"I grew up through life having epilepsy and black outs from 1952-1962. I'm very energetic and talented. I'm a house DJ looking for success. I also imitate James Brown. I consider myself a good showman." It's the way Tommy Simms, aka Rockin Robin Jr. describes himself at the end of an ode dedicated to him. Uri Urech scratches and samples black and white photographs of New York City to a climax, accompanied by the rhythm of a trumpet and drumsticks trashing a bucket. The images jump and shake through quiet suburbia towards the city's busy centre. People hanging about on the streets, white lines on the road flash by, high heels click on the pavement, accompanied by the classic tune of 'Ave Maria', to finally leave the city, crossing the George Washington Bridge. The images seem to emphasize the physical impact of the music. In his pictures – which he first treats with a sanding machine, by the way – Urech tries to document the environment in which Tommy Simms lives and thus to tell his story. The live recorded soundtrack with the infectious encouraging and cheering by bystanders makes clear that such a narrative structure is actually quite redundant. The images and the music speak for themselves.
– Miklós Beyer
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Production: point de vue
Uri Urech ° 1949, Basel (Switzerland)
Lives and works in Basel (Switzerland)
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