Thomas Dolby readies new compilation, set to head out on brief tour

I've always been a big fan and interviewed Dolby several years ago. These shows and the retrospective sound very cool. Get all the latest details from the press release below...

Thomas Dolby — musician, video director, author, and now a university professor — is set for a short U.S. tour in July and August 2018 with a show titled An Evening of Music and Storytelling With Thomas Dolby.

The tour coincides with the July 27 release of his 2-CD greatest hits collection Hyperactive, as part of BMG’s Masters Collection series.

In this intimate solo performance, Thomas will allow members of the audience to randomly pick songs from his 30-year catalog. He will tell the story behind the genesis of each, while simultaneously deconstructing its musical parts, synth sounds, and lyrics. The resulting music will be output from his laptop and keyboards, and projected on a screen behind him, along with personal photos and memorabilia. Each performance will therefore be a slightly different audiovisual experience, with surprises each night.

Aside from his successful solo hits such as “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive,” Dolby is known as a synthesist and producer for the likes of David Bowie, Roger Waters, Stevie Wonder, Foreigner, Def Lepperd, George Clinton, and Joni Mitchell. His acclaimed memoir The Speed of Sound (Flatiron/Macmillan) was an Amazon Bestseller in its category, and a 2016 NPR Book of the Year.

“These shows will give me an opportunity to expand on some of the stories in my book — without pulling any punches!” said Dolby. “I’ll be unstitching the songs, as I’ve found audiences love to get a peek ‘under the hood’ and into an artist’s creative methods."

Since completing 12 years as Music Director of the TED Conferences in 2012, Prof. Dolby has been teaching music at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. This Fall he will launch a new undergraduate degree course at the Peabody Institute, focusing on music composition and 3D sound design for virtual and augmented reality — the first of its kind at a major U.S. university.

The tour is sponsored in part by Roland Corp., manufacturer of the world’s most iconic synthesizers, guitar pedals and drum machines.

Tour dates:

Wed. July 25 LOS ANGELES, CA Largo at the Coronet
Fri., July 27 LOS ANGELES, CA Microsoft Theater (supporting Blondie)
Mon. July 30 ALEXANDRIA, VA (DC)The Birchmere
Tues. July 31 ANNAPOLIS, MDRam’s Head
Wed. Aug 1 SELLERSVILLE, PA (PHILADELPHIA)Sellersville Theater
Fri. Aug 3 NEW YORK, NYThe Cutting Room
Sat. Aug 4 NATICK, MANatick TCAN Center for the Arts
Sun. Aug 5 NEW HAVEN, CTState House
Mon. Aug 6 ATLANTIC CITY, NJ Dante Theater
Wed. Aug 8 BALTIMORE, MDCenter Stage

For full list of venues and ticket links, go to http://www.thomasdolby.com/

Track listing

CD1
1. Hyperactive!
2. Europa And The Pirate Twins
3. Radio Silence
4. Screen Kiss
5. Valley Of The Mind's Eye
6. I Scare Myself
7. The Devil Is An Englishman
8. Windpower
9. Dissidents
10. Eastern Bloc
11. Airhead
12. Cruel
13. The Ability To Swing
14. Neon Sisters

CD2
1. She Blinded Me With Science
2. One Of Our Submarines
3. The Flat Earth
4. Beauty Of A Dream
5. Budapest By Blimp
6. I Love You Goodbye
7. Urges
8. Pulp Culture
9. Close But No Cigar
10. Leipzig
11. Silk Pyjamas
12. May The Cube Be With You
13. Airwaves
14. My Brain Is Like A Sieve