David Gedge at the moment on a Cinerama reissue of ‘Va Va Voom 25’

Cinerama

‘Va Va Voom 25’

‘Va Va Voom’: Re-recorded, re-imagined and re-designed!

Available in three formats

Deluxe Edition: Double Vinyl LP + Double CD + DVD

Double CD + DVD

12” Picture Disc

Out: 13 December 2024

Pre Order Physical Album now from here

‘Va Va Voom’ – “Turbo-driven melodies and bittersweet vignettes” [The Times] – was the debut album from Cinerama but, of course, not the debut from the band’s protagonist – David Gedge. Originally released in 1998, it was David’s first musical project outside of The Wedding Present, who, by then, had released five albums and established themselves as one of the UK’s most uncompromising and influential indie rock bands.

To be released in three formats, this celebratory re-imagining of ‘Va Va Voom’ sees David revisiting that remarkable debut. The Deluxe Edition consists of two coloured vinyl LPs and two CDs containing both a full studio re-recording of the original album together with a live recording of the album from August 2023, which can also be viewed on an accompanying DVD. A Double CD + DVD set contains both these recordings, along with the aforementioned DVD, while a Picture Disc also features the studio re-recording. All sets boast stunning new artwork.

David Gedge says: “In 1997, I took a break from being in The Wedding Present and began exploring the idea of writing songs on my own at home, using the new technology that had recently become available. That gave me the freedom to explore writing in the style of different kinds of music, such as the classic pop records of the 1960s and 1970s and the work of film composers like John Barry and Ennio Morricone. I used samplers and sequencers for the demos and session musicians in the studio, so there wasn’t a Cinerama ‘band’, as such, until we started playing live after ‘Va Va Voom’ had been released. Last year I decided to mark the 25th anniversary of that release by playing the album in full at my annual Brighton festival, ‘At The Edge Of The Sea’. I was struck by how different ‘Va Va Voom’ sounded, being played by a live band as opposed to those studio session musicians – there’s more vibrancy and energy – so I decided to re-record it!”

Cinerama were originally a duo consisting of David alongside Sally Murrell, his then partner. ‘Va Va Voom’ was the start of something new for David and Cinerama became his main musical focus over the next six years.

David continues: “We went on to record two further albums as Cinerama and, during that time, I learnt much more about how to arrange and record this type of music. For example, on ‘Va Va Voom’, I originally wrote just two parts for strings, which I naively called ‘high strings’ and ‘low strings’! But, now that I know more, I rearranged those parts for a full string quartet for ‘Va Va Voom 25’.”

It was during the recording of what was intended to be the fourth Cinerama album – ‘Take Fountain’ – that a surprising decision was taken. Over the preceding years, people had commented that the sound of Cinerama had become increasingly closer to that of The Wedding Present.

David: “‘Take Fountain’ was sounding rockier and more guitar-led than previous Cinerama albums, so we ultimately decided to release it under the old band name. Ever since, the two entities have kind of co-existed – and often shared musicians – but, while there’s been a certain amount of one influencing the other, they still each retain their individual character.”

For more information, please contact Ben Pester at ben@pesterpr.co.uk

TRACKLISTING

Va Va Voom 25 – Studio Re-recording

Side A

1. Manic (Va Va Voom 25)

2. Comedienne (Va Va Voom 25)

3. Hate (Va Va Voom 25)

4. Kerry Kerry (Va Va Voom 25)

5. Barefoot In The Park (Va Va Voom 25)

6. You Turn Me On (Va Va Voom 25)

Side B:

7. Ears (Va Va Voom 25)

8. Me Next (Va Va Voom 25)

9. Hard, Fast and Beautiful (Va Va Voom 25)l

10. Dance, Girl, Dance (Va Va Voom 25)

11.Honey Rider (Va Va Voom 25)

Va Va Voom – Live in Brighton 2023

Side C:

12.   Maniac (Live in Brighton 2023)

13.   Comedienne (Live in Brighton 2023)

14.   Hate (Live in Brighton 2023)

15.   Kerry Kerry (Live in Brighton 2023)

16.   Barefoot In The Park (Live in Brighton 2023)

17.   You Turn Me On (Live in Brighton 2023)

Side D:

18.   Ears (Live in Brighton 2023)

19.   Me Next (Live in Brighton 2023)

20.   Hard, Fast and Beautiful (Live in Brighton 2023)

21.   Dance, Girl, Dance (Live in Brighton 2023)

22.   Honey Rider (Live in Brighton 2023)