Most musicians get pretty up-in-arms about the unauthorised use of their music. It takes a truly classy Canuck like Mr. Owen Pallett, better known as Final Fantasy, to turn a potential legal dispute into a kick-ass music festival. Pallett recently talked to DrownedInSound.com about how having one of his songs ripped off by Vienna "public works" company Wiener Stadtwerke turned into a thrilling three day European festival.
Final Fantasy was approached by the video production company for Wiener Stadtwerke who asked for permission to use "This Is The Dream of Win and Regine" in a television ad. Pallett declined but the company went ahead, looping the instrumental intro then re-recording the vocals and violin, and showing the clip in cinemas around Vienna. Public outcry over the obvious plagiarism led to representatives from Wiener Stadtwerke approaching Palette after a gig in Vienna to offer their apologies. Having "no interest in launching a lawsuit against a publicly-owned city works," the inaugural Polaris winner worked out an arrangement to have the company fund a music festival instead. What a concept! Working out a deal that benefits everyone involved instead of wasting time and money on a legal fiasco.
Further proving his level-headed good-will, Pallett's brand of justice served is the opportunity to bring himself, Deerhoof, Six Organs of Admittance, Dirty Projectors, Frog Eyes, Stephen O'Malley & Alexander Tucker Duo, and Max Tundra to Europe for three days of shows in three cities: Berlin, London and Vienna. Six Organs, Dirty Projectors and Frog Eyes will be joining Final Fantasy for all three dates of the Maximum Black Festival, while Deerhoof are scheduled for all shows except London. The ever humble Pallett told Pitchfork when the festival was first announced, "So far I think we've got the 'best bands in the world,' plus my lousy excuse for a band."
And what will Final Fantasy's not so "lousy excuse" for a band be doing after the festival's over? He told Drowned In Sound that he's "95 per cent finished one EP and 60 per cent finished another," and that "those will definitely be out before the fall. Maybe even in the next couple months, we'll see."
Here are the dates and venues for the Maximum Black Festival Tour:
2/28 Vienna, WIEN Arena
2/29 London, The Forum
3/2 Berlin, Postbahnhof
Final Fantasy was approached by the video production company for Wiener Stadtwerke who asked for permission to use "This Is The Dream of Win and Regine" in a television ad. Pallett declined but the company went ahead, looping the instrumental intro then re-recording the vocals and violin, and showing the clip in cinemas around Vienna. Public outcry over the obvious plagiarism led to representatives from Wiener Stadtwerke approaching Palette after a gig in Vienna to offer their apologies. Having "no interest in launching a lawsuit against a publicly-owned city works," the inaugural Polaris winner worked out an arrangement to have the company fund a music festival instead. What a concept! Working out a deal that benefits everyone involved instead of wasting time and money on a legal fiasco.
Further proving his level-headed good-will, Pallett's brand of justice served is the opportunity to bring himself, Deerhoof, Six Organs of Admittance, Dirty Projectors, Frog Eyes, Stephen O'Malley & Alexander Tucker Duo, and Max Tundra to Europe for three days of shows in three cities: Berlin, London and Vienna. Six Organs, Dirty Projectors and Frog Eyes will be joining Final Fantasy for all three dates of the Maximum Black Festival, while Deerhoof are scheduled for all shows except London. The ever humble Pallett told Pitchfork when the festival was first announced, "So far I think we've got the 'best bands in the world,' plus my lousy excuse for a band."
And what will Final Fantasy's not so "lousy excuse" for a band be doing after the festival's over? He told Drowned In Sound that he's "95 per cent finished one EP and 60 per cent finished another," and that "those will definitely be out before the fall. Maybe even in the next couple months, we'll see."
Here are the dates and venues for the Maximum Black Festival Tour:
2/28 Vienna, WIEN Arena
2/29 London, The Forum
3/2 Berlin, Postbahnhof
