- Owen Pallett
-
Owen Pallett 
Pallett playing live in Brussels, 2010-03-23.Background information Birth name Michael James Owen Pallett Born September 7, 1979
Toronto, Ontario
CanadaGenres Indie pop
Baroque pop
Experimental musicOccupations Musician, Composer, Arranger Instruments Violin, Viola, Vocals, Piano, Harpsichord, Synthesizer, Guitar, Bass Labels Blocks Recording Club
Tomlab
Domino RecordsAssociated acts Final Fantasy
Picastro
Arcade Fire
Les Mouches
Beirut
The Last Shadow Puppets
Enter the Haggis
The Hidden Cameras
The Mountain GoatsWebsite owenpalletteternal.com Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist from Toronto, Ontario. He won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds.
Pallett is best known as a solo artist, formerly under the name Final Fantasy. Leon Taheny is also credited as drummer and engineer. Following the release of Heartland, Pallett has toured with guitarist/percussionist Thomas Gill[1] and more recently with his former collaborators in Les Mouches, Rob Gordon and Matt Smith.[2][3]
Pallett has been noted for his live performances, wherein he plays the violin into a loop pedal, a technique also used by musicians such as Andrew Bird, Jeremy Larson, Emily Wells and Zoë Keating. Pallett uses Max/MSP and SooperLooper to do multi-phonic looping, which sends his violin signal to amplifiers across the stage.[4]
Contents
Life and career
Pallett's father is an avid church organist who provided Owen with a background in classical music until his early preteens. From the age of a toddler, Owen studied classical violin and composed his first piece at age 13. A notable early composition includes some of the music for the game Traffic Department 2192; he moved on to scoring films, to composing two operas while in university. Apart from the indie music scene, he has had commissions from Bang on a Can, the Vancouver CBC Orchestra, and Fine Young Classicals.
He believes his work is implicitly influenced by his sexuality, saying, "As far as whether the music I make is gay or queer, yeah, it comes from the fact that I'm gay, but that doesn't mean I'm making music about it."[5]
Pallett received an Honours Bachelor of Music for Composition from the University of Toronto in 2002.[6]
Patrick Borjal, Pallett's boyfriend, began working as his manager in 2006, and formed the management company Boyfriend Management.[7]
Final Fantasy
The name Final Fantasy, under which Pallett recorded prior to the release of Heartland, was a tribute to the well-known video game series, although he admits to not having the patience to play the games.[8]
Final Fantasy performing in 2005.
Pallett's debut album, Has a Good Home, was released on February 12, 2005, by the Blocks Recording Club, a cooperative, Toronto-based record label of which he is a founding member. "An Arrow in the Side of Final Fantasy" borrows the music from the Space Zone's final level in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. "Adventure.exe" from this album was used in a series of 2006 commercials by Orange in the United Kingdom.[9] Pallett did not intend to sell the song for this purpose, but its use was authorized due to an alleged miscommunication with his record label, Tomlab. All of Pallett's income from this use is donated to Doctors Without Borders.
Pallett's second album, He Poos Clouds, was released in June 2006, though the video,[10] directed by Jesse Ewles, was released on March 1, 2006. The album consists entirely of string quartet arrangements. Eight of the ten songs are about each of the schools of magic as described in the rules to the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The album was named winner of the 2006 Polaris Music Prize. Uncomfortable with receiving a prize sponsored by a mobile phone conglomerate, Pallett gave the money away to bands he liked who needed financial assistance.
On November 11, 2006, Pallett posted to a fan forum to announce a new album, tentatively titled Heartland. Subsequently on July 9, 2007 on the CBC Radio One program Q, Pallett said that the album would be released no earlier than mid 2008. In the same interview he confirmed that it would be titled Heartland, and that it was an album about nothingness.
In 2007, the song "This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine" was used in a commercial for Wiener Stadtwerke without Pallett's permission. Instead of litigation, Pallett and his booking agent Susanne Herrndorf approached the company for sponsorship for a music festival of their curation. The resultant Maximum Black Festival featured Final Fantasy, The Dirty Projectors, Deerhoof, Frog Eyes, Max Tundra, Six Organs Of Admittance and others. It played Vienna, Berlin and London. In September 2007 they did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon.
In October 2007 Final Fantasy released a vinyl 7" on Tomlab's Alphabet Single series ( The Letter "X" ). The two tracks on "X", recorded in Montreal with Zach Condon, of the band Beirut; predate the album He Poos Clouds. The tracks – "Hey Dad" and "What Do You Think Will Happen Next?" are both played regularly at live shows. The song "Hey Dad" contains a melody borrowed from the Nintendo video game "Super Mario Bros. 3"; specifically it is the music from the "Coin Heaven" bonus/hidden stages. Also, the song is quite similar in melody, lyrics and tone to another of Pallett's songs – "→".
In March 2008, Owen Pallett under the alias Final Fantasy, collaborated with Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste on a cover of Björk's "Possibly Maybe" as part of Stereogum's tribute to Björk's album, Post.[11]
In Fall 2008, Pallett released two EPs. The first one, Spectrum, 14th Century, was a collaboration with Beirut. The second EP, Plays To Please, found Pallett paying homage to fellow Torontonian Alex Lukashevsky, his group Deep Dark United, and his unique personality. On it, six Lukashevsky originals were reconfigured for a 35-piece big band, the Toronto-based St. Kitts Orchestra (which includes Drumheller's Nick Fraser, Paul Mathew of the Hidden Cameras, and a whistling Andrew Bird, among others).[12]
On December 18, 2009, Pallett announced "I am voluntarily retiring my band name" and that Heartland "will be issued under my own name, Owen Pallett" to "definitively distinguish my music from Square Enix's games".[13] The album was released on Domino Records on January 12, 2010. It was mixed by New York producer Rusty Santos.[14] Also he played Primavera Sound Festival 2010.[15] In August 2010, Pallett announced the release of a four track EP entitled A Swedish Love Story on September 28 via Domino.[16]
Other contributions
Owen Pallett, 2009-07-29Pallett's previous projects included a 3-piece Toronto-based band, Les Mouches, now defunct. He also played fiddle for a short time with the celtic rock band Enter the Haggis. He was once the violinist of another Toronto band called Picastro, and briefly played keyboard in SS Cardiacs (with Leon Taheny, Jessie Stein and Michael Small in 2005). Pallett has also recorded and toured with Jim Guthrie, The Hidden Cameras, Royal City, The Vinyl Cafe, Gentleman Reg, and Arcade Fire (he co-wrote the strings arrangement for their albums Funeral and Neon Bible).[17] One of his songs, "This Is the Dream of Win & Regine", was inspired by the principal members of the latter group, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne,[17] and is a play on a Dntel song called, "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan."
Pallett contributed remixes for the bands Stars, Grizzly Bear and Death from Above 1979. He also wrote string arrangements for the Canadian bands Immaculate Machine, on their 2007 album, Fables, and Fucked Up, on their 2006 album Hidden World. He also wrote the string arrangements for the Beirut album The Flying Club Cup, as well as provided vocals for the track "Cliquot".[18] Most recently, he provided orchestration for the side project of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and former Rascals frontman Miles Kane, as The Last Shadow Puppets, entitled The Age of the Understatement. Pallett also conducted the London Metropolitan Orchestra in the recording of this project.
In June 2009 at Luminato, Toronto's annual festival of arts and creativity, Pallett provided part of the live soundtrack for the outdoor screening (at Yonge-Dundas Square) of the 1919 silent German horror film Tales of the Uncanny (Unheimliche Geschichten), alongside Canadian instrumental band Do Make Say Think and electronica music artist Robert Lippok from Berlin, Germany.
On October 17, Pallett posted on his Twitter page that he had just completed "10 days on the best album I've ever had the pleasure of working on".[19] This was ten days after a previous comment suggesting he was in the studio with Arcade Fire,[20] who were working on their 2010 album The Suburbs at the time.
In 2009, Pallett worked with Win Butler and Régine Chassagne on the score for Richard Kelly's film The Box.[21] Pallett was also initially set to score Rabbit Hole, a film by John Cameron Mitchell,[22] but in the end the film was scored by Anton Sanko. Pallett also played along on several songs from the second album of The Luyas.[23]
Discography
With Les Mouches
- The Polite Album (CD-R) - 2002
- Blood Orgy!!! (EP) - 2003
- You're Worth More to Me Than 1000 Christians – 2004
Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy)
Studio albums
- Has a Good Home (as Final Fantasy) – February 12, 2005
- He Poos Clouds (as Final Fantasy) – May 15, 2006
- Heartland – January 11, 2010
EPs
- Young Canadian Mothers – March 10, 2006
- Spectrum, 14th Century – September 30, 2008
- Plays to Please – October, 2008
- A Swedish Love Story – September 28, 2010
- Export [Demo EP] (digital EP) – December 18, 2010
Singles
- Many Lives → 49 MP – May 29, 2006
- Alphabet Series: X – October 2007
- Lewis' Dream (Flora Advert) – February 25, 2008
- Lewis Takes Action – January, 2010
- Lewis Takes Off His Shirt – March 29, 2010
Various songs
- "Joys" – appears on Worried Noodles (2007), a compilation of David Shrigley's lyrics set to music.
- "Flare Gun" – appears on #8: SPAM (2007), a compilation released by Esopus.
- "Possibly Maybe" – duet with Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear. Appears on the Stereogum compilation Enjoyed (2008), a tribute to Björk's Post.
- "The Donor" – appears on Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill (2009).
- "Red Sun (demo version)" – appears on Friends in Bellwoods II (2009).
- "Hard to Explain" - appears on the Stereogum compilation Stroked (2011) a tribute to The Strokes debut album Is This It.
Other contributions
Year Artist Album Description 2002 Jim Guthrie Morning Noon Night 2003 Jim Guthrie Now, More Than Ever violins, viola, string arrangements The Hidden Cameras The Smell of Our Own violin, viola 2004 The Hidden Cameras The Arms of His 'Ill' viola on "Builds the Bone" The Hidden Cameras Mississauga Goddam violin, piano, celeste Arcade Fire Funeral violin, string arrangements Gentleman Reg Darby & Joan string arrangements Dan Goldman Through a Revolution Royal City Little Heart's Ease Death from Above 1979 Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides violin on "Black History Month" 2005 Picastro Metal Cares viola Grizzly Bear Horn of Plenty (The Remixes) "Don't Ask" – Remix 2006 Grizzly Bear Yellow House string arrangements Fucked Up Hidden World string arrangements 2007 Arcade Fire Neon Bible orchestral arrangements, violin C'mon Bottled Lightning (of an All Time High) string arrangements Great Lake Swimmers Ongiara string arrangements Beirut The Flying Club Cup violin, organ, backup vocals, string arrangements Immaculate Machine Immaculate Machine's Fables violin Montag Going Places vocals on "Softness, I Forgot Your Name" Picastro Whore Luck piano on "Hortur", violin and organ on "All Erase" Holy Fuck LP violin on "Lovely Allen"[24] Stars Do You Trust Your Friends? "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" – Remix The Phonemes There's Something We've Been Meaning to Tell You back-up singing on "Pain Perdu", violin and piano on "Kim Rogers", guitar on "Pine Needles" 2008 Luxury Pond Luxury Pond string quartet arrangements The Last Shadow Puppets The Age of the Understatement arranged and conducted orchestrations 2009 The Rumble Strips Welcome to the Walk Alone violin, string arrangements Pet Shop Boys Yes orchestra arrangement The Mountain Goats The Life of the World to Come violin, string arrangements Mika The Boy Who Knew Too Much violin, string arrangements 2010 Arcade Fire The Suburbs String arrangements Gigi Maintenant vocals on "I'll Quit" Diamond Rings "Something Else" single piano, string arrangements on "Gentleman Who Fell"[25] Duran Duran All You Need Is Now string arrangements, conductor on "The Man Who Stole a Leopard" 2011 The Luyas Too Beautiful to Work strings and string arrangements Alex Turner Submarine soundtrack string arrangements on "Piledriver Waltz" The National "Exile Vilify" single strings Jim Guthrie Sword & Sworcery LP: The Ballad of the Space Babies violin on "The Cloud" R.E.M. Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011 orchestral arrangements on "We All Go Back to Where We Belong" and "Hallelujah" References
- ^ Ben Rayner (January 10, 2010). "Owen Pallett says farewell to Final Fantasy". thestar.com (Toronto). http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/cdreview/article/748614--owen-pallett-says-farewell-to-final-fantasy. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ^ "A Call To Arms". Chromewaves.net. April 13, 2011. http://www.chromewaves.net/2011/04/beirut-finally-fulfils-fantasies-schedules-show-with-owen-pallett/. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ "Twitter / Owen Pallett". Twitter. April 5, 2011. http://twitter.com/owenpallett/status/55287309372895233. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ Vdovin, Marsha (December 1, 2010). "An Interview with Owen Pallett". http://cycling74.com/2010/12/01/an-interview-with-owen-pallett/. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
- ^ Liss, Sarah (June 23, 2005). "Final Fantasy". Now. http://www.nowtoronto.com/art/story.cfm?content=147978&archive=24,43,2005. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "Experiments with Violin". University of Toronto Magazine. Summer 2006. http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/06summer/alumninotes.asp. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ "Toronto musician embarks on cross-country tour". Capital Xtra!. June 29, 2007. http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=2&STORY_ID=3247&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
- ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10301-profile-final-fantasy
- ^ YouTube – Orange Animals Big Idea 30 second – panther
- ^ "He Poos Clouds Video". http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=1549158669315142277&q=he+poos+clouds. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ "Enjoyed: A Tribute To Bjork's Post". http://stereogum.com/bjork/. Retrieved July 2, 2008.
- ^ brandon (August 26, 2008). "New Final Fantasy – "The Butcher" & "Ultimatum" (Stereogum Premiere)". Stereogum. http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-final-fantasy-ultimatum-the-butcher_017131.html. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
- ^ http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/18-12-09/final-fantasy-name-change-to-owen-pallett/
- ^ "Heartland". Domino. http://www.dominorecordco.com/uk/albums/30-11-09/heartland/. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
- ^ http://www.archive.org/details/OlasKoolKitchenOnRadio23OwenPalletLivePrimavera2010&reCache=1
- ^ http://exclaim.ca/articles/generalarticlesynopsfullart.aspx?csid1=146&csid2=844&fid1=48763
- ^ a b Deusner, Stephen M. (March 9, 2005). "Profile: Final Fantasy". Pitchfork Media. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/10301-profile-final-fantasy. Retrieved June 3, 2007.
- ^ Solarski, Matthew (June 21, 2007). "Beirut Announce Album Release Date, Tracklist, Tour". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/43770-beirut-announce-album-release-date-tracklist-tour. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
- ^ "Twitter / Owen Pallett". Twitter. October 17, 2009. http://twitter.com/owenpallett/status/4974426935. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ "Twitter / Owen Pallett". Twitter. October 7, 2009. http://twitter.com/owenpallett/status/4694804215. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
- ^ Pattison, Louis (January 16, 2010). "From Arcade Fire to Mika, Owen Pallett is the industry's go-to guy for a lavish orchestral arrangement". guardian.co.uk (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/16/owen-pallett-interview-heartland. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
- ^ "Owen Pallett says farewell to Final Fantasy". thestar.com. 2010-01-10. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/cdreview/article/748614--owen-pallett-says-farewell-to-final-fantasy. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- ^ http://www.thealternateside.org/101021/cmj_spotlight_luyas
- ^ What's in a name? The Holy Fuck story
- ^ Diamond Rings – “Gentleman Who Fell” (Milla Jovovich Cover) (Stereogum Premiere)
External links
Owen Pallett / Final Fantasy Studio albums EPs Singles "Many Lives → 49 MP" · Alphabet Series: X · "Lewis Takes Action" · "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"Related articles Arcade Fire Régine Chassagne • Richard Reed Parry • Win Butler • Tim Kingsbury • William Butler • Jeremy Gara • Sarah Neufeld
Colin Stetson • Owen Pallett • Kelly Pratt • Howard Bilerman • Brendan Reed • Myles Broscoe • Dane Mills • Marika ShawStudio albums Funeral (2004) • Neon Bible (2007) • The Suburbs (2010)EPs Singles "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" • "Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)" • "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" • "Cold Wind" • "Rebellion (Lies)" • "Wake Up" • "Black Mirror" • "Keep the Car Running" • "Intervention" • "No Cars Go" • "The Suburbs"/"Month of May" • "We Used to Wait" • "Ready to Start" • "City with No Children" • "Speaking in Tongues"Other singles Films Miroir Noir • Scenes From the SuburbsRelated articles Discography • Awards • "Lenin"Categories:- 1979 births
- Arcade Fire members
- Canadian composers
- Canadian indie pop musicians
- Canadian indie rock musicians
- Canadian male singers
- Canadian music arrangers
- Canadian rock violinists
- Canadian singer-songwriters
- LGBT composers
- LGBT musicians from Canada
- Living people
- Musicians from Toronto
- Polaris Music Prize winners
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