The Real Story Behind my Unique version of Jean-Michael Jarre's "Robots Don't Cry" 

I was less interested in winning, if I'm honest, than in "getting noticed!" I'd seen how Jean-Michel appeared to genuinely enjoy collaborating with artists he'd never previously worked with. And, coming from an "Operatic" background - I was hoping for the chance to get noticed by my "unusual" competition entries, and maybe persuade Jean-Michel to explore his "operatic side," as a composer. While researching, I came across an interview in which JMJ says "in a world of Cats and Dogs, try to be a Kangaroo!" So - I decided to take him up on exactly that challenge! I would be an "Operatic Kangaroo!"

So, I listened to JMJ's track, "Robots Don't Cry," 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTnP6MpVXnM
And then I thought - "what's the MOST "Kangaroo" thing I can do here? 

So I decided to write my remix - for one of THE most prestigious Competitions at the time, of music by a World-wide acknowledged Icon of not just the "Pop music industry," but also an Artist who'd been at the vanguard of Electronic Music since the early 70s! -  in the style of Jean-Michel's "supposed" arch-rival from the era, the one and only Vangelis! (In reality, of course, the two are great friends and colleagues, but the media desperately tried to create this impression of rivalry between the two!)

THIS - struck me as a "VERY" Kangaroo thing to do, in this world of "les Chats et les Chiens!"

And my choice of track, was no coincidence! I went for not just ANY OLD Vangelis track! But one of his absolute classics, from his years of collaboration with Jon Anderson - "THE FRIENDS OF MR CAIRO" - a 12 minute long odyssey I'd loved since the 1st moment I heard the opening bars... I would literally listen to Oxygene one night, in bed as a teenager. And the next, I'd listen to "Friends of Mr Cairo." 

I loved both Artists equally - but for quite different reasons - because they were very different musicians. 

Synposis: A group of hapless Tech-thieves try to steal Vangelis' robots - responsible for his many great film-scores. But in the panic after the alarm goes off, steal the wrong robots, only realising the mistake when, later at Schloss Zimmer, they are met by the 'villain of the piece' Hans Zimmer, who had persuaded Simon to commit the theft - to prevent any more Oscar-winning film-scores by Vangelis. Simon admits that the robots they stole in fact belong to Jean-Michel Jarre. In the nick of time, JMJ himself appears, and saves the day, by doing something extraordinary with his laser-harp!

ROBOTS DON'T CRY

https://about.me/classicalbanksy (photo by Ki Price)

2020 marked Simon Roberts’ mainstream debut as Media Music Composer, with a nomination from ITV, for a Royal Television Society Crafts and Design Award for his score for “Return to Belsen,” directed by Simon Broughton, and written and presented by Jonathan Dimbleby. Simon teams up with MultiStory again in 2021, for the follow-up, “The Cellist of Auschwitz,” featuring Anita Lasker-Wallfisch.

"Return to Belsen" - broadcast 7th April, 2020, ITV1:

https://youtu.be/UKzQm-eeSRw

An early successful Opera career, which saw him managed by Luciano Pavarotti and living in Italy, Simon was forced to prematurely retire from the opera stage for health reasons, and the enforced convalescence that followed, gave him time to consider new professional directions. 

Having worked as an opera agent for a while, he decided to pursue a career as composer, inspired by Gian-Carlo Menotti, for whom he worked as PA between 2003-2005. 

Following a year of study under Hans Zimmer, a string of media music credits followed, including film scores for Will Rogers' "Bloodline,' Rachel Kelly’s “The Colour of Torment,” alongside scores for the small-screen documentary "Tyranny and Absolute Power - How Magna Carta Happened," for the Manorial Society of Great Britain, and most recently the award-nominated "Return to Belsen” for ITV/MultiStory. 

With 5 singles so far commercially released as “Classicalbanksy,” all eyes are now on the debut album, "Transgenre." The release date has been put back to early 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and boasts a stellar line-up of guest artists. 


Simon Roberts’ Audio Showreel:
https://rcrft.co/reel/Classicalbanksy/audioshowreel
Simon Roberts’ Audio/Visual Showreel:
https://vimeo.com/291702413/45d9502ac3
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The American Dream? features on the following compilation:
Mattrix Mixtape Vol 30 download:
https://www.slacker.com/album/various-artists/mattrix-mixtape-volume-30
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy website:
https://classicalbanksy.com
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy iTunes Page:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-american-dream-single/id1205870917 
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy at CD Baby:
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/classicalbanksy
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/classicalbanksy
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy on Vimeo:
www.vimeo.com/classicalbanksy
Simon Roberts / Classicalbanksy YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJi_qgZ8FY4NLT4wTrL3Lw?view_as=subscriber
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https://twitter.com/classicalbanksy
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https://www.facebook.com/Classicalbanksy
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https://www.instagram.com/instaclassicalbanksy/
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https://plus.google.com/109399724123763346878