Stephen M. Duffy - vocals, guitars, keys l
Marco Fortier - Rhythm/lead Guitar, Vocals l
Dave George - Rhythm/lead Guitar, Vocals l
El Isis - Drums l
James Whiton - Bass l
70's Bowie l Scott Walker l Gabriel Faure l Eric Satie l Bjork l Kraftwerk l Glen Cambell l Brian Wilson l Sigur Ros l Marc Bolan l Portishead l talk talk l Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man l Zero 7 l 1 Giant Leap l Henryk Goreski l Arvo Part l Brian Eno l Wire l Howard Devoto & Magazine l The Buzzcocks l David Sylvian l Isley Brothers l Stevie Wonder l D'Angelo l Elliot Smith l Sinead O'connor- lay down your arms l Leonard Cohen l Brian Wilson l Massive Attack l Anour Brahem l Royksopp l The Normal l Goldfrapp l Andres Segovia l The Moody Blues l Baby Bird l Carl Cox l The Beatles l Miles l Bill Evans l Chavela Vargas l Hectro Berlioz l The Gotan Project l Jason Falkner l John Coltrane and Johhny Hartman l Jose Cura l Lee Scratch Perry l Richard Hawley l Faithless l Imogen heap l The Lovemakers l Handsome Poets l
A Kind of Homecoming
author: Shiffi Le Soy
A select few have been aware of Stephen Duffy's presence in San Francisco music circles since the early 90s, notably with modern rock geniuses Handsome Poets. His latest project, That Man Fantastic, a meditation on maturity, contentment, isolation and faded dreams, continues his tradition of crafting moody evocative pop influenced by – among others - Beth Gibbons, Brian Eno, David Bowie, U2, Nick Drake, and Rinse Dream. Well, if you're going to have influences you couldn't do much better than that, and on their new album 'Pop Music for Art Films', That Man Fantastic more than live up to them. 'Second Skin', a standout track, is distinguished by Duffy's yearning vocals and trademark circular acoustic guitar patterns. Many of the songs are haunted by liberal applications of reverb and a shimmering moodiness courtesy of Brother Jack Elder's guitar work, notably on 'She who is always in my Thoughts' a touching tribute to a constant companion. In fact there are lovely guitar touches all over this beautifully produced album; check the spooky musings of 'Electricity'. Instrumentally there is much else to admire, including stirring melodic bass courtesy of David Brooks, and some lovely piano work, for instance on 'Layer upon Layer', Stephen, have you been taking lessons on "the old joanna"? Nice one. There are many surprises on this album. Listening to 'The Prayer' TMF even seem to have created a new genre – ambient alt country-rock! And if that sounds weird, wait till you hear it…I have feeling you'll be impressed. Fans will enjoy spotting influences here, but then there are some songs, like 'Or all 6' and 'Whenever I See the Sun" (quite often in California, I'd have thought!), which are pure Stephen Duffy. I can't explain what that means, you'll have to listen for yourself. After listening to 'Pop Music for Art Films' I was rather pretentiously reminded of T.S. Eliot's poem 'Little Gidding', where Eliot writes: 'We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time' It really feels like Duffy and his cohorts have effected a kind of homecoming on this record. The cover photo shows band members relaxing on a couch in the middle of the sidewalk, a comfortable if somewhat unusual location which sums up the feeling of much of this album – cozy and welcoming, yet spacious and occasionally edgy. Celebrating the mystery of creation and a love reborn, 'Pop Music for Art Films' is Stephen Duffy's finest hour…so far.
CDBABY LINK for THAT MAN FANTASTIC: POP SONGS FOR ART FILMS -->
Tom Ammaniano (state assemblyman from San Francisco) just introduced a
bill into the state assembly to tax and regulate marijuana as we do
alcohol -- i.e., it would be legalized, taxed, and regulated. Like
alcohol, sales would be limited to folks over 21, penalties would be in
place for dui, sale to minors, etc. in other words, it sounds like the
right approach. The bill's official number is AB390, and more info will probably be available soon at www. norml. org and www. mpp. org.
If you have a minute, call and/or email your state assembly person and
Senator to encourage them to support the bill. You can look up their
contact info online based on your zip code:
http://www. legislature. ca. gov/port-zipsearch. html.
Feel free to pass this along. The bill is fighting an uphill battle
against a vast legacy of misguided and uninformed policy, and it will
only have a chance of passing if people speak up in favor.
This bill will provide California with one billion dollars of revenue each year (each ounce is taxed $50)
Hi that man fantastic! SoundSafe loves you! Please make a local music profile page for yourself on soundsafe. org SoundSafe is a 501c3 non-profit working to preserve, strengthen, promote, and unite the Bay Area music community.
Upload songs to our radio station, promote your shows, network, and take advantage of our educational resources for the music business.
Thanks for the kind words. it was fantastic play with you. let's do it again. we're definitely up for more shows in the very near future. keep in touch, AG..
..Hey That Man Fantastic! If you happen to be in Los Angeles this December...
..The Nutcracker Electronique Goes LIVE in LA This Christmas!..
For the first time ever, The Santa Monica Contemporary Ballet and EarthWalk Dance Company will be presenting The Nutcracker Electronique live in Los Angeles December 18-21, 2008! ..
.."Sexy! Stunning!"..
..I've created three brand new tracks for the performance. One of them, Pas de Deux, is up on MySpace right now!..
More Psychotic Fun at your fingertips from your friend at the fringe!
The fully animated WASP FLIGHT Video is Finally Out and a complete blast!! (produced by SongFire Studios)
Poor little Wendy Wasp gets chased down by a pair of horndogs lookin' for love: Yellow Chopper Wasp and Jet Green Wasp. Little do they know, someone else wants all three of them for dinner. Who's coming out on top?
..
..
Drop by and Shout Out! You know how lonely I get. Hehehehehe ;)~
Brète
PS: I love to share, so, if you like the vid, I've enabled embedding. Just click Menu on the vid player and copy the embed code to your profile.
Hello ..... again ... i am right now at the other side of the earth .... an other place .... i put on my page, just before to go far away, the song that we recorded together ... The name of this song .... "With Stephen" ... Easy ....
YOakland - Woot. Friday, February 8th, 9:00 PM. Blake's on Telegraph - 2367 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704. The Federalists CD Release party. Young Has Beens support! The Audiophiles open! This one's going to sell out... Click below to grab your tickets now! I ate a piece of my pillow! Dingiddy dangiddy dong!
Wow, Steve--sounds like a rough one, what happened? Glad you got through it.
Still think about you guys from time to time--looking forward to hearing a recording of (don't know the name of the song--but it goes "money makes the world go doot-do-doo-doot.."
We released a new CD this year, a few tunes are up on the myspace and the website if you're interested.
