With Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles in 1967, all laws of pop and rock were broken. The Beatles went on this concept album with unprecedented recording experiments, because they knew they were never going to perform it live anyway. Cello Octet Amsterdam dares to play an instrumental live version of – for many – the best pop record of all time.
An enormous technical and artistic challenge that the Octet dares to take on with a very experienced craftsman and great creative mind: the Dutch-American composer, guitarist and pop/rock singer, David Dramm. The collective memory will be shaken and the iconic songs – still revolutionary and infectious – will sound like never before. Even more iconic than the music, if anything, is the Peter Blake and Jann Haworth-designed cover of Sgt. Pepper’s. In decoration and design, director Titus Tiel Groenestege will make the excitement that Sgt. Pepper’s in the art world. Psychedelic design, pop art and Indian motifs form the natural backdrop for the iconic album, but also reflect the zeitgeist. Design and projection create an environment that portrays the Octet as a revolutionary cello band.
Press for SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY CELLO BAND
“ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Cello Band is the (classic?) live stream concert of the year ” ★★★★★
“… it is of course the music – played completely from memory – that means that we can safely call this the concert of the year. The Beatles were already known for each song having its own sound. That has been brilliantly followed in this arrangement, making use of the unprecedented possibilities that the cello contains. The tearing guitar solo from Fixing a Hole? No problem. The surrealistic ping from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds takes shape as thin octaves with tremolos. And in Within You Without You, the cellists not only deliver a perfect imitation of the sarangi (Indian violin), but also of the sitar.”
“… as the Beatles promised back then: a splendid time is guaranteed for all. “ Volkskrant 27-10-2020
“Extremely successful and at times impressive” Het Parool 26-10-2020
Photos by and © Foppe Schut
