Paul Prestipino

Tunnel

CONTENTS (click for audio excerpts)
1. The Donkey Song (10:20)
2. Hiroshima (10:13)
3. Tunnel (or, Tragedy’s Clever Parasites) (14:07)
4. A Quick Word From Alyosha33 (2:44)
5. The Whaler (13:25)

1 Dedicated to Filippo Prestipino 1915-1956
2 or, Eroescimmia, including Part II In Which the tree is watered
3 or, Fung Le Morning Tomb, or, The Hero With A Thousand Hollywood Endings, or,
5 or, The Whaler, including Part II In Which the Whaler realises absolutely nothing

"a kind of gut-bucket folktronica that is all the more remarkable for its exquisite lyricism"
- 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

"we're just returning back to earth after perhaps one of the best tracks we've heard this year.. an absolutely outstanding album"
- RTRfm perth

duration: 50:54 _ formats: compact disc, digital download

credits: Paintings by Lela Shields _ Mastering by Alan Douches _ Words, music, field recordings, performance and production by paul prestipino

Paul Prestipino wrote, arranged, performed, engineered and produced all elements of his debut album Tunnel. He recorded the album's field sounds across three continents. Horse hooves recorded 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 (or, Tragedy's Clever Parasites) were captured on New York streets in the days following the attacks of September 11 2001. Other sounds were sourced from beggars and schoolchildren in France; subway dwellers & preachers in New York; animals, meat markets & fireworks from religious processions in rural Sicily. In one form or another, he inserts both birds & children into every song. In addition to writing and producing his own music, Prestipino designs soundtracks for experimental theatre projects. He has worked with renowned directors Roman Paska (US), John Turturro (US), Romeo Castellucci (Italy), and Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. His soundtracks have been performed live at venues including The Public Theatre (New York), The Kitchen (New York), the State Theatre of Naples (Naples), Schauspielhaus (Vienna), steim: studio for electroacoustic music (Amsterdam), and Linz09 (European Capital of Culture).

some scribe action by rebecca chace

tunnel compact disc
plastic-free 4 panel wallet with 12 page booklet

tunnel digital download
itunes.com/paulprestipino >>

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"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?

16/10/09 'schoolboy play (SCHULJUNGENSPIEL)' by roman paska (us) premieres at linz09 european capital of culture 2009 austria oct 17-20. sound design by pp

22/8/09 DECKCHAIR THEATRE, PERTH PRESENTS 'THE BRIDGING PROJECT'. OPENS TONIGHT UNTIL SEPT 5. FEATURING MUSIC EXCERPTS FROM TUNNEL. CHECK IT OUT!

25/5/09 full length video for 'tunnel' posted here. SHOT by pp WITH MOBILE PHONE

13/4/09 TWO SHORT CLIPS 'C1CC1N0' AND 'FOR CHARLIE'S MATE' (see below) POSTED here.

12/3/09 'hiroshima' listed in rtrfm top 10 tracks of the week in drum media

1/3/09 tunnel will be featured this week at rtr-fm 92.1 perth March 2-7

Some facts for the fact lovers among us:
1. Prestipino was born in Perth, Western Australia, but lives in no fixed country.
2. He started as a drummer, moved on to multi-instrumentalist and electro-acoustic composer in experimental theatre in Europe, Australia and the U.S.
3. He took over five 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