Welcome to Breakdown, an unofficial resource and discussion list about the innovative guitarist/producer Michael Brook. This site is infrequently updated, but contains a great deal of background info which will remain online. For up-to-date news and information, visit Michael Brook's official site and MySpace page.

An unofficial resource and discussion list about the innovative guitarist producer Michael Brook

A place for any little Michael Brook - related tidbits that might come this way. (this page is an archive; see the homepage for current news)

• 15 November 2000: Radio Real World reports: "Dr Huckwe Zawose has recently been in the studios here working on his new CD with Michael Brook, and also on Peter's next studio release. He has also found time to complete a WOMAD Select release "Mkuki Wa Roho - A Spear to the Soul". "I would love to see him explode to a much wider audience..." Peter Gabriel."
• 22 August 2000: The new compilation Orphée features a track from Sleeps with Fishes.
• 7 June 2000: Undark is reissued as "The Strange Familiar." Also, news on three scores by or featuring Brook: The Jaundiced Eye, Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, and Mission Impossible II.
• January 2000: The Last Pogo is reissued and Pearl + Umbra is released in the US.
• December 1999: Echoes has posted the Living Room Concert online.
• 9, 14 & 21 November 1999: Echoes will broadcast a live Gasparyan & Brook Living Room Concert.
• 23 September 1999: Pearl and Umbra is available online from Bella Union.
• 10 August 1999: Swan Song, a live album from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, features Mustt Mustt.
• 15 July 1999: News about Russell Mills' Pearl and Umbra from Bella Union.
• 31 July - 12 August 1999: US tour dates for Djivan Gasparyan and Michael Brook announced.
• 24 June 1999: Steven Davey reports: Poi Dog (formerly Poi Dog Pondering) have covered the Khan & Brook piece "Tracery / Tana Dery Na" on their new album, Natural Thing. Available online on their official site.
• 5 June 1999 News on two upcoming films with music by Brook: Getting to Know You and Buddy Boy.
• 23 March 1999 4AD reissues the complete Cobalt Blue and Live at the Aquarium albums as a special 2CD edition.
• 23 March 1999 Virgin Records releases Julia Fordham Collection in the US, including two tracks from East West.
• 19 January 1999 Brook's score for the film Affliction is released in the US only.

8 December 1998:

  • Michael Brook will perform with Djivan Gasparyan in Christuskirche in Cologne, Germany, on 11 December 1998 at 8PM, Herwarthstrasse, 50672 Koeln. The event is organized by Die Kantine, email kantine@kantine.com, tel: 049-221-9726837. The Die Kantine website is offering online ticket reservations, for DM 22 in advance and DM 26 at the evening of the concert.

17 November 1998:

  • Michael Brook performs at the Reverb in Toronto with Neil Finn (formerly of Crowded House).

November 1998:

  • Michael Brook and Djivan Gasparyan perform in at the Armenian Music Awards in Los Angeles. Black rock wins the award for Best New Age Album.

20 October 1998:

  • Black Rock is released in the US, distributed by Narada.

1 October 1998:

  • The new Djivan Gasparyan / Michael Brook album Black Rock will be released in the US on October 20, distributed by EMD/Virgin/Narada. Caoline.com seems to have taken down their Real World US pages. So, it would seem that Caroline is no longer distributing Real World Records in the US. CDnow (and probably other online music stores) is currently accepting advance orders.

16 September 1998:

  • The Internet Movie Database lists a 1996 Norweigan film called Stuperen ("The Diver") with original music by Michael Brook. Check Scores for more information.

10 September 1998:

  • Black Rock, the new Djivan Gasparyan & Michael Brook album, is out now in the UK on Real World Records.

29 July 1998:

  • The summer 1998 issue of Real World Notes is out now! Much of it is focused on new work from Michael Brook. Please see our Real World Notes 6 discography page for more information. Visit Radio Real World to subscribe.
  • My contact at Lions Gate Pictures says the Paul Schrader film Affliction (with a score by Brook) is finally due to be relased in North America in December 1998. No specific talk of a soundtrack cd, but as they are becoming ever more powerful film marketing tools, expect to see one. See Scores for more information.

1 June 1998:

  • Forget to mention that the Rhino compilation New Visions: World Rhythms and the Real World compilation Bliss are now out. See the New Visions and Bliss pages for more information.

1 May 1998:

  • The Paul Schrader film Affliction, with a score by Brook, is now said to be released in winter 1998. See the Affliction page for more information.

13 March 1998:

18 February 1998:

  • Caroline Records online has announced the forthcoming release of Bliss (CAR 2372), a new compilation featuring tracks from Real World Records. It is to showcase "Classic atmospheric tracks from the Real World catalog seamlessly mixed together to create a truly global dreamscape. Features Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Peter Gabriel, Sheila Chandra, Afro Celt Sound System and others." The US release date is set at 5 May 1998.

2 January 1998:

  • A good bit of Radio Real World has been nicely redesigned. I report this only because it's still my favorite web site in the world, both in content and appearance. In the latest "Exposure" installment, they report: "In the studios, Michael Brook is currently working with Djivan Gasparyan, recording a new album for release by Real World Records. Work on the album, comprising traditional Armenian duduk and voice, combined with Michael Brook's unique contemporary grooves and ambience, began at the Festival of Visual Arts in Lanzarote, before the Real World stint. We can look forward to its release in the middle of next year." Brook also produced a previous Djivan Gasparayan album, Moon Shines at Night.

5 December 1997:

  • Ice magazine confirms a US release of Star Rise from Real World / Caroline Records on 27 January 1998. Reported by Bruce Carle.

30 November 1997:

  • Bruce Carle reports the film Joyride has already been released, apparently going "straight to video." A soundtrack cd featuring a clutch of 4AD artists is along for the ride (it seems at least one of the record label's executive suits bankrolled the film). The cd includes "Breakdown" from Michael Brook. At this time, it is unclear if it is the familiar version from Colbalt Blue. Both cd and video were released the week of 17 November 1997.

24 October 1997:

  • Radio Real World reports the death of Jo Bruce on 8 October 1997. Bruce was an engineer at the Real World studios in Bath and a key member of the Afro Celt Sound System ensemble. He co-engineered and mixed (and played hammond organ, drums, and woodwinds) Night Song, as well as working with Michael Brook and U. Srinivas on other occasions.

30 September 1997:

  • Radio Real World has posted further information about the forthcoming Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan / Michael Brook / Sounds of the Asian Underground album Star Rise. Visit RRW's neat-o Shockwave - enhanced preview.
  • Caroline Transit Authority reports The Seven Steps to Mercy by Iarla O'Lionaird is to be released in the US on 21 October, 1997. Also, US citizens will have to wait until 27 January 1998 to buy Star Rise domestically.

26 September 1997:

  • Michael Brook has produced The Seven Steps to Mercy, by Iarla O Lionaird, out now (in the UK only) on Real World Records. Iarla O Lionaird sang on the Afro-Celt Sound System record and festival tour. The Seven Steps to Mercy, however, is an album of traditional, unaccompanied Irish vocal music. Draw yourself a pint o' stout and sample the goods at the jim-dandy, Shockwave - enhanced official album site (I can be derogatory like that 'cause I'm Irish too!).

25 September 1997:

  • News on David Sylvian's long - delayed new album from an anonymous source. "Yes, the last thing I heard was January 1998. I was told that Michael Brook has finished the last guitar tracks in Minneapolis in July / August. Can you confirm this? Holger Czukay told me, that the album is ready!"

19 September 1997:

  • It pays to do a web search now and then: Michael Brook has composed the score for the new film Affliction. Directed by Paul Schrader, it premiered 28 August 1997 at the Venice Film Festival. It was a US production starring Nick Nolte, Willem Dafoe and others. I don't know if it has been picked up for US or international distribution (don't hold your breath - these things have a way of not happening, trust me). No word on a possible soundtrack release, either. Check out the Internet Movie Database for more information on the film.

1 September 1997:

  • This little bit of news is probably extremely stale, but I thought I should mention it here anyway: Albino Alligator is indeed out on video, with little fanfare.

29 August 1997:

  • Michael Brook has produced Julia Fordham's new release: East West, released 12 August 1997 on Virgin Records. I'll look for it this weekend and post some notes soon.

26 August 1997:

  • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the great Qawwali vocalist, died on Saturday, 16 August 1997 of a heart attack in a London hospital. He was 49. I'm not going to attempt an obituary here. Others have done it sooner and better.
  • Peter Gabriel has announced plans to produce a commemorative cd celebrating the life of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The cd is to feature dance remixes of previously released work, most likely including tracks from Mustt Mustt and Night Song. Rumor has it that this cd has been in the pipeline for some time now, and the timetable must have been pushed forward due to Khan's untimely death. The announced release date is in October.