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Sample Track 1:
"In Good Faith" from The New Heroes
Sample Track 2:
"A Common Song" from The New Heroes
Buy Recording:
The New Heroes
Layer 2
CD Review

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DC North, CD Review >>

Inspired by a four-part PBS documentary with the same name that was hosted by Robert Redford and aired on Jun 28 and July 5 of this year, the album differs from the documentary's soundtrack with a separate tempo and evocative messages. For example, when you hear the sarod on “India Suite,” it references the urgent despair of the world with a tinge of helplessness. The kalimba, rooster calls, and classroom recordings on “A Common Song-Children's Town” put you in mind of the plight of children, without needing to know the story line. Mr. Hedge's approach to creating the soundtrack to The New Heroes-and any music that he crafts-is a challenge to capture on paper. He asked the directors to keep their ears and mics open for audio snapshots that represented the experiences and moments they were capturing on video. “People call them samples,” according to Mr. Hedge. “People started discovering audio sampling and thought it was convenient and cool sounding. But that does not have much to do with what the sounds actually are, where they come from, what they mean. Like the boy calling his name on “The Voices.” The sound of the boy yelling is the sound of a human being claiming his independence for the first time after a life of bondage. That is one hundred percent real, whether you know that story or not.” The rim of a car wheel hangs from a tree in Children's Town in Zambia where it is rung like a school bell every day. Something pops in a fire during a ceremony of the original firewalkers on Bega Island. These are some of the sounds on The New Heroes. For the project, Mr. Hedge brought in musicians like flutist Paul Horn who has traveled the world and recorded in such locations as the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids of Egypt; Titos Sompa, a percussionist and kalimba (thumb piano) player from the Congo (Brazzaville); violinist Julian Smedley, Mr. Hedge's musical collaborator for many years; Alam Khan, sarod player and son of Ali Akbar Khan; and tabla-player Debopriyo Sarkar, from Kolkata who has been performing classical Indian music around the world. 07/13/05 >> go there
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