Music House NY Noise Teams With Rosanne Cash On ‘Land Of Dreams’
June 14, 2012 by Screenmag
Original music/sound design house NY Noise produced the original song “Land of Dreams” – the musical focal point for the inspired Brand USA worldwide “Discover America” campaign via agency J. Walter Thompson, New York. Promoting US tourism, Rosanne Cash is featured in the ad singing the song she co-wrote with NY Noise composer John Leventhal, which also features Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, Brazilian chanteuse Bebel Gilberto and New Orleans’ Treme Brass Band.
When JWT began to put together the concept for the groundbreaking “Discover America” campaign, designed to promote tourism to the US, the musical idea was to license and re-record an iconic song that sang the praises of the country without any inherent chest beating and jingoism. The performer would also be iconic -- someone whose presence embodied the ‘American spirit.’
As a major recording artist in her own right and a prominent member of one of America’s most influential musical families, Rosanne Cash was JWT’s first choice as performer. The only problem was they had no song. Of the very few available licensing possibilities, nothing completely met JWT’s criteria.
Enter NY Noise, which had already been tapped by JWT’s Director of Music, Paul Greco, to produce the project. Greco knew the NY Noise/Rosanne Cash creative relationship to be a long and successful one. Among the many projects they’ve collaborated on is Rosanne’s critically acclaimed album “The List” (EMI), which was co-produced by NY Noise Creative Director Rick DePofi and Leventhal (who also happens to be Rosanne’s husband).
The solution was for Rosanne and John to write an original song: a musical invitation for the world to visit this amazing country. “Land of Dreams” is the result.
Working directly with JWT’s team, which included Executive Creative Directors Bill Oberlander and Jim Hord; Creative Directors Dave O’Hare and John Doyle; Director of Brand Production Matt Anderson; as well as @Radical Media director Dave Meyers, NY Noise’s DePofi and Leventhal produced an Americana infused song that evolved from playing a supporting role to becoming the center of the Brand USA “Discover America” campaign.
Leventhal noted that he and Cash wanted to keep “Land of Dreams” in the classic American folk song tradition.
"I loved the challenge of writing a song about the USA that wasn't coming from an overly sentimental, bragging or even a 'land of the free, home of the brave' kind of place," Leventhal says. "From the start our intention was to write a good song and present the country the way it really is: inviting, inclusive and eclectic both geographically and culturally."
DePofi adds, “The most challenging aspect of a project like this is interfacing two completely different worlds of creativity: pure songwriting and advertising, That said, creating a montage combining both a lyrical and visual homage to the USA was a concept where it was fairly easy to find common ground.”
You can watch “Land of Dreams” by clicking here: http://www.nynoise.com/pages/index2.html
Credits:
Client: Brand USA CTP
Campaign: Discover America
Agency: J. Walter Thompson, New York
Exec CD: Bill Oberlander
Exec CD: Jim Hord
CD / AD John Doyle
CD / CW: Dave O'Hare
Director of Brand Production: Matt Anderson
Director of Music: Paul Greco
Global Business Director: Megan Kent
Business Director: Sean McCarthy
Sr. Producer: Kimberly Edwards
Production Company: @ Radical Media, New York
Director: Dave Meyers
Exec Producer: Jim Bouvet
Producer: Scott Cunningham
Director of Photography: Danny Hiele
Production Supervisor: Angie Revell
Editorial: The White House, New York
Exec Producer: Lauren Hertzberg
Producer: Alejandra Alarcon
Editors: Trish Fuller, Jen Dean
Music House: NY Noise, New York
Exec Producer: Craig Bishop
Producers: Rick DePofi, John Leventhal
Music Mixer: Rick DePofi
Original Composition: Land of Dreams
Songwriters: Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal
Recording Artists: Rosanne Cash w/ Bebel Gilberto, David Hidalgo, Treme Brass Band
Audio Post: Sound Lounge, New York
Mixer: Tom Jucarone