Thomas Dolby October 13, 2011

Discussing & performing songs from "The Floating City": A Dieselpunk Dystopia
Thomas Dolby was an indelible part of the electronic music landscape on both sides of the Atlantic in the ’80s. The Zelig of synthpop, he was seemingly there or thereabouts at all points of that crucial decade. He enjoyed huge solo success with the singles “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive!”, composed and performed on hits for everyone from Foreigner to new wave girl Lene Lovich, and even co-wrote the much-sampled early rap classic “Magic’s Wand” by Whodini. In the 90’s, Thomas made a 180-degree turn, career-wise, as he headed off to Silicon Valley. There the technology ace formed his own company, Beatnik, which flourished, coming up with the polyphonic ringtone synthesizer for the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia. Now the iconic synthesist/songwriter and tech entrepreneur is preparing to break his 20-year silence with a brand new studio album, “A Map Of The Floating City.” His upcoming solo performances will take the form of a 60-minute lecture about his new social networking transmedia game, The Floating City, interspersed with live songs from his upcoming album, as well as a few timeless classics. At each show, Dolby will tell the story behind the recording of the new album on his solar-powered lifeboat, with an impressive array of guests including Mark Knopfler, Imogen Heap and Regina Spektor. He will also give his personal account of the groundbreaking Floating City game, which he describes as “a Dieselpunk dystopia . . . weary survivors of a global climate catastrophe bartering and trading to stay alive in the face of techno-piracy and mutant squid attacks!”