Tuesday, May 25, 2010

"180: South" features music by James Mercer, Ugly Casanova and Mason Jennings

Hitting theaters this May, adventure documentary 180˚ South : Conquerors of the Useless follows a band of bliss-seeking surfer-mountaineers as they set out to remake pioneering outdoorsmen Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins’ epic 1968 journey from Ventura, CA to Patagonia, Chile.

Director Chris Malloy’s exhilarating film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson and his buddies on their 5,000-mile trek, capturing the group as they surf unridden waves, summit impressive peaks, and even get shipwrecked off the coast of Easter Island. The documentary’s defining moment comes, however, when Johnson meets Chouinard (Founder of Patagonia Outerwear) and Tompkins (Founder of The North Face) for the first time, and they share with him the plan of an international energy company to destroy Patagonia’s natural landscape by building massive hydroelectric dams.

Alternating between Johnson’s present day expedition and Chouinard and Tompkins’ 1968 journey, the film tells the stories of both sets of adventurers who now share the same goal: to protect the wild lands of Patagonia from damming and development no matter the cost.

Director Chris Malloy said about the film, "Our six month voyage changed the way we see the world. We shot 200 hours of action footage, 30 hours of interviews and recorded countless hours of original music for the film. We cut the best of it into 180° South and I’m honored to share it."

180° South was produced by Tim Lynch and Emmett Malloy of Woodshed Films and Rick Ridgeway of Patagonia.

The 180 ˚South soundtrack will be released on June 22 by Brushfire Records and includes new music from James Mercer (The Shins, Broken Bells w/Danger Mouse), Ugly Casanova (Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse), and Mason Jennings. Also featured are tracks from Jack Johnson and Love as Laughter, as well as James Mercer's cover of Neil Young's “Journey Through The Past.”

Mercer and Jennings visited Patagonia for part of the filming, and Mercer eventually joined Isaac Brock in his Portland, OR home studio to collaborate on the documentary's score and soundtrack itself.

Isaac Brock will be performing a special acoustic set from the soundtrack after the following screenings:

5/25/10 – Los Angeles, CA: Eli Broad Theater, Santa Monica
5/26/10 - Portland, OR: Hollywood Theater
5/28/10 – San Francisco, CA: Victoria Theater

180˚ South was made possible with the generous support of Kashi & Patagonia. The Special Events are also supported in part by Etnies & Primo.

For more information please go to http://www.180south.com/ and www.woodshed.com

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