Take Those Lips Away (c) 2009 Mattroi Berger
Lush, upbeat 11th hour tune from New York Neo’s Measure for Measure, May 2009.
An outdoor show without a true instrumentalist in its cast, Measure needed Take Those Lips Away to fill a potentially noisy space and play itself for the most part. The director requested a modern pop sound - something, in a sense, out of an iPod ad.
I wagered achieving lush and low-fi in the same breath would require a backing track rather than live accompaniment - Something a performer could sing over. Visions of 80s pop stars, with a microphone and a CD player their only equipment, danced like Madonna and Tiffany music videos through my head. For inspiration I tapped into the myspace-pop / 80s revivalist movement of late, citing Katy Perry and Lily Allen.
In the end, I was able to acheive all desired elements: easy to stage, few needs, and full, sparkly pop sound.
On vocals: the lovely Danielle Levanas (http://myspace.com/danibragg).
Lyrics by Shakespeare
