Film Review: Parasol Peak is unique
The ultimate musician’s challenge
Parasol Peak is a short film which explores the disconnect between musicians, and its influence on contemporary music. It stems from musician Manu Delago’s journey to fame from a YouTube clip uploaded in 2006 of him performing the handpan, which quickly became one of the most watched clips of its time. This instant fame led to many tours and interesting collaborations with other musicians, but he felt that something was lacking. The extinction of music created by a collective of musicians became increasingly apparent, sending pieces of music via email rather than working together in one place.
So, Manu decided to combine his passion for hiking (growing up in a town in the Alps) with his concern for the disconnect in musical composition, and called around some bandmates to see if they’d be interested in a never-done-before project.
The result – Parasol Peak.
Parasol Peak follows the unique mountaineering expedition of 7 musicians (supported by a an additional team of 8) as they ascend the snowy peaks of the Alps, filmed over the course of 5 days. The film follows their journey from glaciers to forests and concludes at the final peak, capturing the treacherous conditions they endure to find extraordinary scenic spots to perform their music.
Manu describes the environmental effects on their performance, at one point not being able to hear what each other were playing, meaning the music created was a combination of improvisations and adapted versions of pre-created pieces. The music, which they only managed to listen to once they had returned to base level, is beautiful, enhanced by the impressive shots of the musicians performing in hard hats, hanging on to different parts of the mountain.
The concept, process and product are incredibly unique, and really makes you sit back and admire their journey to re-connect musicians through such an extreme experience. If you want to catch the film and live performance from Manu and some of his band, head to one of his London screenings at:
Rooftop Film Club – Thursday 13th September – Bussey Building – 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST – 7:30pm
House of Vans – Thursday 20th September – Arches 228-232 Station Approach Road, SE1 8SW – 7pm
Or take a trip to one of their European screenings, find more info at https://www.parasolpeak.co.uk/
Review by Emilia Gill.
