Nervous Doll Dancing...deep electrifying cello, chiming clocks, music boxes, ghostly singing. Moody, sweet, dark,emotional,beautiful. Imagine the dark and mysterious beauty of porcelain dolls, distant memories attached to chiming grandfather clocks, the nostalgic magical delight of opening your treasure box that plays a sweet melody while the ballerina goes round and round and you wonder if she’s getting dizzy yet?
Nervous Doll Dancing is a solo act by Francesca Mountfort. Layers of cello sounds that create dense textures with soaring melodies and sound effects, all created from the cello accompanied by clocks, music boxes and voice.
Bio of Francesca Mountfort
Cellist, performing artist and composer Francesca Mountfort is originally from Wellington, NZ. She has toured Eastern Europe, Australia and NZ with a variety of acts ranging from cabaret punk, to carnival gypsy, to improvised dance and music.
In 2006 Francesca toured Europe and the U.K with dancer / choreographer Roz Warby, and has been working and touring with various string ensembles since 2000, including Stroll, who performed at the 2006 Port Ferry Festival, and Carousel, who recently toured New Zealand and performed at the Apollo Bay Music Festival.
In 2003 Francesca won the Wellington Fringe Award for music with a show that incorporated shadow puppetry and film to Francesca’s original music. In 2004 she released her debut solo album titled “Nervous Doll Dancing”. Recent performances include the 2007 Electrunda Fest, 2006 Melbourne Fringe festival with visual artist Guy Harris, the 2006 Apollo Bay Music Festival and Musica @ La Mama.
A recent project is "The Rise and Demise" , who have played support for Christan Hurst (USA), Fijon Regan and My Latest Novel, (Irland), and The Brunettes and Dimmer from (NZ). The Rise and Demise are currantly working on recording their debut album. myspace.com/theriseanddemise
Francesca graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 2002. She studied cello with Rolf Gjelsten from the New Zealand String Quartet and with David Chickering, principle cellist of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Reviews:
Review from The Package, Wellington:
Wellington is gaining attention far and wide for the creative infusions that hatch from the local music nest. Taking light to fresh poles is resident alt-cello performer Francesca Mountfort with her debut CD release. This recording is uniquely neo-classical; there is no contradiction here, as this creation is a delight of post-modern paradox. It is a true and tasteful meld of centuries-old bowman ship and well-metered digital aggregations.
"Caterpillar" and "white" open the disk with a soaring weave work of emotive mellow-drama. Multiple cello intonations freely roll over each other into pleasing stratas. By the time you get to the third track, "Dreaming", you'll feel entranced and ensconced by some sort of looming seriousness. It's only when the whimsical childlike vocal interlude skips in, like a pixie playing in a sandpit, that you sense something kooky waiting to give you a poke. Clocks and musical dolly boxes chime in, their evocative sounds syncopated into a strange and natural accompaniment. All the while you are will informed of the versatility of the cello itself, with no shortage of technique on offer. "Chairwaterair" seems the most conventional tune, with the inclusion of violin, but that still has enough evocative power to create some sort of craving for a hungarian homestay.
A seminal work made with great craft and care. Its artistry is worth your time and money.
Sick Borg, The Package.
Review from The Broken Face, Sweden
New Zealander Francesca Mountfort is a new name to me but her self-released Nervous Doll Dancing includes none of the usual newcomer mistakes so I am guessing she’s been around for a while after all. Mountfort is a cellist with equal interest in classical composition, avant-garde and folk music and this is very much visible all through this disc’s nine tracks. The electrified cello is always the main feature but there is also ample use of bells, music boxes and the occasional vocal addition. Mountfort uses the full range of the cello which results in a sound that sometimes is comforting and lulling, at others emotional and heartfelt and if we turn around the corner words like nervous and claustrophobic are more likely to come to mind. That’s quite an achievement, and along the way she manages to create some of the most beautiful cello playing I’ve heard in some time.
Hi Francesca, Great to run into you the other night! We're launching our new album at Northcote Social Club on Thursday night... it'll be our last Melbourne gig for a very long time too 'cause we're heading back to Europe in a few weeks. It's an early show too - we're on at 10:00pm in case weeknights make people scared of being up late ;-)
Hey doll face... How are you? Miss you. Coming to NZ anytime soon? I'm still in Welly, recording album at mo... ;) Give my love to Pauline and Peter, my parents found their wedding song CD the other day - tee hee! xx
hey ya stranger we're coming to Oz in september, we're doing some shows in Melbourne around sept 12/13. But we're also ther for the week[working as weell] maybe we may meet?? would be sweet!. XX kieran
Hello Darlings, The Wishing Well are performing an all out folkfest at
the Northcote Social Club (Our last Melbourne show for 2008), Saturday
August 2nd. With supports from Jacks Castle and Kinematic. Doors open
8:30pm. You can buy tickets from us (cheaper) for $10 through emailing
us at:
thewishingwellband@gmail.com or online via the Northcote Social
Club's www. northcotesocialclub. com or at the door for $12.
Please join us for our opening for KUMU – and exhibition exploring the inner child, on Friday 1 August, 6pm til late.
Old Fire Station Café, 378 High Street, Preston (near Preston train station)
Art by 37 artists, drawing, spontaneous puppet theatre and jam, music, dance, spoken word, circus performers, cheep bar…..inner child blissful chaos! Love Jeshika
hey thanks 4 the add check out our new video and also you can subscribe to our youtube channel if you like http://www. youtube. com/Spynation10 have a nice day spy nation waiting download online spread the word
Wonderful to have you perform last Sunday. We have your cd's here safe and sound too! Em xo FINAL ELECTUNDRA AUDIO/VISUAL FESTIVAL THIS SUNDAY AT LOOP 23 MEYERS PLACE CBD www.looponline,com.au
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