Woodkid and composer Nils Frahm have teamed up for a collaborative mini-album featuring spoken word by Robert DeNiro. As the soundtrack accompaniment to the JR-directed short film Ellis, proceeds from the DeNiro starring short and the mini-album will go to charity Sea Watch, which will help those affected by the refugee crisis. Due for release on July 8, the mini-album will be released via Erased Tapes. The film stars DeNiro as an immigrant exploring New York’s abandoned Ellis Island hospital complex.
FACT reports that Frahm said that the “Opportunity to work on JR’s fantastic short film came through my good friend Yoann aka Woodkid.” He continued, saying, “We agreed on recording the piano parts in my studio in Berlin and so it happened that JR and Woodkid were guests at Durton studio on a wonderful late summers day in 2015. We managed to record all the crucial elements that day. The music fell into our laps and melted with the images: a wonderful experience. The film has stuck in my head ever since; it moved my heart and changed my soul.”
Speaking more about the current refugee crisis, Frahm explained, “Robert says it all in 17 minutes. We are not facing a refugee crisis. We are facing a crisis because we do not embrace, we do not sympathize and we cannot give up fear. Art can encourage so I hope this project will help fight the fear in all of us.”
Watch a trailer for the short film above, and check out some more previews of the soundtrack below.
