During the flurry of Beatles and Mod style-related posts in the fall, Spy Vibe announced that Yoko Ono released an exciting and richly artistic album with the Plastic Ono Band. Members included Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, and Cornelius. The band, now on a US tour, held a remix competition in November for their song, The Sun is Down. Music has always been a big part of my life, including remixing, songwriting, guitar & bass, film scores, and many spy-sampled lounge tunes. I jumped at the chance to collaborate with these guys! Yoko provided a handful of vocal clips. It was up to the remixers/composers to interpret as we wished. I planned a number of solutions, but had a busy fall as Spy Vibers will know. In the end I completed a lounge/jazz song- which was chosen as one of the 20 winners of the competition! When I'm not teaching and writing films, fiction, and comics, I'm busy making short films. With my song on the award list, I made an experimental film to promote the track. See it here on YouTube. Remembering the Japanese meaning of Yoko's name, Ocean Child, I shot black & white footage of dancing sea horses, jelly fish, and a dolphin on my iPhone. The film is dedicated to my brothers-in-film Kousuke Ono, Michele Civetta, and Jack Criddle. No stealthy spies or mini skirts in this one, but I hope Spy Vibers will check it out. More news about Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band at Yoko's website Imagine Peace. Information about Jason's films and projects at jasonwhiton.com.
