Damon & Naomi 1001 Nights: The UNCUT four star review

Four STARS!!!!

Damon & Naomi: 1001 Nights

Damon & Naomi's acid folksongs are oddly suited to the tour diary format, so 1001 Nights works surprisingly well. Featuring tour films by Naomi Yang, music videos and Japanese concert footage from 2001-2009, with guest appearances from The Clientele, Richard Youngs and Ghost, 1001 Nights captures the duo's world perfectly: reflective, pensive, with understated humor - check the quietly surreal vox pops from Yang.

Extras: Limited edition with live LP and calandar.

Jon Dale

Damon & Naomi 1001 Nights: The Wire Review

from The Wire, Dec 2010

Damon & Naomi's music has always been accompanied by a strong visual aesthetic. Their LPs and CDs are package with great care, whether it's the tearstained Man Ray portrait chosen for 1992's More Sad Hits or the delicate blooms in water on the most recent Within These Walls (2007). Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang also run the Exact Change publishing imprint, which produces exquisite editions of experimental literature from the schools of dada, surrealism, and 'pataphysics.

It is, therefore, no surprise that their interests have also extended to film. Yang was already a keen photographer when Krukowski (also her husband) gave her a DV camera as a gift. She started making films of their tours, and these are brought together on Song to the Siren from 2001 and Japanese Scrapbook from 2002.

The style is casual and episodic, linking together live performances by Damon & Naomi and their support acts with vignettes of tour activity -- finding venues, meeting interviewers, and so on. They are probably the quietest tour videos ever made. No voice is ever raised, no disappointment or confusion ever voiced. It matches the intimacy of Damon & Naomi's performances with an almost domestic and handmade feel.

There are also three short films by Cedrick Eymenier, which set Damon & Naomi songs to meditative single-subject (and almost single-shot) films: a woman reading, light through a window, night traffic on a roundabout. The highlights for Damon & Naomi fans are the two live performances that catch them in fine form at the O-Nest in 2005 and 2008, joined on both occasions by longterm collaborator Michio Kurihara of Ghost, as well as Bhob Rainey, Ghost's leader Masaki Batoh and Helena Espvall. A limited package also adds a snow-white vinyl LP of the live recording at San Sebastian, previously released as Song to the Siren.

Film of the Day: Family Jams by Kevin Barker

Family Jams is an amazing look at the Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsome and Vetiver tour of 2004, directed by fellow musician and filmmaker Kevin Barker.

Synopsis:

Three San Francisco-based musical acts – Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, and Vetiver – tour the country performing their genre-defining music in the summer of 2004. They help each other overcome family tragedies and car accidents, and meet colorful characters, forgotten musical heroes, and folk luminaries as they travel across the country.

The film is an intimate portrait of life on the road for these young musicians early in their careers, playing tiny, obscure clubs and art galleries, but on the verge of larger success where small vans are replaced by large, impersonal tour buses. Here music is a creative, organic, inclusive endeavor. They not only sing about - they create - the world in which they want to live.

The Family Jams - Trailer from kevin barker on Vimeo.

Film of the Day: D Tour--A rock 'n roll film about life, death and bodily functions.

Check out D-Tour --- It will make you laugh and cry...

Synopsis:

Pat Spurgeon is a talented and professional musician who works hard to be where he is today. As a multi-instrumentalist, Pat is an integral part of the indie pop band Rogue Wave. They have performed all over the world increasing their fan base with every tour and offering three critically-acclaimed albums and several singles.

Pat has every reason to be excited about his band’s accomplishments, as well as their exciting future. In addition to giving the band everything he’s got, Pat has had to deal with kidney failure and the parameters that have been set for him by his situation.

This is nothing new to Pat, as he’s been dealing with his pre-existing condition most of his life. After the success of his first kidney transplant 13 years ago, the kidney started to fail just as Rogue Wave started to take off.

The upcoming feature documentary, D tour, will chronicle Pat’s search for a living organ donor and the challenges associated with finding a viable match. Pat’s choice to keep touring and working toward the band’s goals is put to the test; the absolute need to perform dialysis daily and to focus on his health became top priority while being on the road. D tour will also address issues with the health care system, the lack of affordable insurance, the importance of organ donation, plus much more.

Featuring live performances from Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Nada Surf, Ryan Miller, John Vanderslice, The Moore Brothers, and of course Rogue Wave.

D Tour trailer from dtour on Vimeo.

Film of the Day: The Beat is the Law: Part One by Eve Wood

Here is the first in a series of Film's of the day on Factory 25.  Check out the Clips and the site and if your lucky enough to live in the UK, check out the screening schedule.

The Beat is the Law: Part One of the sequel to Made In Sheffield, documenting the journey through the 80’s and 90’s of musicians coming of age in Sheffield - a journey which lands them at the heart of the UK’s Dance and Britpop movements.

Featuring Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley, Mark Brydon and many more.
Running Time 1 Hour 10 Mins

Visit Film Website:
www.thebeatisthelaw.com

Jarvis Cocker on the meaning of life from thebeatisthelaw on Vimeo.

The Beat is the Law (Part 01) - Trailer from thebeatisthelaw on Vimeo.

Richard Hawley reveals his only job from thebeatisthelaw on Vimeo.