Film Scores

M83 synthesizes some stardom

Gonzalez puts keyboards front and centre, and the result is a sold-out Sound Academy. Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Fri May 04 2012 When Anthony Gonzalez was seven years old, he took a hit of Oxygene that changed his life forever. Gathered around their living room with the rest of his family in Antibes, France, the future principal of M83 watched fellow Frenchman, electronic music synthesis and…


Thomas Dolby, past, present and especially future

Entertainment / Music Eighties pop star, tech entrepreneur, now game designer — and through it all, a science obsessive.   Musician Thomas Dolby in his travelling “time capsule.” By: Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Published on Sun Apr 01 2012 Ever the inventive sort, Thomas Dolby is bringing a special guest to Monday night’s gig at the Mod Club: his own time machine. “It’s a 1930s Teardrop trailer that looks like Jules Verne customized…


Herbie Hancock gives it all a try

Herbie Hancock gives it all a try | Toronto Star Longtime Gershwin fan’s Massey Hall show just latest outlet for broad-minded creator.   Herbie Hancock at home with keyboards both acoustic and electronic … thanks to Miles Davis. Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Thu Oct 20 2011 Legendary jazz innovator Herbie Hancock might be considered something of a prodigy, but that doesn’t mean he’s taking his upcoming…


Clairvoyant peek inside Robbie Robertson

Clairvoyant peek inside Robbie Robertson | Toronto Star It took a while — a long while — before Robbie Robertson was ready to address the topics in songs on How to Become Clairvoyant.       Nick Krewen Special to the Star Published on Mon Mar 28 2011 Thirteen years between albums may seem like ages, but it’s not as though Robbie Robertson has been idle. Prior to this Tuesday’s…


Ryuichi Sakamoto works with giants and with glaciers

Composer found music even in the frigid waters of the Arctic Sea.  Nick Krewen Special to the Star, Mon Oct 25 2010 Over 80 albums and 32 years, revered Japanese cultural icon Ryuichi Sakamoto — who made a rare Toronto concert appearance Sunday at the Queen Elizabeth Centre — has dabbled in a lot of genres. Since he graduated from his electronic music studies at Tokyo’s University of Art, Sakamoto,…