Friday, March 26, 2010

'Woodbox Beats & Balladry' is CD of Haitian-American Violinist/Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)


[Woodbox Beats & Balladry; Daniel Bernard Roumain; Thirsty Ear Recordings (2010)]

Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) 'Woodbox Beats & Balladry' Available March 30th on Thirsty Ear Recordings

“…about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets.” – New York Times

“He takes his classical roots, stands them on their ends, and injects hip-hop, electronics, scratching, hard rock and more personality than you could ever imagine.” - Iowa Gazette

Check out the making of Woodbox Beats & Balladry video trailer (5:04) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0EQDVMiXXk

As an example of how contemporary classical structure collides with experimental electronic dance music, DBR’s Sonata for Violin and Turntables is a musical exploration between classical, concert music in the violin and hip-hop, commercial music in the turntables. “It’s an attempt to honor not only the first and second Viennese schools of Europe, but to pay tribute to the Bronx and the waves of inventions that that music sent to us,” explains DBR. Since DBR and Vytal have been touring Sonata for Violin and Turntables, the project has received critical praise. The Boston Globe said, “Both performers brought a combination of unabashed earnestness and quicksilver musical wit.” The Washington Post raved, “The music was involving, tonal and eminently accessible, steeped in the wash-rinse-repeat cycle of minimalism but sexed up considerably with hip-hop rhythms, jazz riffs and imaginative collaboration.”

While continuing to tour worldwide, DBR currently serves as Visiting Associate Professor of Composition at his alma mater, Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. He completed his Masters and Doctoral work at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom.





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