“The show has that electric X-factor you only get when the people on stage trust each other and are inspired by each other…It's a great balance of styles and genres, flowing seamlessly between folk, rock, blues and funk, both delicate and pounding...” – Lydia Jenkin, NZ Herald

LOOP is proud to announce that Fly My Pretties IV will be released on Monday 19 March.

Led by Barnaby Weir (The Black Seeds), Fly My Pretties is a rotating collective of musicians with an ethos of mixing well-known performers with emerging talent.

The 16 new songs on their 4th CD and DVD represent the best takes from November 2011’s tour. These new songs were performed, filmed and recorded live across nine sold out shows to over 10,000 people. The tour also marked the collective’s first international foray, playing one impressive sold out Melbourne date.

The show saw the 16-strong cast unite with an exciting new concept, re-inspired style and re-invigorated sound to challenge audience’s senses and redefine what Fly My Pretties was to their fans.

Via a unique collaboration, renowned visual/street artist Flox found inspiration in each song to create 16 original and dedicated pieces of art. A unifying thread throughout the show, the artworks were brought to life through projection, animation and visual trickery. Following the tour, these visuals were expertly mixed with the live video footage to create a seamless visual representation of the performances on DVD.

Fittingly, Fly My Pretties IV also marked a dramatic shift in the collective’s costumes and style, which was curated by homegrown fashion labels Cybèle and MisteR. Bringing the collective into the present with an exciting and contemporary new look, Cybele designed dramatic and edgy costumes for the female cast members, while MisteR took care of the male cast members with their signature quirky approach and detailed tailoring.

Marking a first for the collective, Fly My Pretties IV reflects a true full spectrum collaboration of New Zealand creative culture bringing together music, film, art animation and fashion. Evolving while still remaining true to their legacy, the release heralds a new era for the collective both musically and artistically.

PERFORMERS:
The Fly My Pretties IV cast was the most diverse yet and featured an impressive selection of kiwi talent including:

Barnaby Weir, Mike Fabulous, Nigel Patterson & Jarney Murphy (all The Black Seeds), Fran Kora (Kora), LA Mitchell (The Dukes), Aaron Tokona (Cairo Knife Fight / AHoriBuzz), Age Pryor (The Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra / The Woolshed Sessions), Ryan Prebble (Spartacus R & The Nudge), James Coyle & Iraia Whakamoe (both The Nudge), Justin “Firefly” Clarke (The Woolshed Sessions), Anna Coddington, Flip Grater, Eva Prowse & Amiria Grenell (all emerging solo artists).

TRACKLISTING:
1. Doorstep Blues
2. Dr Plum
3. You Know Now
4. Apple Heart
5. Three Feathers
6. Fallen From You
7. I Am Gone
8. Please
9. Journey’s End
10. Underneath The Stars
11. Space Cadet
12. Folding Over
13. Hit The Hay
14. Am I Gonna Make It
15. Ode To The World
16. Turnaround

DVD: Over 2 hours of content

· Full Performance from Fly My Pretties IV
· Bonus video content including Behind the Scenes, Photo Gallery and more…

BACKGROUND:

Beginning with over 40 demos submitted by 16 musicians from around Aotearoa, 16 songs were selected, performed and then captured in a single live take for CD and DVD.

Prior to the tour, a range of animators and motion graphics specialists came together to form what was affectionately referred to as the “Pretties sweatshop” – a collective brought together with the task of bringing to life Flox’s visuals for the show. Headed by Olivier Jean of PleasureKraft, the team swelled to over 10 creatives, including Tim Budgen, Lakshman Anandanayagam and John Baxter, who all contributed in excess of 200 man-hours.

Recording engineer, Lee Prebble, has contributed to each Fly My Pretties project and album since its inception. Fly My Pretties IV saw him once again add his talent and special touch by recording and then lovingly mixing the album at his studio, The Surgery.

All three previous Fly My Pretties have reached platinum status and the collective’s third release Fly My Pretties – A Story was a huge success, debuting at #1 in the NZ Charts.

ALBUM LAUNCH:

Fly My Pretties IV will be launched in both Auckland and Wellington with a Flox / Fly My Pretties art exhibition.

For the exhibition, Flox has been hard at work, creating original large-scale pieces inspired by her art for Fly My Pretties IV. A number of the works were part of the original process involved in creating the 16 limited edition prints that were available on tour; while the other contingent are being created especially.

"It's going to be a fantastic opportunity for the Fly My Pretties fans to come face to face with my artistic processes in large format, and like on tour, witness the artworks being brought to life in yet another dimension". – Flox AKA Hayley King

Exhibits include, framed one-off stencil works on paper, multimedia, large hand cut "virgin stencils", lightboxes, mixed media on board and giclee prints.

Fly My Pretties IV - Exhibition
Auckland Monday March 19 - Saturday March 24
Wellington Monday March 26 - Sunday April 1

More info on the exhibitions to follow.

WEBLINKS:

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1D2FFBD9ABFB296E