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Nels Cline of Wilco has some curious project ideas for a fairly straight-forward alt-rocker. For one, curating a fest with his band that features, uh, every one of his and his band member's side projects (SolidSound Festival). For another, improvising a score to an animated version of the classic vampire film Nosferatu. The project does, however, seem more fitting for his collaborator Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto, who has worked on far funkier experimental works.
Screening at Central Park on September 14, NYSferatu is a rotoscoped re-imagination of the seminal 1920's film Nosferatu. NYsferatu. NY. Get it? For those unfamiliar with rotoscoping, imagine the music video for "Take On Me," but spookier and with less falsetto.
Visually, the recreation is stunning. Filmmaker Andrea Mastrovito, along with a team of 12 artists, painstakingly drew and re-drew the backgrounds that makeup the film's animated frames to simulate early cinema's fluttering effects. The film winds through a slew of familiar NYC landmarks (the Statue of Liberty, the Freedom Tower and so forth) and thematically tackles issues pertaining to the contemporary political climate.
Honda and Cline (who play together as "Cup") will perform their score to the film at Mineral Springs in Central Park on Sept 14 at 7:30pm. See the official website for more details.
