Leelah Lou Dahlin

A documentary about the making of Lou Reed's legendary album, "Transformer," the album that took Lou Reed from cult hero of the Velvet Underground to international superstar status as a solo artist.

A decade in the making, this is the fifth album and first live publication for Portland-based singer-songwriter, Emilia Dahlin titled, “…Green Things To Grow”. Dahlin, also an activist who’s interested in how to use music to build healthier communities, transformed an industrial warehouse on Portland’s Fore River waterfront into a pop-up venue for a one-evening community event last fall. Handcrafted stages and walls embraced listeners sitting at long, candle-lit tables and the audience shared a hot middle-eastern meal made by a New Neighbor together before the show. The audience and musicians made music as a whole and two local Non-profits were invited to speak about their missions. The album captures the vital connected feel of this special night.

The career of Jean-Philippe Rameau extended over many years and witnessed many changes, and his contributions to music theory and the opera continue to enjoy the greatest prestige even today. While most of Rameaus operas contain several acts, Pygmalion and Dardanus belong to a little series of one-act works (or actes de ballet) that he composed beginning in 1748. Our recording presents a selection of these operas with suites and arias. The arias are interpreted by the Swedish singer Anders J. Dahlin, who is regarded as one of the most versatile tenors of his generation and as a sought-after vocal-cord acrobat. On the present CD he is a so-called haute-contre, which should not be confused with a countertenor. Instead, this particular voice register refers to a tenor who produces his high notes with a chest voice or a voix mixte consisting of chest and head voices. The haute-contre is a specialty of the French Baroque opera, and Dahlins opera performances also include some principal roles from Rameaus works. An absolute listening must!