An overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental (including the fundamental which is 1 times itself.) These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the acoustic behavior of musical instruments. Due to a translation error in its coining, Alexander J. Ellis strongly suggested avoiding the term ''overtone'' in deference to ''upper partial (simple) tones''. (See etymology below.)

When a resonant system such as a blown pipe or plucked string is excited, a number of overtones may be produced along with the fundamental tone. In simple cases, such as for most musical instruments, the frequencies of these tones are the same as (or close to) the harmonics. An example of an exception is a circular drum, whose first overtone is about 1.6 times its fundamental resonance frequency. The human vocal tract is able to produce a highly variable structure of overtones, called formants, which define different vowels.

Explanation

Most oscillators, from a guitar string to a bell (or even the hydrogen atom or a periodic variable star) will naturally vibrate at a series of distinct frequencies known as normal modes. The lowest normal mode frequency is known as the fundamental frequency, while the higher frequencies are called overtones. Often, when an oscillator is excited by, for example, plucking a guitar string, it will oscillate at several of its modal frequencies at the same time. So when a note is played, this gives the sensation of hearing other frequencies (overtones) above the lowest frequency (the fundamental).

Timbre is the quality that gives the listener the ability to distinguish between the sound of different instruments. The timbre of an instrument is determined by which overtones it emphasizes. That is to say, the relative volumes of these overtones to each other determines the specific "flavor" or "color" of sound of that family of instruments. The intensity of each of these overtones is rarely constant for the duration of a note. Over time, different overtones may decay at different rates, causing the relative intensity of each overtone to rise or fall independent of the overall volume of the sound. A carefully trained ear can hear these changes even in a single note. This is why the timbre of a note may be perceived differently when played staccato or legato.

A driven non-linear oscillator, such as the human voice, a blown wind instrument, or a bowed violin string (but not a struck guitar string or bell) will oscillate in a periodic, non-sinusoidal manner. This generates the impression of sound at integer multiple frequencies of the fundamental known as harmonics. For most string instruments and other long and thin instruments such as a trombone or bassoon, the first few overtones are quite close to integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, producing an approximation to a harmonic series. Thus, in music, overtones are often called harmonics. Depending upon how the string is plucked or bowed, different overtones can be emphasized.

However, some overtones in some instruments may not be of a close integer multiplication of the fundamental frequency, thus causing a small dissonance. "High quality" instruments are usually built in such a manner that their individual notes do not create disharmonious overtones. In fact, the flared end of a brass instrument is not to make the instrument sound louder, but to correct for tube length “end effects” that would otherwise make the overtones significantly different from integer harmonics. This is illustrated by the following:

Consider a guitar string. Its idealized 1st overtone would be exactly twice its fundamental if its length was shortened by ½, say by lightly pressing a guitar string at the 12th fret. However, if a vibrating string is examined, it will be seen that the string does not vibrate flush to the bridge and nut, but has a small “dead length” of string at each end. This dead length actually varies from string to string, being more pronounced with thicker and/or stiffer strings. This means that halving the physical string length does not halve the actual string vibration length, and hence, the overtones will not be exact multiples of a fundamental frequency. The effect is so pronounced that properly set up guitars will angle the bridge such that the thinner strings will progressively have a length up to few millimeters shorter than the thicker strings. Not doing so would result in inharmonious chords made up of two or more strings. Similar considerations apply to tube instruments.

Musical usage term

An overtone is a partial (a "partial wave" or "constituent frequency") that can be either a harmonic partial (a harmonic) other than the fundamental, or an inharmonic partial. A harmonic frequency is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency. An inharmonic frequency is a non-integer multiple of a fundamental frequency.

An example of harmonic overtones: (absolute harmony)

!Frequency	!Order	!Name 1	!Name 2	!Name 3
''1 · f '' =   440 Hz	''n = 1''	fundamental tone	1st harmonic	1st partial
''2 · f '' =   880 Hz	''n = 2''	1st overtone	2nd harmonic	2nd partial
''3 · f ''= 1320 Hz	''n = 3''	2nd overtone	3rd harmonic	3rd partial
''4 · f ''= 1760 Hz	''n = 4''	3rd overtone	4th harmonic	4th partial

Some musical instruments produce overtones that are slightly sharper or flatter than true harmonics. The sharpness or flatness of their overtones is one of the elements that contributes to their unique sound. This also has the effect of making their waveforms not perfectly periodic.

Musical instruments that can create notes of any desired duration and definite pitch have harmonic partials. A tuning fork, provided it is sounded with a mallet (or equivalent) that is reasonably soft, has a tone that consists very nearly of the fundamental, alone; it has a sinusoidal waveform. Nevertheless, music consisting of pure sinusoids was found to be unsatisfactory in the early 20th century.

Etymology

In Hermann von Helmholtz's classic "On The Sensations Of Tone" he used the German "Obertöne" which was actually a contraction of "Oberpartialtöne", or in English: "upper partial tones". However, due to the similarity of German "ober" to English "over", a Prof. Tyndall mistranslated Helmholtz' term, thus creating "overtone". This mistranslation creates unfortunate confusion, adding an additional term that is mathematically problematic (as described above) and has unfortunate mystical connotations that have led to the suggestion that if there are overtones, perhaps there are "undertones" (a term sometimes confused with "difference tones" but also used in speculation about a hypothetical "undertone series"). In contrast, the correct translation of "upper partial tones" does not have any problematic implications. Alexander Ellis discusses the mistranslation on pages 24–25 of his definitive English translation of Helmholtz, where Ellis strongly suggests avoidance of the term "overtone".

"Overtones" in barbershop music

In barbershop music, the word ''overtone'' is often used in a related but particular manner. It refers to a psychoacoustic effect in which a listener hears an audible pitch that is higher than, and different from, the fundamentals of the four pitches being sung by the quartet. The barbershop singer's "overtone" is created by the interactions of the upper partial tones in each singer's note (and by sum and difference frequencies created by nonlinear interactions within the ear). Similar effects can be found in other ''a cappella'' polyphonic music such as the music of the Republic of Georgia and the Sardinian ''cantu a tenore''.

String instruments

String instruments can also produce multiphonic tones when strings are divided in two pieces. The most developed instrument for playing multiphonic tones is the Sitar in which there are sympathetic strings which help to bring out the overtones while one is playing. The most well-known technique on a guitar is playing flageolet tones. The Ancient Chinese instrument the Guqin contains a scale based on the knotted positions of overtones. Also the Vietnamese Đàn bầu functions on flageolet tones. Other multiphonic extended techniques used are prepared piano, prepared guitar and 3rd bridge.

Overtone singing

Overtone singing, also called harmonic singing, occurs when the singer amplifies voluntarily two overtones in the sequence available given the fundamental tone he/she is singing. Overtone singing is a traditional form of singing in many parts of the Himalayas and Altay; Tibetans, Mongols and Tuvans are known for their overtone singing. In these contexts it is often referred to as throat singing, though it should not be confused with Inuit throat singing, which is produced by different means.

Jaw harp

A similar technique is used for playing the jaw harp: the performer amplifies the instrument's overtones by changing the shape, and therefore the resonance, of their vocal tract.

Free-reed aerophone

Likewise, when playing a harmonica or pitch pipe, one may alter the shape of their mouth to amplify specific overtones.

See also

Harmonic series (music)

Harmonics

Just intonation

Xenharmonic

Stretched octave

Combination tone

Electronic tuner

Scale of harmonics

References

External links

An illustration of standing waves as overtones on a violin string

Overtones, partials and harmonics from fundamental frequency

Category:Musical tuning Category:Acoustics

bg:Обертон ca:Sobretò cs:Alikvotní tón da:Deltone de:Oberton et:Ülemheli es:Sobretono eo:Suprotono fr:Partiel (acoustique) it:Ipertoni (musica) he:צליל עילי kk:Обертон nl:Boventoon ja:倍音 pt:Sobretom ru:Обертон fi:Yläsävel sv:Delton uk:Обертон zh:泛音

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Aloe Blacc
birth name	Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III
background	solo_singer
origin	Orange County, California, U.S.
born	June 8, 1979 (age 32)
genre	Soul, R&B;, jazz, hip hop
years active	1995–present
label	Stones Throw Records
associated acts	Emanon, Exile, Lena Meyer-Landrut
website	http://aloeblacc.com/
notable instruments	}}

Aloe Blacc (born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III in 1979) is an American soul singer, rapper, and musician. He is a first-generation African American with parents born in Panama.

Early career and ''Shine Through'' (1995-2009)

Blacc first began his music career in 1995 as a rapper with producer Exile in the hip hop duo Emanon. By the end of the 1990s, Blacc was a "Stowaway" on a Lootpack tour in Europe. The duo released six albums in total. This also led to Blacc working with the French Jazz group Jazz Liberatorz.

In 2003, he signed with Stones Throw Records and started a solo career. He released his debut EP in the same year. He then released a debut album, entitled ''Shine Through'' on July 11, 2006. It was released on CD, Vinyl record and online (on the Stones Throw website).

He later went on to tour across Europe and the U.S. with Emanon. During this time, he also worked on his second solo album, "Good Things".

In 2009, collaborating with Japanese Hip Hop Producer Cradle, calling themselves Bee, he released the album "Open Your Mind" on GoonTrax records.

Mainstream success and ''Good Things'' (2010-present)

'Good Things' was originally released on Stones Throw records in the fall of 2010. It was produced by Jeff Dynamite and Leon Michels for TRUTH & SOUL Productions.

In 2010, Blacc signed a recording contract with Epic Records for the UK and Ireland. His album "Good Things" was released there later in the year, as was his single, "I Need A Dollar".

He also recorded a cover version of the John Legend song "Ordinary People" in Spanish titled "Gente Ordinaria". Blacc then went on to write the song "At All" for Lena Meyer-Landrut's album ''Good News'' after meeting the German singer backstage at a TV show.

His song "I Need a Dollar" is used for the intro song for the HBO show ''How to Make It in America'', and was featured as the iTunes Single of the Week. Blacc has performed the song live on many television shows such as ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', ''Later... with Jools Holland'', ''Conan'' and ''The Graham Norton Show''. "I Need a Dollar" is also one of the featured songs in EA Sports' 2011 boxing game, ''Fight Night Champion''. In April 2011, the song was also featured in a commercial for Boost Mobile cellular phone services.

His single "I Need A Dollar" was widely successful across Europe reaching top ten in many countries including the UK. Following the success of "I Need a Dollar" his album, ''Good Things'' started to receive attention and charted in many European countries. The album also managed to chart in the US, at number ten on the Top Heatseekers chart and forty-one on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The second single from the album,"Loving You Is Killing Me" was released on the 7 March 2011 and peaked at eight in Austria and top forty in 3 other counties.

He is also set to release his ninth album with his American hip-hop duo Emanon titled "Bird's Eye View" in 2011.

On 25 April 2011, he performed on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge and played 3 songs. He played the hits "I Need a Dollar" and "Loving You Is Killing Me" and also covered the Jay-Z song "99 Problems".

Also in 2011, he collaborated with Alice Smith on the track "Baby", and Clare Moreno on the track "Nascimento (Rebirth)-Scene II", for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album "Red Hot + Rio 2". The album is a follow-up to the 1996 "Red Hot + Rio". Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues.

In 2011, Kenneth Bager featured Aloe Blacc on "The Sound of Swing, Pt. 2 (Oh Na Na)" co-written by Thomas Troelsen.

Television appearances

Year	Show
2010	''Later... with Jools Holland''
2010	''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''
2011
2011	''The Graham Norton Show''

Discography

Studio albums

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |+ List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Album details ! scope="col" colspan="12"| Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Certifications |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|US R&B;

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|US Heat

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|AUS

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|AUT

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|BEL (FL)

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|BEL (WL)

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|NL

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|NZ

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|FRA

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|SWI

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|IRE

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:85%;"|UK |- ! scope="row" | ''Shine Through'' |

Released: July 11, 2006

Label: Stones Throw Records

Formats: CD, Vinyl

| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — | — |- ! scope="row" |''Good Things'' |

Released: September 28, 2010

Label: Stones Throw Records

Formats: CD, Digital Download

| 41 || 10 || 22 || 36 || 5 || 30 || 39 || 21 || 19 || 31 || 12 || 8 | FRA: Gold |- |colspan="14" style="font-size:9pt"| "—" denotes albums that did not chart or were not released |}

Extended plays

Title	EP details
''The Aloe Blacc EP''		*Released: 12 July 2003	*Label: N/A	*Format: [[Compact Disc
''The Aloe Blacc EP 2: Me and My Music''		*Released: 28 September 2004	*Label: N/A	*Format: [[Compact Disc

Singles

4 12 —

rowspan="2" style="width:10px;"	Year	Title	Peak chart positions												[[Music recording sales certification	Album
!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"		!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"	!style="width:3em; font-size:85%"
2010		16	1	|	5	35	5	52	53	28	2	2	16		ARIA Charts>AUS: Gold	International Federation of the Phonographic Industry>SWI: Platinum	Bundesverband Musikindustrie>GER: Gold
		—	|	12	8	—	26	—	—	—	—	—	52
	—	|	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

With Emanon

With Cradle

''Bee - Open Your Mind'' (2009)

References

External links

Aloe Blacc

Aloe Blacc Official Merchandise Store

Aloe Blacc at Stones Throw Records

RBMA Radio On Demand - Melbourne Marvels - Aloe Blacc (Stones Throw)

Short Film on Aloe Blacc

NPR interview from October 2010

(fr) Interview with Aloe Blacc on Soulrnb.com

NPR interview from February 2011

Aloe Blacc - Radio 1Xtra Live Lounge

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American soul singers Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:Musicians from California Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:Stones Throw Records artists Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

da:Aloe Blacc de:Aloe Blacc fa:آلو بلک fr:Aloe Blacc it:Aloe Blacc he:אלו בלאק nl:Aloe Blacc no:Aloe Blacc pl:Aloe Blacc ru:Aloe Blacc

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	David Byrne
background	solo_singer
born	May 14, 1952Dumbarton, Scotland, UK
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizer, flute, clavinet, slide guitar, harmonica, autoharp, harmonium, violin, accordion buildings
genre	New Wave, experimental pop, worldbeat, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, Songwriter, artist, singer, actor, director, Film producer, Record producer
years active	1974–present
label	Luaka Bop, Nonesuch Records, Thrill Jockey
associated acts	Talking Heads, Brian Eno, X-Press 2, Fatboy Slim, The BPA
website	Official Website
notable instruments	Fender MustangFender Stratocaster }}

David Byrne (born May 14, 1952) is a Scottish-born, American musician and artist most associated with his role as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography, opera, and non-fiction. He has received Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and been inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Biography

Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, to Tom and Emma Byrne. He was the elder of two children. Two years later, his parents moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and then to Arbutus, Maryland, when he was 8 or 9 years old. His father worked as an electronics engineer. Before high school, David Byrne already knew how to play the guitar, accordion, and violin. He was rejected from his middle school’s choir because they claimed he was "off-key and too withdrawn." From a young age, Byrne had a strong interest in music. His parents say that he would constantly play his phonograph from age three and he learned how to play the harmonica at age five. In his journals he says, "I was a peculiar young man — borderline Asperger's, I would guess." As revealed by Tina Weymouth in the commentary for the concert film Stop Making Sense, Byrne is left handed but plays guitar right handed.

He graduated from Lansdowne High School in southwest Baltimore County. Byrne started his musical career in a high school duo named Bizadi with Mark Kehoe. Their repertoire consisted mostly of songs such as "April Showers," "96 Tears," "Dancing On The Ceiling," and Frank Sinatra songs. Byrne then attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art before dropping out and forming a band called "The Artistics" with fellow RISD student Chris Frantz. The band dissolved within a year, and the two moved to New York together with Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth. Unable to find a bass player in New York, Frantz and Byrne persuaded Weymouth to learn to play the bass guitar. She admits that the encouragement she received from Byrne, Frantz, and famed trumpet player Don Cherry (who lived in their building), was critical as to her grasp of the instrument.

After some practice and playing together they founded the group Talking Heads which had its first gig in 1975. Multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison joined the group in 1977. During his time in the band, Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating with Brian Eno in 1981 on the album ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'', which attracted considerable critical acclaim and featured a groundbreaking use of sampling.

While working on the film ''True Stories'', Byrne met costume designer Adelle Lutz whom he married in 1987. They have a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, born in 1989. Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004. Byrne began a relationship with the artist Cindy Sherman in 2007.

Although a resident of the United States since childhood, Byrne is a British citizen, and has never applied for U.S. citizenship. He lives in New York City.

Work in music and film

In 1981, Byrne partnered with choreographer Twyla Tharp, scoring music he wrote that appeared on his album, ''The Catherine Wheel'' for a ballet with the same name, prominently featuring unusual rhythms and lyrics. Productions of ''The Catherine Wheel'' appeared on Broadway that same year. ''In Spite of Wishing and Wanting'' is a soundscape David Byrne produced for the Belgian dance company Ultima Vez.

His work has been extensively used in movie soundtracks, most notably in collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su on Bernardo Bertolucci's ''The Last Emperor'', which won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 2004, ''Lead Us Not Into Temptation (music from the film "Young Adam")'' included tracks and musical experiments from his score to ''Young Adam''. Byrne also wrote, directed, and starred in ''True Stories'', a musical collage of discordant Americana released in 1986, as well as producing most of the film's music. Byrne also directed the documentary ''Île Aiye'' and the concert film of his 1992 Latin-tinged tour titled ''Between the Teeth''. He was chiefly responsible for the stage design and choreography of ''Stop Making Sense'' in 1984. Byrne added "Loco de Amor" (Crazy for Love) with Celia Cruz to Jonathan Demme's 1986 film ''Something Wild''.

Byrne wrote the Dirty Dozen Brass Band-inspired score for Robert Wilson's Opera ''The Knee Plays'' from ''The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down''. Some of the music from Byrne's orchestral album ''The Forest'' was originally used in a Wilson-directed theatre piece with the same name. ''The Forest'' premiered at the Theater der Freien Volksbühne, Berlin in 1988. It received its New York premiere in December 1988 at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The Forestry Maxi-single contained dance and industrial remixes of pieces from ''The Forest'' by Jack Dangers, Rudy Tambala, and Anthony Capel.

Byrne has contributed songs to five AIDS benefit compilation albums produced by the Red Hot Organization: ''Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter'', ''Red Hot + Rio'', ''Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin'', ''Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon'', and ''Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip''. Byrne appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs during their ''MTV Unplugged'' concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from their following album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on 10,000 Maniacs' CD single "Few and Far Between". Byrne worked with the "Queen of Tex-Mex", Tejano superstar Selena, writing, producing and singing a song ("God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"), included on Selena's last album, "Dreaming of You", before her death. Byrne was the host of ''Sessions at West 54th'' during its second of three seasons and collaborated with members of Devo and Morcheeba to record the album ''Feelings'' in 1997.

In 2008 Byrne collaborated with The Brighton Port Authority, composing the music and singing the lyrics for "Toe Jam".

In May 2011 Byrne contributed backing vocals to the Arcade Fire track "Speaking in Tongues" which will appear on the deluxe edition of their 2011 album The Suburbs

Other work

Byrne founded the world music record label Luaka Bop in 1990. It was originally created to release Latin American compilations, but it has grown to include music from Cuba, Africa, the Far East and beyond, releasing the work of artists such as Cornershop, Os Mutantes, Los De Abajo, Jim White, Zap Mama, Tom Zé, Los Amigos Invisibles and King Chango.

Byrne is also a visual artist whose work has been shown in contemporary art galleries and museums around the world since the 1990s. Represented by the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York, he has also created public art installations, many of them anonymously. In 2010 his original art work is due to be featured in the exhibition ''The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl'' at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

Cycling

Byrne is known for his activism in support of increased cycling, and for having used a bike as his main means of transport for most of his life, especially cycling around New York. He has a regular cycling column in the ''New York Times''.

He says that he cycled when he was in high school and returned to it as an adult in the late 1970s. He likes the freedom and exhilarating feeling cycling gives him. He has written widely on cycling, including a 2009 book, ''Bicycle Diaries''. In August 2009, he auctioned his Montague folding bike in order to raise money for the London Cycling Campaign.

In 2008, Byrne designed a series of innovative bicycle parking racks in the form of image outlines corresponding to the areas in which they were located, such as a dollar sign for Wall Street and an electric guitar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Byrne worked with a manufacturer that would construct the racks in exchange for the chance to sell them later as artworks, and the racks remained on the streets for about a year.

Musical activity since 2001

In 2001 a censored version of Byrne's single “Like Humans Do” was selected by Microsoft as the sample music for Windows XP to demonstrate Windows Media Player (not included in SP2 installs). The next year, he provided vocals for a track, "Lazy" by X-Press 2, which reached number 2 in the United Kingdom and number 1 on the U.S. Dance Charts. Byrne said in an interview in BBC Four Sessions's coverage of his Union Chapel performance that “Lazy” was number 1 in Syria.

In April 2003, Byrne appeared as himself in an episode of ''The Simpsons'', "Dude, Where's My Ranch?". Later in the year, Byrne released the book ''Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information'' (ISBN 3-88243-907-6). together with a companion DVD. The work included artwork composed entirely in Microsoft PowerPoint. It includes one image that depicts, according to Byrne, "Dan Rather's profile. Expanded to the nth degree. Taken to infinity. Overlaid on the back of Patrick Stewart's head."

Byrne's solo album, ''Grown Backwards'', was released on March 16, 2004 by Nonesuch Records. This album used orchestral string arrangements, and includes two operatic arias. He also launched a North American and Australian tour with the Tosca Strings. This tour ended with Los Angeles, San Diego and New York shows in August 2005. The following year, his singing was featured on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" on ''The Cosmic Game'' by Thievery Corporation.

In 2005, Byrne initiated his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne. Each month, Byrne posts a playlist of music he likes, linked by themes or genres. Byrne's playlists have included African popular music; Country music classics; Vox Humana; Classical opera, and film scores from Italian movies. Byrne also posts personal comments on the music and, occasionally, on the state of the recorded music industry. In July 2007, Byrne posted the following comment: }}

Returning to this work in the theatre, in late 2005 Byrne and Fatboy Slim began work on ''Here Lies Love'', a disco opera or song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, the controversial former First Lady of the Philippines. Some music from this piece was debuted at Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia in February 2006 and the following year at Carnegie Hall on February 3, 2007.

Byrne and Eno's influential 1981 album ''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' was re-released for its 25th anniversary in early 2006, with new bonus tracks. In keeping with the spirit of the original album, two of the songs' component tracks were released under Creative Commons licenses and a remix contest site was launched. Later that same year, Byrne released ''Arboretum'', a sketchbook facsimile of his Tree Drawings, published by McSweeney's. He also had an exhibition of his chairs — drawings, photographs, sculptures, and embroideries — at Pace/MacGill Gallery, NYC. In 2007, David Byrne provided a cover of The Fiery Furnaces' song "Ex-Guru" for a compilation to celebrate the 15th birthday of Thrill Jockey, a Chicago-based label.

In April 2008, Byrne took part in the Paul Simon retrospective concert series at BAM performing "You Can Call Me Al" and "I Know What I Know" from Simon's ''Graceland'' album. In 2008, Byrne and his production team programmed the Battery Maritime Building, a 99-year-old ferry terminal in Manhattan, to play music. Essentially Byrne took the old New York City building, hooked the entire structure - pipes, heaters, pillars and all, electronically to an old pipe organ, and made a playable musical instrument of it, for a piece called "Playing the Building". This project was also installed in 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden, and at the London Roundhouse in 2009. It bears similarities to a series of installations performed by New Zealand and Detroit based artists Alastair Galbraith and Matt De Genaro, recorded on their 1998 record ''Wire Music'' and 2006 follow-up ''Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 2''. Byrne says that the point in this project was to allow people to experience art first hand, by creating the music with the organ, rather than simply looking at it. Byrne and Eno reunited for 2008's ''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today'' and Byrne assembled a band to tour the album and other collaborations between the two through late 2008. He assembled a band to tour worldwide for the album for a six-month period from late 2008 through early 2009 on the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour. The day after that album was released, ''Big Love: Hymnal'' - his soundtrack to season two of ''Big Love'' was made available. These two albums constituted the first releases on his personal independent record label Todo Mundo. In the same year, Byrne performed at the Austin City Limits festival.

He is featured on the tracks "Money" and "The People Tree", on N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album ''The Spirit of Apollo''. Also in 2009, David Byrne appeared on HIV/AIDS charity album ''Dark Was the Night'' for Red Hot Organization. He collaborated with Dirty Projectors on the song "Knotty Pine". In the same year, Byrne performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He also was a signator of a letter protesting the decision of the Toronto International Film Festival to choose Tel Aviv as the subject of its inaugural City-to-City Spotlight strand.

In 2010, David Byrne songs were featured on the soundtrack of Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Works by David Byrne

Selected discography

''My Life in the Bush of Ghosts'' (with Brian Eno) (1981)

''Rei Momo'' (1989)

''The Forest'' (1991)

''Uh-Oh'' (1992)

''David Byrne'' (1994)

''Feelings'' (1997)

''Look into the Eyeball'' (2001)

''Grown Backwards'' (2004)

''Everything That Happens Will Happen Today'' (with Brian Eno) (2008)

Books

''True Stories'' (1986)

''Strange Ritual, Chronicle Books'' (1995)

''Your Action World'' (1999)

''The New Sins (Los Nuevos Pecados)'' (2001)

''David Byrne Asks You: What Is It?'' Smart Art Press (2002)

''Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information'' with DVD (2003)

''Arboretum'', (2006)

''Bicycle Diaries'' (2009)

Film

''Stop Making Sense'' - concert movie from Talking Heads tour (1984)

''True Stories'' (1986)

''Ile Aiye'' (''The house of life'') - Documentary (1989)

''Here Lies Love'' - with concept album in collaboration with Norman Cook (released 2010)

''Ride, Rise, Roar'' - music documentary of his concert tour with Brian Eno (released 2010)

''This Must Be the Place'' - 2011

References

Further reading

Sytze Steenstra: ''Song and Circumstance. The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present''. New York and London: Continuum Books, 2010.

John Howell: ''David Byrne''. (American Originals Series) New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1992.

Ian Gittin: ''Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime: The Stories Behind Every Song''.

External links

Byrne, Baby Byrne, Guernica Magazine's Michael Archer interviews David Byrne

TED talk: ''How architecture helped music evolve''. Feb 2010

His journal

David Byrne Carl Jung Lecture

We Are The Noise Between Stations: A philosophical exploration of the work of David Byrne, at the crossroads of popular media, conceptual art, and performance theatre''. Maastricht: Mixed Media, 2003.

The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl

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