Thomas Dolby takes break from academia for U.S. tour and BMG career compilation

Wow, great to see Thomas Dolby is returning to the concert stage! And with a new 'Masters Collection' to boot! 

THOMAS DOLBY TAKES BREAK FROM ACADEMIA
FOR SHORT SUMMER U.S. TOUR

Career compilation Hyperactive coming from BMG’sMasters Collection series on Friday, July 27, 2018. 

BALTIMORE, Md. — Thomas Dolby — musician, video director, author, and now a university professor — is set for a short U.S. tour in July and August 2018 with a show titled An Evening of Music and Storytelling With Thomas Dolby. 

The tour coincides with the July release of his 2-CD greatest hits collection Hyperactive, coming July 27, 2018 as part of BMG’s Masters Collection series. 

In this intimate solo performance, Thomas will allow members of the audience to randomly pick songs from his 30-year catalog. He will tell the story behind the genesis of each, while simultaneously deconstructing its musical parts, synth sounds, and lyrics. The resulting music will be output from his laptop and keyboards, and projected on a screen behind him, along with personal photos and memorabilia. Each performance will therefore be a slightly different audiovisual experience, with surprises each night.

Aside from his successful solo hits such as “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive,” Dolby is known as a synthesist and producer for the likes of David Bowie, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Foreigner, Def Lepperd, George Clinton, and Joni Mitchell. His acclaimed memoir The Speed of Sound (Flatiron/Macmillan) was an Amazon Bestseller in its category, and a 2016 NPR Book of the Year.

“These shows will give me an opportunity to expand on some of the stories in my book — without pulling any punches!” said Dolby. “I’ll be unstitching the songs, as I’ve found audiences love to get a peek ‘under the hood’ and into an artist’s creative methods."

Since completing 12 years as Music Director of the TED Conferences in 2012, Prof. Dolby has been teaching music at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. This Fall he will launch a new undergraduate degree course at the Peabody Institute, focusing on music composition and 3D sound design for virtual and augmented reality — the first of its kind at a major U.S. university.

The tour is sponsored in part by Roland Corp., manufacturer of the world’s most iconic synthesizers, guitar pedals and drum machines.

Tour dates:

Wed. July 25 LOS ANGELES, CA  Largo at the Coronet

Fri., July 27  LOS ANGELES, CA  Microsoft Theater (supporting Blondie)

Mon. July 30 ALEXANDRIA, VA (DC)The Birchmere

Tues. July 31 ANNAPOLIS, MDRam’s Head

Wed. Aug 1 SELLERSVILLE, PA (PHILADELPHIA)Sellersville Theater

Fri. Aug 3  NEW YORK, NYThe Cutting Room

Sat. Aug 4 NATICK, MANatick TCAN Center for the Arts

Sun. Aug 5  NEW HAVEN, CTState House

Mon. Aug 6 ATLANTIC CITY, NJ  Dante Theater

Wed. Aug 8 BALTIMORE, MDCenter Stage

For full list of venues and ticket links, go to http://www.thomasdolby.com/

    

Track listing  

    

CD1

    1. Hyperactive!

    2. Europa And The Pirate Twins

    3. Radio Silence

    4. Screen Kiss

    5. Valley Of The Mind's Eye

    6. I Scare Myself

    7.  The Devil Is An Englishman

    8. Windpower

    9. Dissidents

    10. Eastern Bloc

    11. Airhead

    12. Cruel

    13. The Ability To Swing

    14. Neon Sisters

    

CD2

    1. She Blinded Me With Science

    2. One Of Our Submarines

    3.  The Flat Earth

    4. Beauty Of A Dream

    5. Budapest By Blimp

    6. I Love You Goodbye

    7. Urges

    8. Pulp Culture

    9. Close But No Cigar

    10. Leipzig

    11. Silk Pyjamas

    12. May The Cube Be With You

    13. Airwaves

    14. My Brain Is Like A Sieve