EBONY TAY FEELS THE MUSICAL LOVE
IN HATE CRIME
* * *
Canadian Singer, Songwriter and Film Composer Blends
Classical And World Beat Influences In Riveting Score
To Controversial, Award Winning
Indie Film By Tommy Stovall
* * *
Tay's Personal And Emotional Connection to Film's
Intolerance Theme Drives Her To Take Music
"To The Next Level"
* * *
Soundtrack Also Features Tay's Riveting End Theme Song
"Jesus Was Crucified By a 45"

 

Composing music several years ago for a short film about domestic violence in conjunction with the premiere of the Clint Eastwood film Absolute Power, Canadian singer/songwriter Ebony Tay-then an upstart in the world of film composing--received a life-changing piece of advice from the legendary actor/director: "Never work on anything you're not passionate about."

Taking those words to heart just a few years later, Tay draws on some deep-seated personal life experiences to create a masterful, eclectic score for director Tommy Stovall's controversial new indie film Hate Crimes-which was recently named Best Feature at the 2005 Sedona International Film Festival.

The film, a testament to the power of love and the destructive nature of radical religion-based prejudice, also placed as Official Selections at the Newport Beach Film Festival and Palm Springs Film Festival and is set to premiere at OutFest, Los Angeles' biggest film festival, in July. Working with her trio of bassist Mark Corben and drummer/percussionist Billy Hawn, Tay (on guitar and vocals) has been performing selections from the haunting score before most screenings, which, she says, "puts the audience in the perfect mood to see the film. We're trying to draw attention to the fact that modern society is slow to include gaybashing in hate crime legislation."

In addition to composing the score to Hate Crime, which features a soul-stirring blend of classical, African tribal music and religious choir influences, Tay-who completed the entire suite in only four weeks—also wrote the powerful and sweeping, gospel-flavored end credits theme "Jesus Was Crucified By A 45," featuring the Children of the World choir and some lyrics penned by Stovall himself.

"I wrote the score from a dual perspective as both a composer and a singer/songwriter," starting with my piano and guitar but envisioning other instruments along the way," she says. "The premise of the score is a mix of traditional orchestral elements with more eclectic flavors. I wanted Tommy to be a hands-on part of the process, so I would write out melodies and themes, then run them by him. He trusted me completely, but rather than just score his vision, I was helping him, in this organic state, tailor his movie as well. Working with The Section Quartet, I created the traditional material in the spirit of Wagner and Beethoven, then reflected the whole social tribalism theme with African sounds. "I mixed the African thumb piano with electric guitar, and added tabla and a few clay drums and cellos," Tay adds. "I applied each instrument to a different character in the film. The Quartet represents the angels, the violins are (lead character and tragic victim) Trey. When Bruce Davison's character Pastor Boyd comes on, he's the upright bass aka the 'devil's violin.' Tommy was a big fan of Clint Mansell's score for Requiem for a Dream, and I aimed to come up with an earthier version of that. So I also brought in Eastern items like a Tibetan horn and water jugs. So there's the Tibetan religious meditation music and then the gospel choir representing Christianity. All of the musicians put so much passion into the sessions. The movie may be called Hate Crime, but there was so much love behind it." Tay met Stovall through her good friend, actor and fellow Canadian Chad Donella (Final Destination, Shattered Glass with Peter Sarsgaard), who had already been cast in Hate Crime as the troubled antagonist character Chris Boyd. The concept of the film, centered around prejudice and hostility towards gay people, struck an immediate chord. Several years earlier, she experienced the loss of a close relative after he was shunned by his prominent family upon disclosing his sexual orientation, which then led to his death; he had also previously been the victim of a violent hate crime.

Tay sent Stovall a copy of her song, "The Life," which chronicles this sad tale while contemplating the question, If Jesus were to sing a song to her relative in raw form, what would he say? Stovall became an immediate fan, and Tay told him of her incredible life and journey through the music industry:

At ten days old, the Japanese-Jamaican girl was adopted by a Scotch-Irish gold miner and his Finnish wife in the tiny town of South Porcupine , Ontario . Her adopted mother took in 44 foster children over the years, in addition to having 10 children of her own, who were Tay 's older brothers and sisters as she grew up. Hate Crime's opening theme " Springbank Park " and " Lawson Road " draws upon her experiences from high school in London , Ontario watching young people struggle with their sexuality and race issues. For her, London , Ontario is a key city in her development because of this renowned park.

Though she was always drawn to music, her first great passion was athletics. She was nationally ranked in Canada as an 800 and 1500 meter runner during her high school years until an injury slowed her. During her recovery, she got hooked on bodybuilding and later evolved into a top competitive triathlete. Her life changed radically after a two year period during which she suffered bouts of blindness, paralysis and deafness. All of

these contributed to her pursuit of a deeper spirituality and a new focus on her musical career.

After struggling for years to sing in a conventional woman's alto range, Tay had an emotional musical breakthrough while working with well-known producer David Kershenbaum (Cat Stevens, Joe Jackson, Tracy

Chapman). After numerous trials and errors, they realized that her voice was a baritone, and this demanded that she play a rare instrument: a modified Martin half-bass/half-guitar, customized for her by master guitar maker Dan

Neely. In 1999, record mogul Chris Blackwell (Bob Marley, U2, PJ Harvey) signed her to a deal, and she was later signed by EMI Capitol and worked with Chris Venner (Nine Inch Nails) and Krish Sarma (Perry Farrell).

Tay is currently mixing her indie debut Stories of the Firehorse, which is set for release June 15. An eclectic acoustic storytelling project spotlighting her brilliant songwriting and performing, the collection features top session musicians James Gadson (Otis Redding, Beck, Paul McCartney), Lenny Castro, John Pena, Matt Lawg (Alanis

Morrisette), Jeremy Rumonoz (who wrote "I Try" with Macy Gray) and Jamie Mulheulbrac (Seal).

"I chose Ebony to do the score for Hate Crime initially because of her immediate excitement about the project and her desire to make the movie edgy through the score," says Stovall. "I recognized that this movie had deep personal meaning for her and she seemed to really get what I was going for. She threw her heart and soul into the project and she was able to attract other highly talented musicians through her enthusiasm. Her belief and passion is infectious and she's been a huge cheerleader for this project. The end result has been a wonderfully unique score that gives this movie the edge we were going for. When I watched the finished movie for the first time, complete with score, I was ecstatic because the music took the movie to another level."