"For over 30 years The Residents have been a world unto themselves: madcap jesters, video innovators, rock’s very own devil’s advocates” – The Mirror UK THE RESIDENTS’ announce the release of a brand new album, "The Voice Of Midnight," out on November 20th and the follow up to 2006’s "Tweedles."
With a long history of story-based music projects, The Residents have now taken a bold step, crossing a line into the world of music theatre for the first time. "The Voice Of Midnight" was adapted from a short story, "Der Sandmann,"by Prussian writer E.T.A. Hoffman, first published 190 years ago.
On the surface it’s a simple story of madness. However, the tale is often recognized by scholars as addressing the conflict between the age of reason and the romantic era. The story has been adapted in parts, by Jacques Offenbach for his opera "The Tales of Hoffman," by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for "’The Nutcracker Suite," and for the ballet "Coppelia." Freud also extensively interpreted "Der Sandmann" in his famous essay "Das Unheimilch" in 1919. (Freud was also fascinated by Hoffman’s obsession with eyeballs… sound familiar?)
The protagonist of the story is Nathaniel (Nate) who carries a deeply-seated fear that the childhood fable character, the sandman, is
stalking him. The character of Nate is superbly performed on The Voice Of Midnight by Corey Rosen who first worked with The Residents on "River of Crime" in 2006. Nate’s fiancée, Clair, a steadfast realist, is performed by Gerri Lawler who also worked on "River of Crime" as well as 2006’s Tweedles. Longtime Residents collaborator Carla Fabrizio performs the role of the other "woman”, Olympia.
The Residents embody the other characters and perform the music, assisted by soloist Nolan Cook, whose guitar work for the Residents over the last eight years is legendary.
Musical pioneers, technological innovators and an influence to countless musicians and artists, for several decades The Residents have puzzled, intrigued and entertained generations of fans. To this day, they have never granted an interview and the personal lives and faces behind the masks have remained a mystery.
Anonymity is the one constant throughout the years, (the band were recently selected by The Onion AV Club as one of the Top 12 Living Recluses). Anonymity and their legendary innovation – musically, theoretically and technologically. Recognized by the Museum Of Modern Art for their films that accompanied the 1980 release of the "Commercial Album" and for the groundbreaking live show that accompanied the original release of "The Mole Trilogy," the band are also renowned for their technological innovations. Award winning CD-ROMs supported the release of several titles in the 90s and the band’s website, [http://www.residents.com]
http://www.residents.com now features kyte TV, updated every day.
Also available on Mute from The Residents are the definitive editions of some of their classic albums "Freak Show," "The Commercial Album" (25th anniversary special edition), "Third Reich ‘N’ Roll" and "The Mole Trilogy" plus 2005’s "Animal Lover" and 2006’s "Tweedles," all available in deluxe limited edition hardback packages.
