HENRY

HENRY is the brainchild of two Canadian musicians, living in Paris, Elise Velle, premier singer interpreter for Cirque du Soliel, and 6 Degrees Records recording artist Michael Emenau (MNO). "Henry" derives its soul from the first great British composer, Henry Purcell (1659-1695). Purcell is considered to be the first key composer from England and his works have greatly influenced both secular and liturgical music up until the present time. His music has influenced many well-known musicians , such as, Pete Townsend, Queen, Klaus Nomi, Sting, Wendy Carlos, and Michael Nyman. "Henry’s" ambition is to re-interpret, revitalize, and electrify Purcell. His music sits in an interesting era, full of the lyrical brilliance, which was in direct lineage from Shakespeare, but free of the restraining Baroque and sacred music, which would follow soon after his death. Songs of love, war, women, death, friendship and wine, with the occasional reference to Greek and Roman mythology are the norm.

The creative process has involved reading and analyzing hundreds of his compositions, and searching for … the “hits”. We then cut/re-organize the pieces, which often includes reharmonization, editing out certain sections and meter changes. The only two things, which remain untouched, are the meticulous melodic lines and lyrics. Elise spends hours pouring over old English dictionaries to better understand the symbolic meaning of the songs and MNO analyzes 16thcentury figured bass and basso continuo (two baroque musical compositional techniques) to find the means to re-harmonize the pieces while respecting the melodic movement.

Live, “Henry” takes on a new dimension. A tight rock duo/ trio of guitar, electric cajon(a Spanish percussion instrument, with roots in Flamenco music), and laptop processed vibraphone to create an intense, crystalline beauty giving Elise the space and textures to soar high above the clouds of olde England.

Elise Velle was the lead singer, interpreter, and invented language creator for Cirque du Soliel for such spectacles as KA and Mystere. She then continued her collaborations with Cirque composer Rene Dupree for the CD’s “La Belle est Dans Ton Camp” (Universal/Polydor ), "Voyage”(MCA), and “Xotika”(Polygram). In 2008 Elise relocated to Paris to start a journey of musical reinvention, first by reinterpreting unknown monuments of French chanson and now with “Henry”. Be it Symphonic orchestras, goth-rockers, laptopers, or fire-eaters, the soul of Elise cuts through. In 2008 Elise relocated to Paris to start a journey of musical reinvention, first by reinterpreting classic French chanson in a contemporary fashion and now with “Henry”. She has performed with Symphonic orchestras, blues musicians, laptopers, and fire-eaters, and through all of it her unique timbre, range and breath of expression shine through.

Six Degrees Records (San Francisco), Michael Emenau, (P.N.A. “MNO”), has worked professionally as a classical and jazz musician, composer, producer, and remixer for over 20 years throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. He is a classically trained percussionist who made his mark as a studio musician in Tokyo in the 1990's before establishing himself as one of the most important jazz artists(vibraphone) in the San Francisco in the early 2000's. Based in Paris since 2005 he has continued performing live, film scoring and most recently performing and producing with “Henry”.