Philip Sheppard

Tag: Improvisation

  • Keep Quiet at TriBeCa Film Festival

    Keep Quiet at TriBeCa Film Festival

    2015-05-26_09420853_photo_by_Jimmy_HamelinI’ve been working on the soundtrack to an incredible documentary called ‘Keep Quiet’ which has just been selected to premiere at New York’s prestigious TriBeCa Film Festival.

    The film concerns a passionate anti-Semite, Csanád Szegedi who was a rising star in Hungary’s far-right party – Jobbik – until he discovered his family’s extraordinary secret…

    His maternal grandparents were Jewish.

    “I couldn’t believe it, I just couldn’t believe it,” says Szegedi, still perhaps shaken by the ultimate branding of Jewish hatred and persecution. “I thought, this is the worst thing that could ever happen – there couldn’t ever be anything worse than this.” –Daily Telegraph profile

    This extraordinary revelation prompts an unlikely, but seemingly genuine and heartfelt conversion from anti-Semite to Orthodox Jew.

    My soundtrack was largely recorded live at Abbey Road Studio 2 – with Gordon Davidson engineering fantastically. It’s written for solo cello and based around a scordatura technique – that’s when an instruments’ strings are tuned in an unlikely fashion rendering weird overtones and resonances.

    The film’s director Sam Blair and producer Alex Holder were clear from day one that the score needed to be unsettled, fragile, airy and peculiar – in the best sense of the word. Editor Ben Stark did an incredible job at hearing beyond my sketches, and the results are a real departure for me. Some of the music from the film is below.

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/127153238″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

    I’m immensely grateful to John Battsek and Nicole Stott for yet another Passion project that breaks the mould.

    Film website here.

    CAST & CREDITS

    Director: Joseph Martin, Sam Blair
    Producer: Alex Holder, Danielle Clark, Nicole Stott
    Editor: Kim Gaster, Ben Stark
    Cinematographer: Márton Vízkelety
    Executive Producer: John Battsek
    Composer: Philip Sheppard
    Cast: Csanad Szegedi, Chief Chabad Rabbi Boruch Oberlander, Anne Applebaum, Eva ‘Bobby’ Neumann, Katalin Molnár Szegediné

    CONTACTS

    Press Contact
    Susan Norget
    Susan Norget Film Promotion
    New York City, 10013
    Phone: 212 431 0090
    susan@norget.com

  • When I spot someone on the phone during a show…

    When I spot someone on the phone during a show…

    I love performing and speaking at C2 Montreal.

    This year I was about to lead into introducing Andre Agassi onstage when I spotted a lady playing with her phone. I decided to make her a bit of a star for the day.

  • Philip Sheppard live at Abbey Road

    Philip Sheppard live at Abbey Road

    Philip Shepard at C2MTL - Photo by Jimmy Hamelin
    Philip Sheppard at C2MTL – Photo by Jimmy Hamelin

    Here’s what I did after a long day of recording in Abbey Road one night last week. I’d been conducting the orchestra all day, and my brain was in another place.

    I was speaking a language far from English, and things were swimming in front of my eyes. Rather than start heading home, I decided to decompress a bit.

    There’s a deeply unusual documentary I’m writing at the moment, so I put the film on, Gordon, my fantastic engineer set everything to record and I got ready to play along. In the end, I ended up doing a 59 minute solo take on my cello – which is something of a record for me… It was a bit surprising seeing as my arms were really aching from conducting all day.

    Anyway, here’s the result. (Don’t worry, it’s not 59 minutes).

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/127153238″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

  • Joining Cirque du Soleil

    Joining Cirque du Soleil

    PhilipSheppardCirqueCelloNo, that is not my normal cello…

    Last month I travelled to Vegas to join Cirque Du Soleil for a special One-off show as a featured musician along with the wonderful John Legend.

    The whole show was in aid of One Drop, and amazing charity established by Cirque to help those in need find water supplies.

    It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and I’m writing more about this very soon.

    Here’s one of the pieces I played.[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/204219833″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

  • Hallelujah at C2MTL

    Hallelujah at C2MTL

    Here’s a version of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen that I played at C2MTL at the end of my talk there. I hope you like it.

    The full talk is here

  • Amazing Grace live at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/151169992″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

    This is a live version of ‘Amazing Grace’ from my recent gig at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. It’s recorded using an 18th Century cello and a loop pedal. Hope you like it.

    These are my favourite verses from the hymn.

    Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
    That sav’d a wretch like me!
    I once was lost, but now am found,
    Was blind, but now I see.

    The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
    The sun forbear to shine;
    But God, who call’d me here below,
    Will be forever mine.

  • Going loopy

    DSC00546
    My cello looping setup

    My solo performing setup generally includes loop pedals, pitch shifters and reverb units.

    I’m doing a lot of experimentation at the moment with my live setup, using acoustic & electric cellos, new custom built units as well as some exciting new effects pedals from Boss, Boomerang & Line 6. Before I plan a programme I always draw a new circuit/ wiring plan and however much I try to simplify things around my feet, they always end up verging on the complex..!

    The sketch above is the setup I have in my studio at the moment… Looking a little tangled for my liking…

    Here’s a short improvisation from a set I performed in Mexico a couple of months ago. The guest speakers prior to me had mentioned whale songs, volcanos and one of my favourite pieces, La Folia. Needless to say, all of them found their way in.

    It’s been great to see Andrew Bird storming Sundance with a live set where he built songs up from live loops on violin using a parallel setup of Line 6 delay modellers, one tightly locked, the other more for floating ambient lines. You can watch it here.

    Andrew Bird

    The great thing is that the gadgetry he’s using is rendered unimportant by the emotional punch of the songs. It’s easy to get hung up on gear for its own sake, but if you’re not making someone laugh, cry or get the chills, it ain’t worth it…

    TDNRE5PHSP2N

  • Evelyn Glennie at Not So Silent Movies

    [youtube=http://youtu.be/lbXuoBRCQT8]

    We had a sell-out crowd at the first Not So Silent Movies… at Kings Place. Thanks so much for coming!

    There’s another one coming up on November 6th at 3pm. Most of the tickets have already gone, so snap the remaining ones up!! Click here for booking.I’m really happy to tell you that Dame Evelyn Glennie OBE is our special guest. Evelyn is a powerhouse virtuoso percussionist, brilliant communicator and a great friend.

    Come and see her under some real pressure with our live band and a batch of amazing silent comedies.

    What films do you want us to show..?! Please suggest ideas below. I’m wondering about One Week by Buster Keaton as it’s truly awesome. Let me know your thoughts…

    Philip Sheppard

  • Not So Silent Movies!

    I’m hugely excited to announce the launch of Not so Silent Movies…

    This monthly event takes place at the wonderful Kings Place in London. First gig is Sunday October 2nd at 3pm. Tickets from here.

    The photo of Harold Lloyd is appropriate, as what we’re going to be doing is risky, thrilling and often hilarious.

    Here’s the pitch:

    • Great silent film comedies,
    • Great musicians together on stage,
    • No sheet music,
    • No rehearsing,
    • No plan,
    • & No watching the films in advance…

    Yes… it’s totally improvised (spontaneously composed if you want to be pretentious..!), utterly great when it all clicks, and unintentionally hilarious when it goes awry.

    Our band is amazing… we have Guy Pratt on Bass (he’s been in Pink Floyd & Roxy Music for starters), Geoff Dugmore’s playing drums (He’s an incredible drummer – one of the greatest session players in the world), Pip Eastop on Horn (he’s a stalwart of the London Sinfonietta, a Professor, stunning soloist and one of the wittiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing), Elspeth Hanson (violinist currently wowing audiences in Bond, was also glimpsed by about two billion people on a bus with David Beckham & Jimmy Page), Mark Neary (Pedal steel player and alchemist of weird and wondrous noises – last time I saw him he was laying down some lines for Flood!), Me (I play the cello a bit), and some amazing surprise guests too (not Jimmy Page… yet… but we’re working on it! see photo).

    Geoff Dugmore, Jimmy Page, Me & Guy Pratt at a recording session

    Future Not so Silent Movies are featuring Dame Evelyn Glennie (world famous percussion soloist), Robin Millar (Sade’s producer), Steve Mackey (Pulp’s bassist), Julia Thornton (wizard harpist & percussionist), Pete Furniss (Reeds – a mainstay of the extraordinary Impropera), Roger Eno (maverick keyboardist), Stephen Warbeck (composer, Oscar winner), Cherisse Osei (Mika’s drummer), David Le Page (former Menuhin pupil, Subway Pirhanas, Orchestra of the Swan) and many, many more…

    You can probably tell I’m a bit excited about this…

    Come and join us for the greatest comedies ever made – (featuring Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Joe Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle & co), and to see a group of musos having a busman’s holiday. We may even get you up on stage to take part!

    Let me know who else we should invite, and which films you’d like to see us tackle!

    Philip

    Philip Sheppard

    NSSM article