The Cinematic Orchestra announce tour and reissue Man With A Movie Camera for 20th anniversary

An audio reissue of their seminal Man With A Movie Camera album, and 20th anniversary tour has been announced by The Cinematic Orchestra. The upcoming shows are set to feature songs from the album, as well as brand new visuals to celebrate the release across Europe. The limited edition 2LP will be available in ashen and pewter grey coloured vinyl, housed in a rigid tip-on foiled, embossed and debossed detail gatefolded sleeve with updated artwork and new liner notes.

Jason Swinscoe of The Cinematic Orchestra was commissioned to score a soundtrack to a silent movie as a one-off performance to celebrate the film festival celebrations of Porto being the European City of Culture in 2001. In turn, the result was Dziga Vertov's Man With A Movie Camera, a 1929 early documentary cinema film from the Soviet Union. Taking place in the historical location of Coliseu Porto, the performance ended with a 3,500 standing ovation.

Since then, the band have toured the same show internationally, with performances having taken place at esteemed venues such as The Barbican in London, NYC’s Winter Garden at WTC, and Sydney Opera House.

When the film commission occurred, the group was in the midst of writing their second studio album, Every Day, which had a fundamental influence on Man With A Movie Camera. Certain tracks that were written specifically for the score or were already in development, wound up on Every Day, allowing musical producer Swinscoe and the rest of the group to reimagine particular motifs for the slowly unfolding narrative of the movie.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of 'Man With A Movie Camera' we're delighted to announce a special tour & deluxe LP reissue. Tickets on sale Friday, pre-order now here: https://t.co/MvJYq6mMMr pic.twitter.com/UWD5humqTG

— Cinematic Orchestra (@TCO_Official) May 2, 2023

The title, Every Day, was also inspired by the film’s narrative, which portrays a day in an idealised Soviet society.

Upon its eventual release in 2003, Man With A Movie Camera was met with much acclaim with The Guardian stating, “You can perform an autopsy on the jazz instruments, DJ Shadow-like grooves and repeating chord sequences, yet come away scratching your head as to how, in such simple combinations, they make such heartfelt music,” and The Independent on Sunday continuing, “It stands alone, proud and complete.”

The record was also met with praise from dance magazines alike, with DJ Magazine commenting, “The genius, a word not to be used lightly, of The Cinematic Orchestra seemingly knows no bounds.”

Since their 1999 debut record, Motion, The Cinematic Orchestra have amassed a global fanbase, generated over a billion streams, selling hundreds of thousands of albums, and garnering the critical acclaim of publication like Pitchfork, The Guardian, New York Times, Le Monde, Resident Advisor, Fader, Crack, Rolling Stone, Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Jason Bentley and Mary Anne Hobbs.

Their 2007, Ma Fleur saw the group depart from their sonic traditions, and go on to release best-selling singles like ‘To Build A Home’. Their success has only grown, having performed to increasingly larger audiences, and selling out the likes of London's Royal Albert Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Rome’s Auditorium Park Della and the Sydney Opera House. The band’s much-loved live performances have also played out on the stages of Coachella, Glastonbury, Fuji Rock, Montreux and Sonar.

The British music group’s ‘Arrival of the Birds’ from The Crimson Wing score featured in the Oscar Winning Stephen Hawking biopic, The Theory of Everything. Their latest record To Believe, made it in the Top 20 of the UK albums chart and #1 in the album vinyl chart.

Tickets for their Dublin date go on sale this Friday via the band's website.