“WELCOME TO THE MADHOUSE:THE COSTA RICA SESSIONS!”
DOCUFILM & LIVE ALBUM RELEASES
Following from his 2021 studio album Pandora’s Playhouse, multi-instrumentalist and composer Sananda Maitreya presents the dual release of a live album and YouTube docufilm that chronicles the preparation for a 2022 performance in Costa Rica.
Giving viewers a rare glimpse into the behind the scenes processes of one of Sananda’s live shows, the free docufilm features full live performances with his ‘Sugar Plum Pharaohs’ band, and interviews in which Sananda explains his projects, his inspirations, the genesis of how his songs are born; from the idea to the arrangement, from the studio recording process, when he records his albums (in which he is always playing all of the instruments by himself), to the transformation of the songs for live gigs, when the songs get a new form and a new life.
Sananda comments that, “In the Crazy Unpredictable Summer of 2022, we had the good fortune to have been invited to the great country of Costa Rica to give a performance of a selection of songs from our last project, ‘Pandora’s PlayHouse’, the music of which proved very successful for us during the past 2 years & material that myself & my wonderful Italian group of live musicians, ‘the Sugar Plum Pharaohs’ were more than happy to accommodate the preparation of. We’d also determined that we might as well have the rehearsals serve the greater purpose of giving the curious a glimpse into the inner workings of what goes on behind the insulated doors when a band & crew come together to make themselves ready for a concert. Over the course of the filming of the documentary, ‘Welcome to the MadHouse’: the Costa Rica Sessions, we invested close to 3 weeks of daily work in order to arrive satisfactorily at the 10 Songs contained herein, & we should hope that our efforts are made apparent to your ears upon granting us the privilege of listening to this Soundtrack.
All music contained within the documentary has received a new mix and master, and is to buy and stream on all streaming platforms from Jan 13th 2023.
The docufilm is directed by Luciano Boschetti, produced by Francesca Francone Maitreya for TreeHouse Publishing, the DOP, director of photography is Paolo Poletti. Matteo Sandri recorded the live sound and Massimo Faggioni mixed and mastered the audio. ‘The Sugar Plum Pharaohs’, Sananda’s band, is made up of Italian musicians: Marco Mengoni on drums & backing vocals, Francesca Morandi on bass and Luca Pedroni on guitar. The recordings were made in TreeHouse Publishing Studio B in Milan, Italy.
Live Album Track List :
- Mama’s Boy Blues (Live) (4:51)
- Yuki Suzuki (Live) (3:38)
- Her Kiss (Live) (6:10)
- One Horse Town (Live) (3:30)
- A Cool Breeze (Live) (5:27)
- If This Van Is Rocking (Live) (4:21)
- The MadHouse (Live) (4:14)
- Don’t Leave Me Here ! (Live) (4:13)
- Pandora’s PlayHouse (Live) (4:29)
- Prince ! (Live) (3:35)
© TreeHouse Publishing, Jan 13th 2023