(New York, NY) – Taking a look into the minds and lives of Medeski Martin & Wood, drummer/ percussionist, Billy Martin, directed the first feature film in the band’s history titled, Fly in a Bottle.
Working through a yearlong period of personal 16mm film and HD camcorder footage of MMW on the road and in the studio during the Radiolarians recordings, the film provides an extremely intimate portrait of the band. It highlights the trio’s intricate relationships with each other and with the music they have worked to create over 20 years as a band.
Unique to the Radiolarians series, the band switched the order of conventional album cycles. Instead of touring to support a new release, MMW used touring as a way to compose and refine their music live, then they took the material to the recording studio.
This inverted process allowed them to release Radiolarians I, II, and III in just two years, a rare feat for a recording artist.
The DVD provides fans and critics unprecedented access to the band during their everyday lives. It’s raw, highly personal and real.
In conjunction with Fly in a Bottle, the DVD will also include the music video for “Amber Gris”, the esoteric Incant to Chantes Des Femmes directed by Grey Gersten, and an experiment with time-lapse film entitled CW.
CW (directed again by Martin), is a metaphoric look at the evolving and intricate relationship between Chris Wood and John Medeski from Billy Martin’s perspective. Filmed on the tour bus, CW is set to the music of “First Light” and features excerpts of transistor radio as used in “Chasen v. Suribachi.”
Feature: Fly In A Bottle (1:26:43)
Directed by Billy Martin
Edited by Luke Augusta & Billy Martin
Digital Effects Artist & DVD Menu Animation: David Gottlieb
Additional Special Effects: Sam Haber
Camera Operators: Billy Martin, Peter Barrett, Liz Penta, Gary Waldman, Leigh-Ann Beverly,
Kenny Raduazzo, David Kent, John Medeski, Dakota Martin, Alan Martin, Matthew McClain.
Specials:
1. Incant to Chantes Des Femmes (5:05) 2009
Filmed, edited and directed by Grey Gersten
2. Amber Gris(4:35)
Filmed, edited and directed by Billy Martin
3. CW(3:14) 2009
Filmed, edited and directed by Billy Martin
