan9 - feb5 2012 ->
the necks supported by Matt Rösner (guitar) + Paul Prestipino (drums)
Jan 26 2011 ->
past
tunnel
cd in four-panel cardboard wallet + 12 page booklet. AUD $20
"a kind of gut-bucket folktronica that is all the more remarkable for its exquisite lyricism"
- jocelyn clarke, the irish times
"a distinct and involving world of sound.. with an acoustic troubadour integrity.. immensely moving"
- Drum Media Perth
"dark ballads of the 19th century"
- romeo castellucci
Horse hooves captured on a farm in Virginia open The Donkey Song, joined later by crows sourced in the Australian outback at the burial site of the song's dedicatee. For Hiroshima, Prestipino persuaded a nurse to allow him into a radiology lab to record his blood passing through his heart. Many scenes from the title track Tunnel were captured on New York streets in the days following the attacks of 9/11. Other sounds were sourced from beggars and schoolchildren in France; subway dwellers & preachers in Nyc; animals, meat markets & fireworks from religious processions in rural Sicily.
total running time: 50:54
Pen + ink drawings by Lela Shields. Mastering by Alan Douches
Written, performed, recorded and produced by paul prestipino
AUDIO EXCERPTS
excerpts from the album Tunnel:
1. The Donkey Song (10:20) for Filippo Prestipino 1915-1956
2. Hiroshima (10:13)
or, Eroescimmia, including Part II In Which the tree is watered
3. Tunnel (14:07)
or, Tragedy’s Clever Parasites, or, Fung Le Morning Tomb, or, The Hero With A Thousand Hollywood Endings, or..
4. A Quick Word From Alyosha33 (2:44)
5. The Whaler (13:25)
or, The Whaler, including Part II In Which the Whaler realises absolutely nothing
video excerpts
CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL 14MIN FILM
"TUNNEL"
Paul Prestipino has an orchestra in his head. No, make that two, four, six orchestras. Maybe more. If you don't believe me, listen to the first track of his album Tunnel. "Donkey" grabs hold of your ears and pulls you into an audio landscape that is both strange and familiar. Sounds of the world we inhabit: dirt roads, cicadas, birdsong, hooves. All this with an insistent beat and melody line that make it all sound effortless. Add to this that seductive voice telling the story of a man meeting a sober Ass ("Ass" in the biblical sense, thank you very much) and having a conversation about love, life, the universe and everything.
Maybe Prestipino has been reading too much Nietzsche.
Or maybe several years of recording and condensing his misspent youth into this first album has produced something you will want to listen to over and over again.
Just what is that donkey going on about again? And what are those French schoolchildren saying? And the man in Union Square, New York City, in the days following 9/11?
It all leaves you gasping: Who is this guy?
Some facts for the fact lovers among us:
1. Prestipino was born in Perth, Western Australia.
2. He started as a drummer, moved on to multi-instrumentalist and soundtrack designer for experimental theatre.
3. He took a number of years to make Tunnel because of a deep commitment, bordering on obsession, about using his own field recordings.
4. He worked as a farmhand in Italy, castrating pigs in the mountains of Sicily in between mixing sessions for this record. He thinks that's inappropriate information for a press release.
We don't.
There are layers to this Tunnel. Take your time. Start with the art by the extraordinary Lela Shields. Consider Prestipino's photographs: snow on a Sicilian road. Read the lyrics; try not to think too much. You are in good hands.
- rebecca chace, 2008
belvoir st d/s theatre, sydney, nov 26 - dec 19 2010
1/4 Inch w/ seaworthy+matt rosner and donna hewitt
otis bar, wollongong, oct 27 2010
the basement, sydney, w/ matt ralph+friends, jul 20 2010
fremantle arts center, jul 18 2010 w/ matt rosner and rabbit island
videologue: velvet lounge, perth, jul 15 2010
rosemount hotel, perth, jun 24 2010 w/ matt rosner, adam trainer, jane harris
schoolboy play by roman paska
national theatre of portugal, lisbon, may 28-29 2010
arlene's grocery, new york, may 16 2010
ESC ATELIER, ROME, APR 28 2010