David Byrne is the subject of a recent profile in The Times (UK) in anticipation of this weekend’s performances at the Edinburgh Playhouse and the Big Chill Festival at Eastnor Castle Deer Park, which will be the last on his year-long world tour. “Right now the former renaissance man of post-punk Manhattan is enjoying something of a, well, renaissance,” says Times writer Stephen Dalton, observing that “this tour has blossomed into Byrne’s most extensive and lavishly praised since his Talking Heads heyday.” 

The article also discusses Byrne’s new book, Bicycle Diaries. Dalton describes it as “a disconnected travelogue recording his cycle journeys around various cities,” which lead to “philosophical digressions on subjects including music, architecture, British snobbery, American arrogance, the meaning of life and the homoerotic fascist chic of upmarket clothes stores,” concluding that “his brain whizzes in all directions like a human iPod on permanent shuffle.”

In addition to the tour and his book, The Times spotlights Byrne’s Playing the Building, an installation that “uses the pipes, metal beams and fabric of the building to generate sounds” and create a “throbbing, clanging piece of collective art.” The installation, which has previously appeared in Stockholm and New York City, will be in place in North London’s Roundhouse from August 8 to 31, and is open for the public to play and experience.

To read the article and an excerpt from Bicycle Diaries, visit entertainment.timesonline.co.uk.

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Bicycle Diaries was reviewed in Sunday’s Observer, where it was described as “deceptively simple” and “hugely entertaining.” “This is not the place to come if you want to know how to fix a puncture or what kind of bike to buy,” quips reviewer Sean O’Hagan, but rather an “engaging book: part diary, part manifesto.”

To read the full review, visit guardian.co.uk. 

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Byrne’s Playing the Building was featured in today’s Independent, which accurately observes that “a major point of the installation is that it's not about Byrne as a musician.” Rather, “each member of the viewing public is invited to take a turn at the organ” in order to truly experience the piece.
 
To read the full feature, visit independent.co.uk.

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Byrne’s recent tour dates in the UK have garnered strong reviews: The Evening Standard writes that he “merited his three encores” at his South Bank show, and that “it would be impossible for an artist of this calibre to be overexposed.” The Financial Times gave the Southampton Guildhall concert five stars, saying that “In the end, everyone danced.”

Byrne’s epic year-long world tour comes to a close this weekend, with concerts at the Edinburgh Playhouse and the Big Chill Festival, which is provoking some reflection from the songwriter on his blog. To read his latest entry, which looks back on the past year of touring and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the installation of Playing the Building, visit davidbyrne.com.