Quotes:
The Torture Memos’ strong narrative, decoupled from predictable verse/chorus structures, makes for anxious listening. When phrases like “self defence” or “whatever it takes” are stretched out like taffy, they turn into great hooks — just as evil slogans should. And Kristin Mueller-Heaslip’s fraught, full-throttle operatic vocals are absolutely brilliant, exposing the brutality dulled by the jargon of the source material.
-David Dacks, Eye Magazine
“There are performers around the world who demolish conventional wisdom by proving there doesn’t have to be a chasm between classical and pop, that you can write and perform intelligently without resorting to sonic abstraction. Toronto’s Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is a shining example of that approach in this twelve-track debut.”
-John Terauds, the Toronto Star
“All one needs to do is listen to the frenetic, yet intensely beautiful energy that comes from the masterpiece “Driving me Backward” to realize how this band has the potential to turn the music industry upside down.”
-Dan Wolovick, Two Way Monologues
“In a musical genre known for feeding from government grant troughs, The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is making a bold and courageous statement by bypassing established outlets and playing for audiences where they go to have fun and a little adventure. What a concept!”
-Glen Hall, Exclaim! Magazine
“It has been suggested to me that there is an influence from such people as Phillip Glass and Godspeed You Black Emperor – which is certainly true. But it is an evolution of that school, not merely a member of it… If you are truly not afraid of experimentation, of new directions or of bands that are willing to try something new rather than follow the crowd I’d strongly encourage you to introduce yourself to their music and consider going to one of their upcoming shows.”
-Justin Beach, PublicBroadcasting.ca
In the Press 2009:
Eye Magazine (Toronto): Review of The Torture Memos – December 10 2009
The aggressive minimalism of the string-and-sax-led Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra blows up real good on their second, much-improved disc. The galvanizing force is the concept: a song cycle based on the heinous “torture memos” which attempted to justify the Bush administration’s “enhanced interrogation” procedures. This fierce music sheds their first disc’s obvious comparisons to Brian Eno, Philip Glass et al., while the full-bodied recording amps up the rhythm section’s belligerence. The Torture Memos’ strong narrative, decoupled from predictable verse/chorus structures, makes for anxious listening. When phrases like “self defence” or “whatever it takes” are stretched out like taffy, they turn into great hooks — just as evil slogans should. And Kristin Mueller-Heaslip’s fraught, full-throttle operatic vocals are absolutely brilliant, exposing the brutality dulled by the jargon of the source material. (David Dacks)
Wholenote Magazine (Toronto): Review of The Torture Memos – December 03 2009
Composer Ben Mueller-Heaslip uses texts drawn from the writings of John Yoo and his colleagues at the Office of Legal Counsel for the George W. Bush administration for this unusual song cycle. The stark orchestration includes saxophone, violin, cello, bass and drum kit to accompany the declamatory vocals of soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip. The result is very effective but hard to define or categorize. The composer sites Schubert, Philip Glass and David Byrne among his influences and the music is as eclectic as might be expected from such diverse roots. Concert note: The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra launches “The Torture Memos” at The Tranzac Club on December 11. (David Olds)
Dilettante Music Magazine (UK): Bursting the Bubble: The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra
….The resulting music reminds us of a Danish art installation at the Venice Biennale a few years back which consisted of a group of performance artists standing on top of a building, randomly picking up instruments to play for a few minutes before pausing to chuck rubber fish at passers by. (At least we think they were rubber) Sounds odd, but it was still compelling. For his part, Terauds describes their music as an engaging, wonky mix of classical minimalism, art punk and early Brian Eno-inspired electronica translated into an acoustic medium.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, the ensemble’s revolutionary appetite extends beyond a rousing challenge to classical norms, and into the heart of sometimes-fierce political debate.
For instance, on 4th June the PRO premiered ‘The Torture Memos’ at a small club in Toronto, featuring lyrics by John C Yoo, Steven Bradbury and Jay Bybee. If those names don’t ring the right bells, here’s why: they’re not lyricists at all. Instead they�re the authors of the Bush Whitehouse’s infamous torture memos – “arguments to keep United States officials from being charged with war crimes for the way prisoners [from the war in Afghanistan] were detained and interrogated”, as the New York Times explained…
Futureale Magazine (Toronto): The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra (review of Truth in the Dark)
It’s hard to critique a band like the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra. It would be too easy and disrespectful to label their new CD, Truth In The Dark, as experimental. Truth In The Dark is more than your typical experimental album, full of eclectic sounds and complex notes. I’s an album that makes an effort to provide songs which are memorable and can easily find a place on your ipod, sandwiched between an old hit from the Rolling Stones and the latest Madonna single. Despite its eclectic sound, the PRO attempt to have an album that reaches a large audience, rather than a small niche of music fans. Therefore, it is only fair to give a review without the simple cliches that would naturally go with an album like this one.
Truth In The Dark brings together a wide assortment of sound. Each track will incite various feelings and emotions. Composer Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip ensures that every instrument is featured prominently. Bassist Michael Kaler and drummer Mike Rosenthal set the tone and pace for each song. Saxophonist Jennifer Wardle adds the needed punch, while cellist Kerri McGonigle and violinist Alex Cheung provide the direction. Rounding out the group is soprano Kristin Mueller-Heaslip, whose powerful voice is used as an instrument, matching the sounds with words.
Every track can fit in perfectly with a musical or an opera, as they all tell a story using melodic language. However, the album’s strength is in its ability to combine a pop sound with a classical orchestra.
Truth In The Dark features tracks that have the make-up of a rock and/or pop song, but are successfully presented through woodwind, percussion and string instruments. Granted, there have been rock and pop songs which have used those types of instruments. However, Mueller-Heaslip’s arrangement is recognized as a classical ensemble (integrating the classical and non-classical instruments). Consequently, the two distinct styles: the popish set-up and the classical presentation crash into each other, which leads toward a positive outcome.
For example, the song ‘Elevator’ has a joyful pop sound with catchy lyrics (written by Karl Mohr). It could easily by covered by any band with a guitar, bass and drums. However, the PRO go the extra mile by giving the track an orchestral arrangement. In the end, ‘Elevator’ draws similar comparisons to The Beatles’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘All You Need Is Love’ – songs with a pop sound and feel, but accompanied by orchestral instruments. Other notable tracks on Truth In The Dark include ‘I Didn’t Sleep’ and a cover the Ugly Bug Band’s ‘Let’s Fall In Love.’
This is an album that will appeal to all music fans – not just those who enjoy eclectic and experimental sounds. The PRO have made a solid effort by fulfilling a number of musical tastes. After listening to Truth In The Dark, one will find each track memorable and appreciate the musically complex arrangement.
-Eric Rosenhek
In the Press 2008:
March 12 2008 Toronto Star Review of Truth in the Dark (3.5/4)
“There are performers around the world who demolish conventional wisdom by proving there doesn’t have to be a chasm between classical and pop, that you can write and perform intelligently without resorting to sonic abstraction. Toronto’s Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is a shining example of that approach in this twelve-track debut. Most songs are new, others are arrangements of pieces by the likes of Brian Eno and Kurt Weill.
Composer/arranger Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip is a master of texture, using voice, violin, cello, bass, sax, and drums to inventive effect. Kristin’s soprano vocals and wide expressive range alternately glide and grate, depending on the mood. Top Track: “Truth in the Dark” by both Mueller-Heaslips.”
-John Terauds
No Shame w/ Jane Vain & the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra: February 7 2008 @ the Drake – Two Way Monologues
“Alex Cheung’s violin work on this song and throughout the entire set was nothing short of brilliant. It makes you cognisant of how much power that instrument holds when someone knows how to wield it properly. Kristin’s voice does take some adjusting to; she belts out the lyrics with so much energy that it can almost be abrasive at first. Give it time though, you’ll come around. Later in the song, Jen Wardie takes an opportunity to shine with her saxophone stylings. It’s like an indie-pop opera and I can’t get enough of it.
The level of musicianship and creativity that you got for five bucks this night from this band alone might be impossible to duplicate in this city. I sat there, completely fixated on the stage with that wonder that you get when you’re a child and something has just shook the world beneath your feet. Even the covers that this band plays have been given such a robust backdrop that they are more original than a lot of bands’ actual orginals.”
- Dan Wolovick
Exclaim! Magazine: The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra in concert at the Tranzac Club (Jan 16 2008)
“…selecting wonderfully obscure and diverse material to reinterpret, the group tackled Toronto composer Karl Mohr’s ‘Elevator’ to excellent effect. I actually preferred this rendition to the original; the soaring cello and violin of Adriana Pera and Alex Cheung are more suitable than keys for the song’s haunting glory and Kristin’s theatrical and operatic voice is a perfect fit… with radical reinterpretations from Brian Eno to Wire and a collection of engaging originals, it was an interesting musical experience I’m eager to repeat.” (Scott A. Gray)
Review Truth in the Dark in Exclaim! Magazine (February 2008)
“Composer Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip and live-in lyricist Kristin Mueller-Heaslip have created a curious cottage industry, a mini-opera company with one diva and a five-person orchestra… drummer Mike Rosenthal is key to making the ensemble come alive, as his interesting, off-centred fills in the title track and his relentless pounding on the leader’s arrangement of Wire’s ‘Comet’ demonstrate.
The group’s moving from unison to counterpoint provides plenty of interest for even the casual listener… While the PRO aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, they make challenging music for listeners looking to expand their musical palate.” (Glen Hall)
Inside Toronto – Campaign to Save The Parkdale Food Bank (January 2008)
‘,,,Benjamin Mueller Heaslip, Parkdale resident and a member of Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra, held a music marathon fundraiser at the Cadillac Lounge on Queen Street. Entry to see the twelve acts who performed was by donation and Mueller Heaslip said about nine hundred dollars was raised. Mueller-Heaslip said he couldn’t stand by and do nothing while a staple in the community closed:
“I used to live right across the street from it and I would see people coming and going. It has been in the community for a long time,” he said. “I think about how the economics of the neighborhood have changed and how there is a lot more money in Parkdale than there used to be… so to see a food bank close now would have been a real disgrace.”‘ (Erin Donovan)
In the Press: 2007
Review of ‘Truth in the Dark’ in Eye Magazine (December 2007)
“Supported by cello, violin and saxophone, Kristin Mueller-Heaslip’s operatic delivery is the focus of this chamber-pop ensemble. The PRO players successfully meld Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip’s dramatic, arrangements into concise little rock rhythms. Benjamin weaves together overlapping hooks into a rich harmonic tapestry, and the rhythm section occasionally steps out from behind the arrangements, as on their cover of Wire’s ‘Comet’.” (David Dacks)
Review of Truth in the Dark in Now Magazine (November 2007)
“The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra, an esoteric six-piece chamber ensemble, aren’t likely to be booked at the Four Seasons Tea Room.
The PRO are a challenging brew of classical, art rock, opera and punk, which looks nightmarish on paper but occasionally works. Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip’s arrangements are unique and uncompromised, taking on music snob favourites like Wire and Brian Eno as well as Kurt Weill. His band, violinist Alex Cheung, saxophonist Jennifer Wardle and rhythm section Michael Kaler and Mike Rosenthal, competently keep up with each song’s shifting shape and form.” (Benjamin Boles)
August 2007: The Toronto Star
“The composer is more a 21st-century incarnation of the 19th-century Romantic who wants to have as many people as possible hear what he has to say in music.
Everything the band performs is by the composer’s hand. It is an engaging, wonky mix of classical minimalism, art punk and early Brian Eno-inspired electronica translated into an acoustic medium.
“You can hear Franz Schubert, Philip Glass and David Byrne,” says Mueller-Heaslip about his musical aesthetic. There is something caustically off-balance at work, too – an echo of Kurt Weill’s ironic voice from Weimar-era Germany. “I see what I do as an extension of the chamber Lieder-salon world. I work with a small, mobile force, like Chopin and Schubert.”
Mueller-Heaslip and many of the band members lived in the Parkdale-High Park neighbourhood when the band formed two years ago. “I was composing and working as a bicycle courier at the time.”
The “revolutionary” aspect of the band’s name comes from Mueller-Heaslip’s desire to break through the invisible barrier around contemporary classical music. Like many young artists and listeners, the composer thinks the new music scene is too insular.
Unlike many fellow sonic warriors, you won’t find Mueller-Heaslip onstage at one of the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra’s monthly gigs at the Tranzac Club or Clinton’s. He is the creative force, leaving performing to wife Kristin (soprano voice), Alex Cheung (violin), Kerri McGonigle (cello), Jennifer Wardle (soprano sax), Michael Kaler (bass) and Michael “Rosie” Rosenthal (drums).” (John Terauds)
August 2007 : Public Broadcasting.ca
“It has been suggested to me that there is an influence from such people as Phillip Glass and Godspeed You Black Emperor – which is certainly true. But it is an evolution of that school, not merely a member of it…
…If you are truly not afraid of experimentation, of new directions or of bands that are willing to try something new rather than follow the crowd I’d strongly encourage you to introduce yourself to their music and consider going to one of their upcoming shows at the Tranzac Club.” (Justin Beach)
June 2007 : Exclaim Magazine
“Take new music opera, reduce the instrumentation to a manageable and mobile six-piece group and play bars, not stuffy, self-important venues for the self-appointed intelligentsia, and you’ve got a handle on the ‘revolutionary’ part of the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra. Founded in 2006 by composer/lyricist Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip, the group has two strings, soprano saxophone, drums and bass, and soprano vocalist Kristin Mueller-Heaslip.
The eponymously-titled EP features 4 representative pieces from the ensemble’s considerable repertoire. The first song, “Imposter”, based on lyrics by darkster Karl Mohr, features a melodic line passionately delivered by Kristin over Reich/Glass-like ostinato string lines. Soprano saxophonist Jennifer Wardle’s crystal clear tone imbues “Recurrents” with a glistening sheen as string lines form a tapestry of shimmering patterns.
In a musical genre known for feeding from government grant troughs, the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is making a bold and courageous statement by bypassing established outlets and playing for audiences where they go to have fun and a little adventure. What a concept!” (Glen Hall)
March 31 2007:
The Arts Now Podcast
hosted by Ella Cooper and Amil Niazi
“…they do classical reworkings of Brian Eno: See Them Play!”
-Amil Niazi
