American-born multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Peter Broderick will release a new extended player titled Two Balloons on November 9. Available as a limited edition 10” vinyl and digital download, it features the score for the award-winning animation of the same name, inspired by an early recording of his, plus a 9-minute electronic rework on the B-side titled Techno For Lemurs.

Fairly often we see albums of “Music inspired by the film __”, but less common is a film inspired by music. Such is the case with Two Balloons. Director Mark C. Smith got the idea for his nine-minute stop frame animation film while out at sea, looking at a majestic funnel cloud in the distance. Shortly after he heard a song by Peter Broderick from one of his earliest recordings — 4 Track Songs — and the music struck a chord so strongly, he knew he wanted to make a film to fit the melody. And so began the five-year labour of love that would eventually produce this enchanting little film, currently circulating film festivals around the world and racking up countless awards and accolades including ‘Best Original Music Score’ at the New Renaissance Film Festival in Amsterdam.

The B-side is more than just a remix that recycles the original recordings. In fact none of the original parts have been re-used. Techno For Lemurs is a homage to the two main characters in the story, the ring-tailed lemurs Bernard and Elba. Serving as Broderick’s first foray into the world of techno, this playful piece reinterprets the melodic themes from the original score by adapting them with electronic instrumentation. In Peter’s own words: “Let’s pretend for nine minutes that we’re ring-tailed lemurs and get this party started!”

Peter begins his European tour tomorrow in Cardiff and will perform at the Erased Tapes Northern Showcase in Wakefield with Rival Consoles and Hatis Noit this Saturday, September 15.

2018
13.09. Cardiff (UK) — The Gate Arts & Community Centre · tickets 
14.09. Oxford (UK) — The Old Fire Station · tickets 
15.09. Wakefield (UK) — Erased Tapes Showcase · tickets 
16.09. Dublin (IE) — Pavilion Theatre · tickets 
07.10. Galway (IE) — Galway Jazz Festival at LOAM · tickets 
17.10. Lausanne (CH) — Le Bourg · tickets 
18.10. Lugano (CH) — FOCE · tickets 
27.10. Kaltern (IT) — Kaltern Pop Festival (with Stargaze) · tickets 
17.11. Cobh (IE) — Sirius Arts Centre (One Hear Now) · tickets
15.12. Pattaya (TH) — Wonderfruit Festival · tickets

2019
30.03. Mechelen (BE) — Cultuurcentrum · tickets