Dirty Projectors Premiere 'The Getty Address' and Preview New Track

Dirty Projectors brought their obscure 2005 album 'The Getty Address' to life with the help of the 20-piece ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, at the London Barbican on Friday, June 25.

Played in its entirety, Dave Longstreth said it had been "an honour" to perform, for the first time in Europe, a record which he had conceived when he was just 21. Rich in the arrangement of Alarm Will Sound's flute, violins, piano, double basses, bassoon and an infinite number of percussion instruments, the performance was conducted by Alan Pierson with Longstreth at the front of the stage.
The female counterparts -- Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle and Angel Deradoorian -- sang three-part harmonies, at times imitating keyboard sounds, to the right of the stage whilst hwearing matching capes and dresses of blue, yellow and red respectively.

With 'The Getty Address' being recorded for the first half, the band played almost two and a half hours in total. Following a brief interval, a six-strong Dirty Projectors returned for the rockier set, comprised of songs from their 2009 'Bitte Orca' LP.

Beginning with 'Two Doves,' which saw Deradoorian sing a measured and hushed version over Longstreth's electric guitar, the set also included a diva-esque ownership of 'Stillness Is the Move' from Coffman. With the band heading to Glastonbury this weekend, Longstreth commented on how excited the band were, and pondered the skies. "You can never predict the weather," he joked.

The main set ended on a rapturously received and yo-yoing 'Bitte Orca' before the group returned for an encore of their forthcoming release, the Bjork-collaboration 'Mount Wittenberg Orca.' Announced earlier this week, June 23. On the Guardian Blog, Dirty Projectors will be unveiling a hook-up with the Icelandic queen this coming Wednesday, June 30, after the pair joined forces via Stereogum.

The preview track tonight 'When the World Comes to an End' -- which Longstreth joked might be called 'Water World' -- displayed the band's typically challenging approach to vocal parts and a tempo that hangs on the drummer's sticks. It makes us ludicrously excited to hear the rest of the whale-indebted release.