Thomas Dolby Returns

10/25/06
. (conqueroo ) If you�re wondering what Thomas Dolby has done in the two decades since he cunningly fused pop and electronic music, the answer is in the palm of your hand. Twelve years ago Dolby left music and proceeded to develop the Beatnik software technology used in two-thirds of the world�s cell phones. Unlike many performers who return to the stage, he doesn�t need to do it for the money. Pumped up by new technologies and changing business models in the music industry, and re-invigorated by reaction to his initial tour dates earlier this year, Dolby is writing his first album of new music since the early �90s.

But before we partake of the new, Dolby will take us on a guided tour of the old with a fall U.S. tour (co-billed with fellow electronic pioneer BT) and a live retrospective CD and DVD. Both are titled The Sole Inhabitant and will be issued independently on November 21 on Dolby�s own label and web site, and via CD Baby and iTunes. The album contains live versions of classic songs including �She Blinded Me With Science,� one of the very first MTV-driven hits, and �Hyperactive,� as well as a chance to revisit great songs from the era that weren�t seen on MTV. It�s important, after all, to remember that his pop fame during the �Science� era was the exception, not the rule. �I�ve had people come up to me after the shows and say �oh I really like the new ones�� [but] I�m not playing any new ones!� he says.

�In some ways all that chart success was orthogonal to what I was really trying to do, which was develop the textures and rhythms of electronic music into a palette that a genuine songwriter could build stories upon. I�d like the DVD and CD to re-establish my credentials as an artist before I move into the next chapter. I have new songs ready to start work on as soon as I�ve closed the loop and reconnected with the core fan base,� he says.

�An Evening With BT and Thomas Dolby� is a special North American concert series this November and December. BT will perform music from his newest release, This Binary Universe, a groundbreaking two-disc CD /DVD that fuses seven unique tracks composed in 5.1-channel surround sound with stunning animations by some of today's finest computer artists and animators in a set that will include two other notable musicians, Ben Grossman and Scott Pagano. BT recently performed this show at the Hollywood Bowl. Conversely, Dolby will perform an intriguing blend of today's state of the art computer music with vintage 1940s oscilloscopes and ex-Royal Navy field test equipment. The pair plan to jam together for encore numbers.

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