ABOUT

AFTER THE CRITICAL AND POPULAR SUCCESS OF COLD NIGHT IN SOHO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THE TIGER LILLIES RETURN TO THEIR INSPIRED STAGE SHOWS WITH THIS NEW ALBUM, BASED ON THE LIFE AND WORKS OF THE PEERLESS EDGAR ALLAN POE.

In a dark and seemingly haunted palace a troubled poet struggles with his inner torments and how to express the images that possess his mind. Suddenly, there is a tapping, and he meets a raven of especially black and devilish character, who provides the poet with a certain ink that is darker than any other and will guarantee his lasting renown. The poet writes, frantically producing verse after verse, until soon the ink runs out. Desperate for more, he runs headlong through the many corridors and rooms of the palace, at each turn encountering a poem, a tale or an episode from Poe’s life, and scattered like so many discarded poem drafts, strangely pale and dying maidens...

These scenes and tableaux take us through the visual nightmare of the show, which is punctuated at intervals by songs from a new suite written by the band’s singer-songwriter, Martyn Jacques, freshly for the occasion and based on Poe’s brief and turbulent life and timeless writings. The tragedy and black humour unavoidably force their way into the lyrics, most of which are adapted from Poe’s own writings but which are accompanied by a handful of original songs too. It is interesting to hear how Poe’s well-known naïve (but entirely successful) versifying style is such a fitting vehicle for Martyn’s own style of songwriting, with its distinctive line rhythms and tics of re-ordering parts of speech. This comes through, for example, in the epic sweep and tidal rhythm of “Annabel Lee”, invoking the sea that is as much the subject of the original poem as the lost love, or the sly and slightly queasy pacing of “Tell-Tale Heart”, with its oppressive, stalking tune. Curiously we also encounter almost a late-’60s rock groove in places (Tiger Lillies going psych...), which again is a neat echo since that was exactly the decade when there was such an interest in musicians carrying literary ideas over into lyrics or concept albums, alongside the heyday of spoken-word recordings.

The album, released on 6 June 2017, collects the songs that feature in the stage show, where the band is joined by a couple of professional actors. Visuals are the work of long-time Tiger Lillies collaborator Mark Holthusen (Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Lulu: A Murder Ballad), and were given their first outing at the Bergen International Festival; the show will then be taken to other venues in Europe during the autumn and then on into 2018.

CREDITS

The music for Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunted Palace featuring the Tiger Lillies
was commissioned by the Théâtre du Volcan Bleu, France

The Tiger Lillies
Martyn Jacques: vocals, accordion, guitar, ukulele, piano, harmonium, organ, backing vocals, drums (on tracks 2 & 12)
Adrian Stout: upright bass, bass guitar, saw, theremin, backing vocals
Jonas Golland: percussion, vocals

Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunted Palace
Director: Paul Golub Musical Director: Martyn Jacques
Visual Direction: Mark Holthusen Written by Peder Bjurman
Cast: Peter Caulfield and Lucy Kilpatrick
Costumes: Sylvie Martin-Hyszka, assisted by Magali Perrin-Toinin
Make-up: Jérôme Ventura Technical Director: Xavier Fananas
Video: David Bernard Sound: Claus Buehler

Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunted Palace featuring the Tiger Lillies is produced by Le Théâtre du Volcan Bleu (France) 
and co-produced by the Bergen International Festival (Norway), La Maison de la Musique de Nanterre (France), Le Théâtre de l’Union - Centre Dramatique National du Limousin (France) and Quaternaire (France). Produced with the support of L’Etablissement Public du Parc et de la Grande Halle de La Villette, 
Paris (France), La Scène Nationale de Sète et du Bassin de Thau (France), L’OARA, l’Office Artistique de la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France).

Le Théâtre du Volcan Bleu is funded by the French Ministry of Culture (DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

Edgar Allan Poe’s Haunted Palace featuring the Tiger Lillies
is represented worldwide by Quaternaire, Paris, www.quaternaire.org

Album recorded & mixed by Timm Brockmann at Red Light Studio, Berlin, January-March 2017
All bass, saw and theremin tracks recorded by Adrian Stout at Blurt Studios, London
Drums on the album recording played by Timothy Remfrey
Mastered by Timm Brockmann in Berlin, April 2017
Produced by Martyn Jacques

CD produced by the Tiger Lillies, tigerlillies.com
CD artwork and design by Frédéric Domont

All songs written by Martyn Jacques after original works by Poe
Copyright and publishing Misery Guts Music Ltd. 2017