Culture
10 Aug 22

Dirty Projectors join The National Concert Hall’s Perspectives Series

David Longstreth and Felicia Douglass of Dirty Projectors will be joined by André de Ridder and s t a r g a z e in a performance at the National Concert Hall inspired by the current plight of the climate crisis.

New York indie-rock band Dirty Projectors vocalists Dave Longstreth and Felicia Douglass will perform in the National Concert Hall on Sunday October 9, as part of the Perspectives series.

Songwriter and producer Dave Longstreth will perform his new orchestral songcycle 'Song of the Earth' with the s t a r g a z e ensemble and fellow Dirty Projectors vocalist Felicia Douglass. The concert will also feature a performance of the entirety of Dirty Projectors’ Earth Crisis, from their 2020 collection 5 EPs, and a short solo set from Longstreth.

Conductor André de Ridder leads his Berlin-based s t a r g a z e ensemble, expanded to thirteen players, including two percussionists, as Longstreth and his fellow Dirty Projectors vocalist Felicia Douglass sing of ecological collapse and rebirth.

Despite Longstreth's long-time use of string quartets and wind quintets in his kaleidoscopic studio productions, the songwriter until now hasn’t written concert music. 'Song of the Earth' changes this.

'Song of the Earth' focuses on a specific vulnerability: the natural world in our Anthropocene age. Modelled loosely on the themes and structure of Gustav Mahler's 'Das Lied Von Der Erde', 'Song of the Earth' narrows to discuss one particular theme. The piece was commissioned by the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Helsinki Festival, the Barbican Center London, the National Concert Hall, Dublin and De Singel Antwerp, unveiling the gravity of the climate crisis and highlighting the importance of ongoing climate events, awareness of and action on global warming.

Founded in 2002 by Longstreth, Dirty Projectors have an impressive repertoire of eight full-length albums released to date. A constantly evolving musical body, the band follows inspiration where it leads, collaborating with everyone from Björk, David Byrne and Kanye West along the way. Vocalist Felicia Douglass, who will perform alongside Longstreth in October, joined the group in 2018.

Tickets to the event will be available from Friday, August 12, starting at €18 on the National Concert Hall website.