Dave Grohl has unveiled his two-part documentary ‘Play’, featuring a 23-minute composition inspired by his kids.
The Foo Fighters frontman has teamed up with his ‘Sound City’ and ‘Sonic Highways’ collaborator, Mark Monroe, on the new project, which aims to celebrate the rewards and challenges faced with learning to play a musical instrument.
The 49-year-old rocker – who has daughters Violet, 12, Harper, nine, and three-year-old Ophelia with wife Jordyn Blum – explained: "Watching my kids start to play music and learn to sing or play drums, it brings me back to the time when I was their age listening to albums, learning from listening … and when I take my kids to the place where they take their lessons, I see these rooms full of children that are really pushing themselves to figure this out.
"And even now, as a 49-year-old man, I’m still trying to figure it out … it’s not something that you ever truly master.
"You’re always chasing the next challenge, and you’re always trying to find a way to improve on what you’ve learned."
The first part of the film discusses the art of playing an instrument and features behind the scenes footage of the recording and shooting of the performance.
The ‘Learn to Fly’ hitmaker’s 23-minute "one-man-band" titular instrumental is then played with Grohl playing all seven instruments on the track, kicking off with the drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, and so on.
Each was recorded for 23 minutes per instrument and if Dave felt he had made a mistake, he would begin the recording again.
The former Nirvana drummer had the help of engineer Darrell Thorp in the studio, who worked on the heavy rock band’s latest LP ‘Concrete and Gold’.
The documentary showcases the talent of the young people of the Join The Band music school in the San Fernando Valley, in a bid to encourage music education around the world.
Fans can keep their eyes on play.roswellfilms.com for information on upcoming auctions with proceeds benefiting local music education organisations.
‘Play’ is released on August 10 by Columbia via digital download and streaming services.
Dave Grohl unveils two-part documentary Play
