Exciting news re: tour, DVD, CD !
We’re announcing today that my DVD and CD ‘The Sole Inhabitant’ will be released Nov 21st, and available here, on CDbaby and on iTunes. Following that I’ll be touring across the South, on a co-headlining tour with BT.
If you don’t know this guy you should. BT is credited as the inventor of several trance/house generes, and DJs massive gigs in sold-out dance clubs and festivals. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg: he’s also a brilliant record producer, and creates his own music software when the off-the-peg stuff falls short (sounds familiar!); and he composes film scores including ‘Monster’ which won an Oscar for best actress. I feel he’s a modern master and it’s great that we will each be exposing our core audience to the other’s work. BT has a cool 3-piece band, and will be playing live soundtracks to projections of the seven animated films from his current DVD, ‘This Binary Universe.’
As I write I am in ‘Le Funky Shed’ finishing up the final mixes for the CD. I decided in the end to use different performances for the two products. The DVD concert was filmed at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, while the CD was taken from two gigs at Martyrs in Chicago. The set list is the same for both, but I felt that while Boston looked very nice (thanks to Berklee’s own video production and lighting crew), the Martyr’s gig had that warm feeling which pervaded my Spring tour.
On Wednesday I will finalize the ‘mastering’ of the CD at a studio in San Francisco (balancing levels for each song, trimming gaps etc) whle Johnny DeKam is hard at work color-correcting the video and authoring menus for the DVD. On Friday the whole lot goes off for manufacture. I should have the discs in my hands by Nov 15th, leaving me enough time to sign and number 1000 of each (grunt!) and ship them to CDBaby. Apple, in the meantime, will be delivered the tracks for iTunes, and I hope they’ll see fit to do some sort of feature about me.
My poor family are getting used to seeing a zombie wandering around in his bedroom slippers, oblivious to the real world. I’ve had very little sleep, but it’s exciting to be in the final stages of this project! Can’t wait for you all to hear it.
Remarkable! I’m glad that you’re nearing the end of the project. I’m sure I can say for all of us that we can’t wait to see the finished product!
Sounds like an exciting tour for our southern neighbors. BT sounds like quite the artist. Any future projects lined up with him??? That would very interesting, indeed!
Don’t get writer’s cramp signing all those discs. Got to have those hands to work the boards!
Korky
Can’t wait! Are you still planning on coming back to NYC again before the end of the year? I can’t imagine your stamina to do it!
I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are coming to Florida. Thank you!!! My husband didn’t get to come with me to the Canyon Club show, so now he will get to join me in seeing you live!
Please let your family know how much we fans appreciate their support of what you are doing. And, thank you for all that you do for us fans (keeping us in the loop on making the DVD/CD, etc).
Rochelle
Yes! Yes! Yes! So glad that all is coming together and that there will be different performances on the CD vs. DVD. Always fun to hear different shows. Thanks you in advance for all the hard work you put into these projects!
Beech
AND THANK-YOU for making a stop in Austin this time around!
Beech
Oh I see you are Dec 22. Cool.
! New Tunes I hope ( even New Old Tunes would be welcomed!) Any chance of “Airwaves” , “Urges”, “Urban Tribal”, etc. this time around ? You will be the highlight of the holidays!
cant wait for these products.im in agreement with neeznoodle,thanks for keeping all in the loop with what youre up to.any chance of reuniting matthew seligman,and kevin armstrong for the new material?seem to have put the mockers on the hammers since our last correspondence,sorrythomas!
Wow! Can’t wait for the new album and DVD.. thanks for putting in all the hard work..
I am totally blown away that you are touring with BT..!! I am a big fan of his from back in the early days of dance music.. well early 90′s anyways..
Ahh the fond memories of dancing all through the night..
How did you guys get together exactly? I really love dance music but wasn’t sure what your take on it was as although I saw you as an electronic musician, you always seemed a bit more ‘musical’ to me and less bangin’ four-on-the-floor
I’d would LOVE to hear a joint work of your’s and BT’s .. here’s hoping.. best of luck getting the CD and DVD out the door..
Hi Thomas,
I’m a composer with the BBC in London. Currently exploring new sound developments and trying to kick start the Tate Institute of Contemporary Sound and Music (TICSM) at the Tate Modern in London.
I love how you work with technology. Have you any forthcoming concerts in London?…I am currently co-curating the Optronica festival here…visual & electronic music spectacular at the Imax theatre.
Hope all is well. How come Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw and yourself all have a studio called ‘The Shed’?
All the best
David Pickvance
Fantastic!!! It will be very nice to have an audio soundtrack from another show, which will be slightly different from the DVD. Hope to see you in Philadelphia! Only a few short weeks away from the DVD and CD’s release!
Thanks so much for scheduling Austin, TX. We’ll see you there!
I can’t tell you how excited I am about the DVD / CD. I’ve been a huge fan ever since I saw a ITV program “Off the Record” many years back in the UK. I wrote to them and begged them to re-show it but to no avail!
Thanks so much for putting in all this effort for us, there’s no doubt reading the comments that we’re all sitting here in eager anticipation. Once it’s done you can put your feet up in the knowledge that you’ve made a lot of people very happy
i am very excited that you are goig to release a dvd/cd.
i have been a fan now since i seen you at the o2 wireless festival in hyde park.
how will i be able to get hold of the dvd/cd in the uk ?
or can i do it on line ?
Great news and once again I’d like to echo everyone else who has thanked you for keeping your fans so well informed about your projects.
Do you know from what date the products will be available to pre-order and will this date be simultaneous? I had assumed we’d be able to order on your store here before CD Baby, but maybe that’s not the case?
As a side note I thought I’d let you know that as a result of a little project my wife and I are expecting to go-live in the new year I’m having to vacate my modest studio space to make way for a nursery. Shed life here I come!! Not quite sure how my Berkshire back garden shack will compare to Dolby’s shed, but I’ll let you know if the G5 survives the icey conditions come winter.
Andrew
As a footnote I should say that the Berklee performance was a live 3-camera shoot and stereo mix with no overdubs. It’s a complete and honest reproduction of a live show, flaws and all. The Martyrs gig I was able to post-produce, do a better audio mix and fix a couple of howlers.
Casey: so glad I won some new fans at O2 Wireless Festival! And yes, CDBaby takes credit card orders and delivers all over the world.
David P: your iMax event sounds cool. Please send your info to my publicist (link elsewhere on this site) and he will forward it to me.
David O: you’re right, the Hammers are in an awful slump. But I predict their revival will coincide with Dean Ashton’s return from injury. And that Argentinian terrier Tevez will soon come into his own and start to terrorize Premiership defences.
just as long as it isnt evertons mr dolby!!!
Thats Great News!!!
can’t wait.
Co-Headlining. Switching opening slot? or how will that work??
I will be in Dallas bringing another Not yet seen Dolby person to convert! ( I’ve brought over a dozen people to these shows, and All have been blown away! Buying CDs),… its awesome!
BT? I was thinking that the only thing I knew about BT was that former Lloyd Cole and the Commotions keyboardist Blair Cowan works for him. Then I went back and re-read the article I was thinking of. It seems that the “BT” that Blair Cowan works for is “British Telecom”! … never mind.
Thomas, not to sound like an obessessed fan, (ok, maybe I am, ;-p ), but will the autographed DVDs and CDs be made available to blog and forum members first, or is it a first-come, first-served basis through CDbaby?
(He asks hoping for the former.)
i can’t wait for the music!
one question: do either of the performances include the full version of “the flat earth”?
(either way i’m happy; i love the instrumental version, and was lucky enough to see the full version at the Canal Room.)
Ya know, funkydolby, I do believe that Thomas has answered
}I think he said that the first, uh, 30 or so (?) are meant for family and friends, and after that I think it will be first-come first-served at CDBaby, who have kindly agreed to make sure that the first-served get the lower numbers.
your question before [a few people have wondered the same
thing, me included], so as I basically remember his answer {I think}, please allow me to reiterate it. {Sorry, I’m in a very wordy mood today!
I don’t think that CDBaby can give out CDs according to what your Forum registry number is or anything. That’s okay by me–I’ll just be happy to have the CD and DVD in my warm little hands, whatever number I end up with.
And I’ll finallly have something that Thomas has autographed! 
We all will. It’ll be
No, it was not
special. We’ll serve scones and tea, and wear little party hats,
and…boy, what was in that grape juice??!?
fermented. Hee hee!
That answer yer questhtion??!?
Yup, got more than you
bargained fer, didn’cha? Welcome to the wild world of Kara.
Peace and general silliness,
Kara!
I had a vague idea of who BT was, Thomas–I’ve had a remix of his of Tori Amos’ “Blue Skies” skulking around on a Zip disk for a year or so, and I have no idea where it came from, but it is one of the BEST mixes I have EVER heard! Fantastic! It’s about eight
minutes long. I love a mix I can drown in, ya know? You and he
are going to be so GREAT as co-headliners, I just know it!
It’s a real coup for BOTH of you. Awesome.
I think I tried Googling “BT” once, and being as I had nothing
but initials to work with, I didn’t get very far.
And we fans collectively appreciate how hard you’ve been working on the Sole Inhabitant DVD and CD. Go have a nice
Thank you for your dedication. And thanks to your family
We all know
nap.
also for not minding the local musical zombie.
that it’s SO worth it!
Peace and musical perfection, achievable through hard work,
Kara!
Hi Kara.. I guess the real question then is when CD-Baby will start accepting preorders? I was at the Martyrs show which was fantastic. Looking forward to this one!!!!!!!
Thanks for the smiles Kara.
;-p
I do recall a previous discussion, just not sure a final process was ever decided, although your memory of that sounds familiar to me now. I have to believe 1,000 CDs of his CD will go quickly, and collectors tend to buy more than one at a time. I just didn’t want to miss out because a non-fan scoops them all up only to sell back on ebay.
(At one point I thought there was consideration given to forum members for a limited amount of CDs through this blog.)
As such, I try to scan here and the forum every day so I don’t miss out on announcements like the CD release, but it doesn‘t often work out schedule-wise for me. No big deal. The important thing is the music and DVD. If it’s without a sig, I‘ll survive.
Oooh, oooooooooh, the thought of some greedy bu**er reselling
the DVDs or CDs on eBay makes me maaaaaddddddddd. And
that “bleeped” word ain’t “butter”, either. But then the greedy
bu**er in question will soon find his or her head mounted on
TMDR’s shed wall, perhaps. Or in the bathroom, maybe…or buried
in the backyard…or turned into a bowling ball…okay, I’ll stop,
I’m grossing myself out, too. Sorry…
Kara,
You had me giggling out loud with your answer of CD Baby sales. Thanks for the laugh (I needed it today).
As to BT, I don’t know him, but if you google DJ BT you should have more luck. Also, if you have iTunes, you can look up BT and get a taste of his music. Very interesting. They don’t have much on iTunes but what they do have is rated very highly by customers.
Cheers,
Rochelle
Here is a link to BT for those interested….
http://www.bt-network.org/
Looks very interesting.. think it will be a nice match-up.
Woohoo! Looking forward to it!
Here is the link to BT’s homepage: http://www.btmusic.com/
and Wikipedia makes interesting reading too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Transeau
neeznoodle, prepare to giggle some more…
On second thought, TMDR probably wouldn’t hang the bu**ger’s
head on the bathroom wall…wouldn’t wanna scare the fam…
and thanks for the link, Sharp! I think it’s going to be a fan-bloomin-
TASTIC matchup!!!
Peace and comic relief,
Kooky Kara…
I’ve been busy with my 2 year old daughter and work so havent logged on to this site for ages , but I really am a bit shocked at this coincidence !! If you had asked me a year ago who are my favourite recording artists I would have put TD and BT right at the top ! that is the honest truth . I’ve been a fan of TD’s since the begining of the 80′s and have always had at least one of his cd’s in constant rotation .( It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to tire of listening to “THE FLAT EARTH” !)
I have been a fan of BT since the early days of the British progressive house/trance scene in which I was involved as a record producer and musician .He has now moved on from the dance genre and is making serious electronica . He has a talent for production which takes his music into the realms of genius . I know that the word genius is overused but just listen to his latest work “THIS BINERY UNIVERSE “( please!!!) if you need any convincing.
For me Thomas Dolby and Brian Transeau on the same bill is more than a coincidence, it was meant to be ! As completely different as their musical styles may be , they have both EXCELLED at creating brilliance with pioneering and cutting edge technology .
I’ve never felt so pissed off to be living in England !!!!!
DIGS .
Hi Thomas!
I filmed you at the Exotic Erotic Ball in SF. I was the one one up in front of stage right accross from you. We were transmitting the video on the screens for people to see. Incredible crowd wasn’t it? I had a great time filming you. It was a dream come true for me. I practically almost cried. I was so overwhelmed by your presence on stage and been part of your music. I look forward in working on your future projects. Hands down Thomas on your music, I am so happy that you played there, I really look forward to seeing you play again! Please let me know of producing you a music video for you.
Marcelo Acevedo -San Pablo, Ca.
ultravisuals@aol.com
http://www.ufvmedia.com