News → 2011
SHZine forum is back / 2012 release / 2013 album
The forum was down for one month due to a DMCA takedown notice. Owen Pallett is planning an album in 2013 and an 'album-ish' release in 2012.[NSFW] Poster Tumblr
Owen has started a blog on Tumblr for uploading scans of various Toronto show posters from the last decade.New songs by The National
On December 9 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Owen played violin for The National's two new songs: "Rylan" and "I Need My Girl".Owen to perform David Lang
David Lang's composition "Death Speaks" will be premiered by:
- Owen Pallett – vocals and violin
- Bryce Dessner – vocals and guitar
- Shara Worden – vocals and guitar
- Nico Muhly – keyboards
Owen arranges for The Mountain Goats and Anonymous 4
On March 24 at the Ecstatic Music Festival in New York City, where Owen Pallett had performed earlier this year with the yMusic strings, Mountain Goats songs from their new work (album?) Transcendental Youth will be sung by the female a cappella quartet Anonymous 4 with arrangements by Owen for guitar, piano, and voices.John Darnielle writes, "I am person who likes to eat candy. Every time somebody says 'kid in a candy shop,' I think to myself: 'I wanna be that kid in the candy shop, after hours, with the go-ahead to have all the candy I like.' Anonymous 4 singing my new songs in arrangements by Owen: this is all candy ever all at once for me. I simply cannot wait for this show."
Owen contributes to Jim Guthrie's score for a cutting-edge documentary
One Millionth Tower is a web documentary centered on a highrise apartment in Toronto. Owen's six-minute composition is called "Five Offerings". Jim Guthrie composed the rest of the music. The full interactive experience requires Firefox/Chrome and a graphics card that supports WebGL.Owen Pallett arranged for R.E.M.
The single "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" and song "Hallelujah" on R.E.M.'s final album Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 had orchestral arrangements by Owen Pallett. Listen to the single on Rolling Stone.Video: "Haiti" performed by Régine Chassagne, Eddie Vedder, Owen Pallett
Video: "Many Lives → 49 MP" at SignalFest
For some reason, the CBC has been releasing these really nice SignalFest videos one by one over the past few months. The latest addition is "Many Lives → 49 MP".The previous videos are in this playlist.
Owen posts about the new record
Read it!Video: "My City of Ruins"
Here's a video of the Bruce Springsteen cover from the previous post.Photo: Owen with Eddie Vedder and Régine Chassagne
Playing at a charity event for Artists for Peace and Justice at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Radio broadcast: Jan 21 @ Sydney Festival
FBi Radio broadcast captured by grinderman."This Is the Dream of Win & Regine"
"This Lamb Sells Condos"
"A Man with No Ankles"
"The Great Elsewhere"
"Lewis Takes Action"
"Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"
"Fantasy"
2 new songs
“Soldier’s Rock”“Infernal Fantasy”
New violin concerto on Mar 16, 2012 @ Barbican
Besides the world premiere of a violin concerto, Owen will join Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon, Doveman, and guests for "An 802 Moment", a reprise of the recent collaborative 802 Tour.Pallett and pals
"It's embarrassing because everything we've been writing together makes all of the older songs sound really lame," [Owen] says, adding that the sonic direction picks up on the "droned out, blissed out, motoric aspects of Heartland.""Hard to Explain" (The Strokes cover)
Owen recorded a cover of “Hard to Explain” for Stereogum's STROKED: A Tribute to Is This It.Photo: Owen Pallett and Feist
What Nirvana's Nevermind Means to Me
"I used to go to the weight room in ninth grade and put on Nevermind and pump iron. Then Kurt died and the music lost its anabolic effects -- I lost a lot of weight in '94. Good songs, though. And I never would've gotten into the Melvins, the Meat Puppets, or Shellac were it not for Nirvana." —Owen"The Chronicles of Sarnia" covered by Leon Taheny
Leon Taheny (Has a Good Home producer) and Tamara Lindeman perform “The Chronicles of Sarnia” as members of Bruce Peninsula.Proshot DVD torrent: Dec 12 @ Bilbao
This show was broadcast by the Spanish TV station ETB 3 on May 15.
Bootleg: June 27 @ Dublin, includes 5 covers
“Odessa”, “Peach, Plum, Pear”, “Interview”, “The Power of Love” (Céline Dion), “Trouser Minnow” (Rapeman)...Owen Pallett and Nico Muhly arrange strings and brass for Snow Patrol
"we asked [owen] and nico muhly (who is an extraordinary composer also. it was him behind the haywire arrangements for the jonsi album) to write string and brass parts for seven or eight songs on the album. owen came down to la to ocean way studios to conduct both his and nico's arrangments. for pictures of something other than his fine shoulder blades look on line."the strings on this one are strange, beautiful and unlike anything we've had before. much like the record itself. even if i am so bold as to say so myself."
Brian Eno: from the Velvet Underground to Burial
We go on to talk about Toronto's Owen Pallett and how his song Keep The Dog Quiet "starts on the worst possible note he could sing; it's like a mistake, but it's fantastic..." and Eno reveals he likes dubstep more in principle than in fact.The Wedge Presents Arcade Fire
The Wedge Presents Arcade Fire is a 30-minute documentary special about the Montreal-based indie rock band as they reach a new plateau of success in their storied career. Based around an interview with the group's core members Win and Will Butler conducted by Wedge host Damian Abraham in the wake of their award show successes, the show also features testimonies from creative people close to the band during their steady ascent [including Owen].Interview on classical training and influence
There are 4 clips.Listen to Owen's show on Domino Radio
"Mix Tape. A lot of fast jams. Mostly French and Canadian, some punk, some new wave. Lots of Toronto's royal jewels. There's a couple of songs that I just realized are "electroclash"? I guess I never got tired of electroclash. As with all my mixes, I bounced the entire thing to a tapedeck to give it a mixtape feel. My drummer, Rob Gordon—the best drummer, no, really—he helped with the song selection. Thanks Michael Goodstein for "John E. Storm", thanks Steve Kado for "Thousands Dead". I hope you enjoy it. Go get a tan."The Proust Questionnaire
In addition to being a remarkably talented musician, Owen's very thoughtful and possessed of a delightfully sharp wit that would put any Algonquin Round Table member to shame. With this in mind, we asked if he'd be willing to fill out a classic Proust Questionnaire in the interest of providing a little personal context for his music. He was glad to oblige...The National – "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks"
Acoustic and unplugged finale to the 2011 MusicNow Festival featuring Owen Pallett, Megafaun, Sharon Van Etten, Richard Reed Parry, and Little Scream. Owen also played in the live debut of "Exile Vilify", a song from Portal 2.Sloan – "People of the Sky"
In celebration of Sloan's 20th anniversary, Owen Pallett scored a string arrangement for their 1994 single "People of the Sky"."What Do You Think Will Happen Now?" with Britten Sinfonia
Under the Radar charity auction for Japan
Under the Radar magazine is hosting an online charity auction for the Japan relief effort that starts today and features Okkervil River, Menomena, Owen Pallett, Telekinesis, Surfer Blood, Hooray for Earth, and Porcelain Raft. These seven artists performed at the second of Under the Radar's two SXSW parties this past March, and they all autographed three different posters for the event. The three posters are being auctioned off separately, with each poster accompanied by other goodies, including CDs and vinyl from each of the bands, top-of-the-line headphones from Shure, subscriptions and bags from Under the Radar, and a guitar donated by Hooray for Earth.Auction 1
Auction 2
Auction 3
Owen's gear
"I get asked a lot about what synthesizers and effects processors I use, so I thought I'd go into a little detail about those things, with comments on 'the process'..."Live videos: Final Fantasy 2005–06
These archived videos from the now-defunct website Aperture Enzyme are MP4s totalling 114 MB. The Les Mouches videos linked below are also there.Feb 12, 2005 @ The Music Gallery, Wavelength 250
“What Do You Think Will Happen Next?”
“The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead”
“That’s When the Audience Died”
Jun 25, 2005 @ The Music Gallery
“Do You Love?” (early lyrics, with St. Kitts String Quartet)
Jan 11, 2006 @ The Great Hall, Over the Top Fest
"Robot Ponies" (with Laura Barrett)
“This Modern Love”
Apr 9, 2006 @ The Music Gallery
“Scandal at the Parkade” (early lyrics)
“This Lamb Sells Condos”
Portrait
Reverberations Preview: The Enduring Appeal of Steve Reich
As the Barbican prepare to celebrate the work of Steve Reich with a major festival, writer and musician Leo Chadburn (Simon Bookish) looks at the continuing significance of the oft-imitated minimalist pioneer.Family tree and "A Man with No Ankles"
Watch Owen draw his "family tree" poster of influences, mispronounce "philosophical", and play “A Man with No Ankles” at Donaufestival.Bootleg: May 1 @ Malta
Download (264 MB): megaupload (RAR), dimeadozen (torrent).Left side > BT172-BI's [omnis] > Sony PCM-M10 mic-in [lvl 2.5] 16 bit, 44.1 WAV > Wave Repair 4.9.3, trimming and indexing > FLAC level 8, verify.
Crowd talking is audible during the songs.
On the soundtrack and the next album
Snippets translated from Danish:"The music [for Good Night, Doll] is primarily instrumental and more electronic than I usually do. I hope to publish the music as a soundtrack, so I expect to embark on a new studio album this fall."
Do you have an idea how this album will be? "I have a completely clear idea. My band makes it such that it becomes more of a band record than my previous works."
"I've been listening to the new Wild Beasts album Smother, they're absolutely excellent. Otherwise, I have recently listened to Popol Vuh, a German Krautrock band from the 70s, and Jaki Liebezeit, drummer of Can. Maybe you could hear the influences in my next album."
Live videos: Les Mouches 2004
Old videos from Aperture Enzyme: “Jars of Lars” (twice), "Carload of Whatever", "Real Executive", "Similac", "Tastes Like Homo".Interview
Live video: "Tryst with Mephistopheles"
Concerts on Demand: Owen Pallett live at SignalFest
CBC Radio 2 has put up their recording from March 4 in Vancouver. Setlist...String Theory Music Festival
The most emotional event of the evening, however, may ultimately have been the tragedy that befell Pallett as he began his encore. Grabbing for the violin, which he had rested on his electronic keyboard the whole night, Pallett knocked it to the floor, splitting it at the neck. It culminated in a collective gasp and a look on mournful look on Pallett's face...Owen Pallett et Les Mouches
Owen Pallett et Les Mouches will play a show with Beirut in Toronto on August 2.Owen to score short film Good Night, Doll
Good Night, Doll is a short subject suspense thriller shot on location at the home of acclaimed 20th century furniture and art dealer, Alan Moss.SYNOPSIS: A man says goodnight to the porcelain-like woman he loves. Haunted by what must be done, he returns home and is taken by the dark side of his heart.
Video: Feb 22 @ Paris
Grandcrew has a high quality recording from Café de la danse for sale. Setlist..."The Great Elsewhere" music video
Directed by Yuula Benivolski and Geoffrey Pugen.Arcade Fire – "Rococo" @ Juno Awards
"A Man with No Ankles" @ The PureVolume House
Poll13
Owen answers 13 short questions. Here is an old video of "Close to You":Owen Pallett Slams Morrissey, Praises the Strokes, Doesn't Envy Arcade Fire
Spinner sits down with the musical virtuoso to discuss his disdain for artistic sexual labelling, flirting with Arcade Fire's success, how the Strokes inspired his album and why Morrissey should just come out of the closet already...Owen performs on MTV Canada
"Scandal at the Parkade""The Great Elsewhere"
"A Man with No Ankles"
Figuratively speaking
His Narwhal show was called "The Invisible College," and was besotted with the surreal, the canonical and the antique, depicting anthropomorphic and human dignitaries in classical-portraiture poses (one work was a beautiful rendering of musician Owen Pallett in a frock coat)...
Owen Pallett to play last shows as a solo act at SXSW
Owen Pallett announced during a set at Austin's Flamingo Cantina that his performances at SXSW would be the last as a solo act. Pallett noted that he was working with a drummer and that he is really excited for people to hear it.The Luyas – Interview
"Owen is a good friend of ours and has always been a huge support. I asked him for some arrangement help as soon as we had some demos done, but he kind of swooped in at the end of our sessions and decorated the cake so to speak. He's wonderful, and brilliant, and has nice legs." —Jessie SteinVideo: Feb 18 @ Eindhoven (Cross-Linx Festival)
This high quality video contains the entire concert. “What Do You Think Will Happen Now?” was played for the first time. Full setlist...Owen Pallett, l'interview
In this French interview, Owen mentions that he is working on an artistic film with a director friend who is not known. He's on tour until July, and he will play with musicians (bassists, guitarists) like a rock band.Cary Fukunaga Talks His Horror/Romance Take On Jane Eyre
Indie filmmaker also discusses his gestating musical with Owen Pallett...Ecstatic Music Festival Interview #4
In a recent transcontinental conversation, Pallett expounded upon the experience of writing for other musicians and the importance of creating idiosyncratic instrumentation...Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Performs Modern History
Humphrey admits, "[Owen]'s a great instrumentalist, and he actually has a video on YouTube where he plays music from our Dazzle Ships album."Top 50 Gay Male Musicians
Owen was placed #45 on this list, directly underneath Patrick Wolf.Chat: Owen Pallett
"This next record, I want to challenge people, like I want to turn them off. I kind of want to do something that’s rooted less in generosity and more in a kind of anger."Owen Pallett picks US Maple's Talker
Who would have thought that Owen Pallett, the artist who brought us one of the most beautiful records in 2010 was into noise rock? We sure didn't, but it's a fact, people expect bands to listen to music similar to theirs, but it's almost always the contrary, i.e. check out OP's picks...SignalFest! Pallett and (Fond of) Tigers and Zubot oh my!
A three day festival of live music by some of our favourite Vancouver Signal artists (plus an out-of-province cameo by Owen Pallett)...Tunesday - 6 things Owen Pallett wants to set straight
"I was at medical school. One part of me was doing what I wanted to do, and the other was doing what my conscience wanted me to do. I’m very happy, but I feel very guilty. I just think that I would have more to offer the world as a doctor than a musician."Heartland nominated for Juno Award
Heartland has been nominated for Alternative Album of the Year. (The Junos are the biggest music awards in Canada.) Fellow nominees: Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Karkwa, Tokyo Police Club.