Paul Prestipino

live shows coming up 2010:

ESC ATELIER, ROME, APR 28
arlene's grocery, new york, may 16
rosemount hotel, perth, jun 24
velvet lounge, perth, (laptop only) jul 15
fremantle arts center, fremantle, jul 18
the basement, sydney jul 20

[please JOin MAILOUT or watch this space for updates]

230310 'schoolboy play' by roman paska (us) - soundtrack by pp
two performances @ national theatre of portugal lisbon may 28-29

161009 'schoolboy play' by roman paska (us) - soundtrack by pp
premieres @ linz 2009 european capital of culture austria oct 17-20

250509 Paul Prestipino video channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MusicForOrgans

120309 'hiroshima' listed in rtrfm top10 tracks of week in drum media

010309 'TUNNEL' will be featured across rtrfm 92.1 perth this week

"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: Pen + ink drawings by Lela Shields. Mastering by Alan Douches. Written, performed, recorded and produced by paul prestipino

paul talks about 'tunnel' with rtrfm's peter barr. here's the interview

audio samples from album

about paul prestipino

Paul Prestipino wrote, arranged, recorded, produced and performed all parts on his debut album Tunnel. Its field sounds were recorded across three continents.
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 (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, performing and producing his own work, Perth-born 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, Schauspielhaus (Vienna), steim: Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (Amsterdam), Linz 2009 (European Capital of Culture), teatro nacional d.maria II (LISBON)

the shop operates via paypal or credit card. please email us if you need other options

tunnel compact disc (50MIN) with 12 page booklet
aud 22

excerpts from Tunnel

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

>>

<<

"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