THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Stewart Copeland, the influential drummer, founder of seminal ’80s band The Police and acclaimed film, opera, and orchestral composer, continues his musical journey with Police Deranged For Orchestra. With his latest album, Copeland explores his former band’s best-known tracks through a new lens, inspired by his recent forays into expansive musical forms and instrumentation.
Beginning in 2021, Copeland created The Police Deranged for Orchestra project, a live orchestral tour that focused on the most successful era of his career. The concerts offered an evening bursting with The Police’s biggest hits, including Roxanne, Don’t Stand Too Close To Me and Message In A Bottle arranged for full symphony, as well as hand-picked highlights from Copeland’s solo work. The project has toured extensively, with sold-out dates across the U.S. and Europe, and will continue through the summer.
This live album features, Copeland and a full orchestra alongside bassist Armand Sabal Lecco (Paul Simon), guitarist Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney) and vocalists Amy Keys, Carmel Helene and Ashley Támar. Percussion and drums were arranged, orchestrated, and co-produced by Copeland. The music was conducted and co-produced by Edwin Outwater and produced and mixed by Craig Stuart Garfinkle.
Unlike his earlier compositional work, Copeland explains that the “derangement” of The Police’s music began as a score for a movie he made out of Super8 footage of the band that he had shot during their rise to glory. “Film puts capricious demands on music, so I had to carve up the songs to serve the scenes in the movie, and once the scalpel was out, a whole new frenzy of inspiration from Police music began,” he says.
“Delving into the multi-tracks of our original recordings and live performances revealed lost guitar solos, bass lines, and vocal improvisations that were just too cool to leave in obscurity… this discovery is what brings us to this performance: Sting’s songs, Andy’s inventions, and my impunity; all on the page for a wild ride, with orchestra and unique musicians from around the world to adapt some of the most-loved Police hits for old and new audiences alike.”
Concurrent with his early work with The Police, Copeland developed a solo recording alter-ego, Klark Kent, releasing singles and a self-titled 1980 album on which he played all the instruments and sang. Re-released for this spring’s Record Store Day, Klark Kent was credited with inspiring Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), among many others.”
