Interview on ICEcast
On the occasion of the March 13th midwestern premiere of Corey Dargel’s Thirteen Near-Death Experiences in Chicago, click here to listen to an interview as part of the International Contemporary Ensemble’s “Icecast” series.
Interview on My Big Gay Ears
Joseph Dalton — who has done so many wonderful things as a writer and activist — interviewed Corey on his new blog, “My Big Gay Ears.” Read the full interview here.
Interview on Culturebot
Click here to read the interview.
NY Times Review of Cornelius Dufallo at The Stone
Allan Kozinn wrote a fine New York Times review of Cornelius Dufallo’s excellent November 29th concert at The Stone. Unfortunately, the paper ran out of room just as Mr. Kozinn was beginning to write about Corey’s piece. (more…)
Rachel Maddow Tweets About Corey’s Condoleezza Rice Songs
Beloved MSNBC host Rachel Maddow posted a tweet about Corey’s art song settings of remarks by Condoleezza Rice. Go here to listen to the songs, performed by Two Sides Sounding.
“I don’t play gospel very well. I play Brahms.” -Condoleezza Rice
13NDE Recording at Mt. Holyoke College
ICE and I just wrapped up a recording session of Thirteen Near-Death Experiences at the lovely Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA. Here’s a photo of us after we finished the session. Unfortunately, our drummer, David T. Little, left before the photo shoot.
L-R: David Bowlin (violin), Kivie Cahn-Lipman (cello), Ryan Streber (recording engineer), Corey Dargel (composer/singer), Eric Lamb (flutes), Jacob Greenberg (piano), Joshua Rubin (clarinets)
NPR Song of the Day: “My Voice Is in Your Head”
NPR’s Song of the Day singles out Corey Dargel’s “My Voice Is in Your Head (For Katie from Teresa)” in this article by Lara Pellegrinelli:
NPR.org, March 31, 2009 – Trips to the hospital rarely figure into the lyrics of love songs, but in “My Voice Is in Your Head,” Corey Dargel croons his way through an appendectomy over layered electronic beats. The ungainly lyrics take listeners bedside, setting an unlikely scene for romance: “And we laughed at the compression stockings / that kept my blood from clotting.” Was that a case of flirtatious giggles, or was it the pain medication talking?
“My Voice Is in Your Head” opens Other People’s Love Songs, an album that relates the real-life love stories of regular people, in this case the accident-prone Katie and Teresa. Dargel compiled the project from songs he’d been commissioned to write for weddings, anniversaries and other special occasions.
Because he draws directly on conversations with his patrons, the lyrics can be plainspoken, quirky or even awkward — just like everyday people. Dargel’s songs make the case that real intimacy can be found in our day-to-day exchanges rather than the mundane profundity of more grandiose pop songs, and “Your Voice Is in My Head” is no exception.
Read the full article, and leave a comment about it here.
Composing via Blog
I am chronicling the creation of my new piece, Thirteen Near-Death Experiences, a concert of songs about hypochondria, commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). I created this blog because I’m attracted to the idea of creating this piece “in public.” I’m interested in hearing what people think of the songs as I’m writing them and/or what people think of the research I’m doing as I’m doing it. So please visit the blog at 13neardeathexperiences.com, listen to the audio mock-ups of songs I’ve posted there, read the lyrics, look at the musical scores, and/or leave some comments for me.
Removable Parts on WNYC’s The Takeaway
On the WNYC program The Takeaway, NY Times critic Claudia La Rocco names Removable Parts one of her top picks for the 2009 Under The Radar Festival. Here’s a clip from the interview:
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La Rocco also wrote a Times review of Removable Parts in September 2007 during the show’s premiere run.
Art on Air Radio Interviews Corey
Go here to listen to a 30-minute interview with Corey Dargel by Pete McCabe for Art on Air radio.
Art International Radio (AIR) (née WPS1) is an Internet art radio station created to provide art talk programs, experimental music and other music surveys and DJ sets, historic recordings and interviews, public programs from cultural institutions and partners around the world, poetry, radio theater, audio art, and other sonic surprises.
A Christmas Song for Time Out New York
The magazine Time Out New York asked Corey to write a Christmas song for their holiday issue. He came up with the following:
Keep Repeating Those Words
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from the mag: (more…)
Removable Parts preview in the Toronto Star
Out on a Limb
by John Terauds
published in the Toronto Star, December 5, 2008
Of all the show titles to cause a double take, Removable Parts: A Series of Love Songs About Voluntary Amputation, has to be among the most provocative.
The lyrics brim with phrases such as “You’ll be hooked for life / I’ll wrap my hooks around you,” as someone sings a love song about replacing hands with metal prostheses.
This performance-art piece – 12 songs strung together with a bit of dialogue and choreography – by Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter/music producer Corey Dargel is truly unlike anything you’ve seen or heard before. Only one 1960s precedent comes to mind: Tom Lehrer’s “Masochism Tango.”
Dargel’s twisted imagination makes love out of wanting to sever parts of one’s body. Although it sounds too weird to be palatable, rev (more…)
Corey on NPR’s Weekend Edition
Listen to the audio by visiting here.
Weekend Edition Saturday, November 1, 2008 – For his new album, Other People’s Love Songs, Corey Dargel wrote 13 personalized songs on commission for couples of all configurations: Husbands and wives, siblings, and friends. (more…)
