julian blackmore - composer/producer: news

Burrowing away in the studio in the middle of summer is no trip to the beach, but the score I'm co-composing for an upcoming feature film (the details of which I'm not at liberty to talk about yet) is worth missing the sand in my toes for. 

Who knows, maybe I'll make it to the beach before September ends...

Mirrorball Diva, the debut album by Natisse is scheduled for release in the UK on September 6th.  A number of songs that I've co-written are on it, so I strongly urge you to buy it!

100 degrees in the city and we know silly season is well under way, when typically not a lot happens....  However I'm keeping myself busy working on a film project that I'm unable to name at present (oo-er...).  I'm also beavering away at several theatrical projects, and writing some library material for Northstar and Figure & Groove Music.

Song cycle 'A Year In The Life Of Veronica Sexton' had it's workshop debut at the Emerging Artists Theatre's Illuminating Artists new works festival on 29th April.  Expect some rewrites, and expect to see it again!

'A Year In The Life....' is the title of a new one-woman song cycle I'm working on at the moment, following events in the life of fictional (but batty) Veronica Sexton.  It's getting it's first workshop performance on April 29th here in New York.  More details to follow soon!

Animation by Aaron Jones, music by Julian Blackmore.  It's cute....

I'm currently in the beautiful Connecticut town of East Haddam, working on a new musical adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson short story.  Housed and looked after by the Goodspeed Opera House, this is an awesome opportunity to get out of the city and find inspiration in new surroundings.

'The Assistors' is being produced at the Lee Strasberg Institute, NY, in December, as part of a series of short musicals.  With a new cast and creative team, and some invigorating rewrites, Victoria and I have been assured the angels will have wings!

Season 2 of the sizzling current affairs musical podcast is well under way with episode 2 out now!  Check out the daily blog rantings at meridian13news.blogspot.com or subscribe on iTunes at www.meridian13news.com

I've just got back from watching Meredith Monk's 'Songs of Ascension' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  There was some truly stunning and beautiful music in the piece, and the space is pretty awesome too!

Season 2 of the Meridian 13 News podcast is now underway!  Episode 1 came out last Saturday - you can download it on iTunes, on the website, or from the blog.  The blog is updated daily, with a quirky twist on global news, so be sure to subscribe in your favourite reader.

Blaxploitation short film 'Jasmine' has it's first screening tonight in New York City, at the Kraine Theatre in the East Village. Partnered with another short 'Hellmira', the score for Jasmine was a joint collaboration between myself and director Sean Davis. Let's hope there's lots of champagne to celebrate a summer of hard work for all the creative team!

This weekend (4th/5th September) Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA is playing host to a cabaret night of new material by musical theatre writers, hosted by William Finn.  'Singing To Myself' (lyrics by Diana Oh) and 'A Sandwich Aria' (lyrics by Sean Patterson) are my two contributions to the evening. Find out more at the Barrington Stage Company website

This song, co written by director Gabriel Rodriguez and myself is now on the music page.

And it was such a favourite of vocalist Sophia Kent, that she's singing it in a cabaret in the West Village on Monday night!

So, the final mix of the song 'We Never Died' has been completed for the film 'Rubyfire' - watch out for it on the music pages in the coming weeks. In the meantime check out the sneak preview at http://www.youtube.com/user/howardarrid, which features the 'World of Models' theme - which you can also hear on the music page

So, the score is cooking along nicely for this one. The final cut should be ready in a few days, and the whole shebang will be ready to submit to festivals by August 24th.

Director Gabriel Rodriguez is currently shooting his new feature 'Rubyfire', and to help with the promo footage I've contributed a couple of tracks, which will also appear in the final cut (famous last words...)

Talking with a writer/director at the moment about the possibility of collaborating on the hip-hop influenced score for new short 'Jasmine', featuring artist G-Depp. Watch this space for further developments...

Writing a new 'old' 80's track for Hallam FM at the moment - in the style of PWL circa 1989....

It's a new month, so it's time for Episode 5 of current affairs and comedy podcast Meridian 13 News. You can listen to it or subscribe at www.meridian13news.com - click on the podcast link! Don't forget to check the blog for daily updates....

I'm working on a new series of tracks for kids company Hartbeeps this month. Some are new songs, while others are reworks of classic nursery rhymes, and all are given a special mellow treatment with percussion, celesta and acoustic guitar. Beautiful....

The reading of 20-minute piece 'The Assisitors was today! Big thanks to the cast Sol Baird, Sasha Weiss, and Ben Howes, and director Susanna Gellert for all their hard work.

So we're going in to rehearsal for the first reading of 'The Assistors' tomorrow. Or today, actually. It's so late....

... is the current working title of a new one-act musical I'm working on with fellow Brit Victoria Saxton over here in New York. It's first scheduled reading is for the 7th May, which would be all very exciting were it not for the fact that there's still a bunch of scoring still to do for it!

Hell, why not have two news stories in one day....

I now have a guestbook feature so you can leave your thoughts. Any thoughts will do, as long as they're nice....