MODERN TALES

Tales were born from popular beliefs and were transmitted from generation to generation. Whether it’s the Three Little Piggies, the Little Mermaid, or the Emperor’s New Clothes, the stories help people understand their daily struggles. Brussels Vocal Project decided to put these tales in music by collaborating with American composer John Hollenbeck and the drummer Moritz Baumgärtner. The idea is to translate old familiar forms of expression into today’s realm. Story-wise, Brussels Vocal Project proposes to shed a new light on the tales by viewing them from a different angle through texts of Elsa Grégoire, Anu Junnonen and François Vaiana. John Hollenbeck will support this idea by revisiting an ancient instrumentation, probably the oldest, which is drums and voices.

VOICES // Elsa Grégoire, Anu Junnonen, François Vaiana, Gabriel Hahn, Sarah Klenes
DRUMS// Moritz Baumgärtner

© Marie-Françoise Plissart – all the pictures illustrating the tales.

fish on land

text: anu junnonen // music john hollenbeck
One foolish dreamer, you want a soul that lives forever
You go without a farewell, closing deals with the devil
A few salty bubbles of the sea, that's all you'll end up to be
Brave but stupid young thing
By the sun and the moon I’ll be mourning
 
A fish on land, body aching gasping for breath
A fish on land, want a soul that lives forever
A fish on land, that's not the way of the Mother Nature
 
Little daughter of mine, are you ready to leave all behind?
Conquer hearts and scale positions, travel at will then make decisions
A wild heart and a thirst for love, Granny dear, that’s all I’ve got
I’m falling in love with life that’s elsewhere
That man is not my kind but we breathe the same air
 
The happy people in their villages and castles, 
I long to walk though the wildling’s land. 
Goodbye sisters, goodbye father
Farewell to the dolphins and the seaweed grown wrecks
The morning is cold and everyone’s asleep 
I swim to the shore and drink the magic potion that will set me free

the prime minister’s new art

text: elsa gregoire // music: john hollenbeck
Curator: "Subjects A, B and C, these are artworks, you see? 
Now tell me dear Sir, which one will it be?"
Narrator: Subject A as he saw, was as tall as a tree. 
A gigantic white canvas with not much to see.
Staff: "A dot and a line, you need it!"
Prime Minister: "A dot and a line… oh, now I see it!"
Narrator: Subject B as he saw was as small as a pin
A clean little jar and inside one hair.
Staff: "A hair in a jar, you need it!"
Prime Minister: "A hair in a jar… oh, now I get it!"
Narrator: Subject C, or so he thought, was of modest proportions. 
As red a cherry and black as the night. 
Here was his next buy displayed in plain sight.
Prime Minister: "I dare say, dear Ma’am What an exquisite work! 
How much for this sculpture?How much for this piece?"
Curator: "Oh my prime minister what an excellent choice! 
One sees without doubt your most clairvoyant nature. 
Yet this subject has no price." 
Narrator: From subjects A, B and C He did not choose you see. 
The fire extinguisher is missing from the gallery. 
And the prime minister’s happy, just happy to be.

miss misunderstood

TEXT: FRANÇOIS VAIANA // MUSIC: JOHN HOLLENBECK
I am miss misunderstood I am, 
I didn't mean to hurt my little man, 
I made my daughter cry, 
Left them with no goodbye. 
You see, they were better off without their momma, 
they were better off without their monster, 
they were better off without me. 
The bakery had no bread, the butcher's meat seemed suspect. 
No one at the supermarket could tell me if the food arrived yet. 
I couldn't forget the sound of their empty stomachs, 
yelling screaming: 'Mom is dinner ready yet?'
I wanted to forget. Get it out of my head. 
I had to leave this town. 
Thinking about what I did had got me loosing my mind.

the nightingale / jenny

text: elsa gregoire // music: john hollenbeck
A.I. Kimmy had an optimized design
 She walked like Jenny
 And she talked like Jenny
 For both those things were embedded in her mind
 She was the better version of Jenny
 The version that never sleeps and never eats
 The human was replaced by the robot
 
Prototype 2.0 A.I.Kimmy launching.processor.Extel
 = Code BZ alpha/ A2D { sighing }
 = code HXVar.DRC { blushing }
 rebooting.recovery.systems for A.I. Prototype 1.9 for the following characteristics:
 = { sympathy } ^ { care } ^ { empathy }
 erasing code AJ2var --^{ prying } + DF7altBeta --^{ lying }

the nightingale // a.I. Kimmy

text: john hollenbeck & elsa gregoire // music: john hollenbeck
FONT  NIB  OAK  GUM  KA  MUG  GET  EST  OR // HANNAH   SONG   POWAFU    HAKAWELL
 KIOESFU    FUESUKI     USKADU MAM NAM  LANADUAH
 DJA DET DIT  UK UK UK UK UK UK  HUTOTOTO TOTOTOTO TOTOTOTO // EH-O    EH-O-FAFA FAFAFAFA
 I KIMMY  KIM-MY   RO-BOT    BOT    BOT-BOT MAMAMAMA-MA
 BLU-BLI-BLU-BLI-BLU      BLI-BLU-BLI     BLU-BLI-BLU-BLI    BLU-BLI    BLU
 BOT  BOT-BOT  SASA SASASASA SASASASA SASA // UUU-SCMUSCH    SCMUSCH    SCMUSCH   SCMUSCH   SCMUSCH   
SCHMUSCH SCMUSCH-DU     HÉ HÉ      KIKIKIKI KIKIKIKI
 ASK-ISK-ÜSK-OSK   ASK-ISK-ÜSK-OSK    ASK-ISK   ÜSKOS WADAWADAWADA WAH!
  JOHN-KUH    BIDI-BIDI-BIDIBAH    BIDI-BIDI-BIDIBAH-HUUUH // WAUW WAUW WAUW WAUW WAUW   SINKA    FLU 
KWASH   KWASH    KWASH  MIKA-MIKA-MIKA   MIKA-MIKA-MI  KAMI-KAMI 
UŠCHGMÁ UŠCHGMÁ UŠCHGMÁ LA’H-LA’H-LA’H-LA’H-LA’H  LA’ H
HAGÉ     HEGÓ     HOGÁ     ZA-ZA      WAI-WAI-WAI-WAI TR-RR-RR-RR-RAH!
 HEG-HUG-HEG  HEG-HUG-HEG-HUG  HEG-HUG // ÖRDA-ÖRDA-ÖR     DAÖR-DAÖR DAÖR
 GEESCH GOES GEESCH GOES   FLAFLAFLAFLA FLAFLAFLAFLA FLAFLAFLAFLA
 LEEF-LEEF-LEEF-LEEF LEEF-LEEF
 FOND FOND-FOND-FOND FOND-FOND // AK’AK’AK’AK AK’AK’AK’AK AK’AK’AK’AK
 DEESCH-DEESCH-DEESCH      DEESCH-DEESCH-DEESCH
 MONTENS MONTENS SPA    MONTENS MONTENS SPA    MONTENS MONTENS SPA SPA-ÄP-ÄP-ÄP ÄP-ÄP-ÄP-ÄP
OAK  GUM  KÁ  MUG   GET  EST  OR     GUL  ÄNG  FUNT  NIB

three little piggies

text: françois vaiana // music: john hollenbeck
Three little piggies in the middle of the woods
Would you make a house of bricks, would you make a house of sticks,
 would you make a house with straws of strawberries?
If you're merry in the woods, you'll be buried in the woods
One big bad wolf doesn't give a little damn, 
he already ate a crow, three deer and a lamb
He huffs and then he puffs and then he takes it to the ground.
Hey you little piggy, what's your name?
”My name is Samy El Ham and I'm from Amsterdam.
 I built my house in the woods for lack of livelihood.”
 But your house is made of straws, what about the wolf's claws?
"They say the world will fall and turn into a brawl,
 But I will stay in the shade with a glass of lemonade.”
Hey you little piggy, what's your name? 
"I am Daisy Von Bacon from the city of Macon. 
And I moved to the forest 'cause I'm not a conformist.”
But your house of sticks won't survive the wolf's kicks.
"I want to fight the fight, but the time isn't right, 
'Cause it's way more comfortable in my red convertible.” 
Daisy the piggy ain't no more. Now mister wolf is looking for another door.
Hey you little piggy, what's your name?
"I am Rufus Le Pork from Upper East New York
Now I'm closer the nature in a perfect rapture.”
 Your house is made of bricks, but the wolf has bag of tricks.
 "I was scared of the city, everything looked so gritty,
 So I built a wall to practice yoga and feel safe in my toga.”
Rufus the piggy, Daisy the piggy, Sammy the piggy ain't no more
Now mister wolf is banging at your own front door!

green lady

text: elsa gregoire // music: john hollenbeck
Bells are ringing over this blasted city, open your window and take a peak. 
Do you see the green lady?
I won’t stay shy, no I won’t stay put, I see you cry, but watch me float;
How I glide, how I soar through the cold.
 I won’t see what you want, I won’t be what you see
 I’ll see rivers, I’ll see rooftops, I’ll see welcoming arms and flying charms. 
None of which you’ve seen for you have yet to wander
 
"I used to care for traffic, I used to care for signs, 
I used to care for tactics, I used to see the lines"
 
From dusk till dawn I’ll follow her trail: the green lady 
For now I know where my future lies. Tinkering with life her shiny star is one to seek.
And through a pipe I’ll fly to our motherland - where you have yet to follow.

red

text: elsa gregoire & françois vaiana // music: john hollenbeck
Grandmother:
Red, I left a note in your basket
Red, you need more than food for the trip
Red, there are wolves in the streets
Red, they’ll always growl and sneer
Red, their barks are worse than their bites
Red, they‘re scared of your strength
Red, they’ll huff and puff but you won’t break
Red, i know you dear, trust your judgment
Red, when in doubt think of grandma’s eyes
Red, just walk on by, your head held high
Red, don’t hide under your hood. 
Red, dare to be red

The wolves:
Red, where are you going?                   Red, wait, come over here!
Red, they call me Big Bad                     Red, check out my fangs
Red, I got all the fur you need              Red, take off your hood
Red, let me see those raspberry lips    Red, you got a pretty little basket
Red, can I grab an apple?                      Red, look at you, cutie
Red, stop playing with me                     Red, you know you want this

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