Emmanuelle

Music Video for the first single from Court Music From The Planet of Love

‘Emmanuelle’ comes in the midst of what one might call a spiritual quest. From the Berlin Conservatorium of Music, to the Ashrams of South India and UFO landing sites in the Mojave Desert, Prudence Rees-Lee’s life to date has been an endless voyage seeking the points where music and earthly transcendence collide. Named jointly for Sylvia Kristel’s enigmatic erotic cinema icon and the religious figure Immanuel- Hebrew for ‘God is with us’, ‘Emmanuelle’ pins Gainsbourg-esque bass against Rees-Lee’s harpsichord and a wall of ecstatic strings, while weaving a multi-threaded tale of spiritual awakening through the body. Emmanuelle is the first single from Prudence’s debut album, Court Music From the Planet of Love, due out as a gatefold LP on Special Award Records in April 2013.

Recorded with legendary Melbourne producer Simon Grounds and featuring a host of fellow musicians including Shags Chamberlain (Lost Animal, Pikelet), Laura Jean, Jacinta Masters (Useless Children, The Emergency) and Lehmann B. Smith (Kes Band), it’s an album which places artist as conduit with stunning results.

Concept: Prudence Rees-Lee
Director and editor: Zoe Scoglio
Performers: Prudence Rees-Lee & Michaela Pegum
Set: Andrea Kaliviotis (design) Sebastian Peters-lazaro (construction)
Hair and makeup: Lou McLaren
Movement and choreography: Sebastian Peters-lazaro
Lighting: Alex Badham