Song of The Wicker Man
An exploration and celebration of the film, songs and soundtrack of the seventies cult classic ‘The Wicker Man’, often cited as the greatest British horror film ever made. Composed by Paul Giovanni, the soundtrack is recognized as a landmark of British film music, and 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of its recording. The soundtrack has inspired contemporary musicians including Fleet Foxes, Devendra Banhart, Midlake and Anthony Hegarty, and in parallel to the film, the music has its own macabre backstory, and is a snapshot of the ideas and culture prevalent in Britain at the time. Uncover the truth behind the myths.
Presenters
Will Hodgkinson is the chief rock and pop critic of The Times and the author of the non-fiction music books Guitar Man, Song Man and The Ballad Of Britain. He lives in London.
Matt Sullivan is the founder of Seattle/Los Angeles-based label Light In The Attic. Since 2002, he has produced over 100 releases and reissues for such artists as Betty Davis, Sixto Rodriguez, Serge Gainsbourg, Karen Dalton, Jim Sullivan, Kris Kristofferson, The Monks, Charles 'Packy' Axton, Michael Hurley, The Louvin Brothers, The Free Design, Shin Joong Hyun, and Jim Ford. Recent projects include a series of long overdue deluxe reissues of Lee Hazlewood's LHI label; producing the award-winning documentary film Wheedle's Groove about the vibrant yet unknown Seattle soul scene of the 1960s and '70s; the first two albums by British psych-folk legend Michael Chapman, an anthology of unsung Stax vocalist Wendy Rene; and Listen Whitey!, a detailed look at the history of the Black Power movement related to music. Light In The Attic recently launched two new imprints; film label Cinewax, releasing the soundtrack to Oscar nominated movie Winter's Bone, and Modern Classics Recordings, showcasing LPs made post-1980, starting with Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs and Morphine's Cure For Pain.
Crispin Parry is CEO of British Underground, an arts development agency based in London. Although he trained as a sound engineer, it wasn’t until he set up Circuit magazine in 1998 that he started a full time career in the creative industries. Circuit had many international fans including David Bowie, Michael Stipe and The Strokes and from there he founded and edited Bang magazine in 2003 with Future Publishing, one of the UK’s biggest music magazine launches. After Bang he toured the world as a singer with Texan rock band Polyphonic Spree. Next stop was at trade body BPI as international consultant setting up British music events and showcases in Europe, Japan and the USA. In turn, this led him back to the cultural enterprise, British Underground, an organization he set up in 2000 to support UK talent overseas. 2012 sees British Underground becoming an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organization, funding emerging artists and hosting showcases at established events like Womex and SxSW alongside new productions being put in place in Brazil, China and Russia. He set up his own record company in 2006 and is a consultant to independent labels and magazines.
Nigel Adams is the co-founder of Full Time Hobby and has signed and worked with bands such as White Denim, Tunng, School Of Seven Bells, Timber Timbre, Diagrams and Hooded Fang. He also manages Sam Genders / Diagrams.
Friday, March 16
