David Byrne | |
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![]() Byrne in April 2018 | |
Born | (1952-05-14)14 May 1952 (age 72) Dumbarton,Dunbartonshire, Scotland |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1971–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Musical career | |
Origin | Arbutus, Maryland, U.S. |
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Formerly of | Talking Heads |
Website | davidbyrne |
Musical artist | |
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David Byrne (/bɜːrn/; born 14 May 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the Americannew wave bandTalking Heads.
Byrne has released solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography, opera, fiction, and non-fiction. He has received anAcademy Award, aGrammy Award, aSpecial Tony Award, and aGolden Globe Award, and he is an inductee to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads.[1]
David Byrne was born on 14 May 1952 inDumbarton,Dunbartonshire, Scotland,[2][3] the elder of two children born to Tom (fromLambhill, Glasgow) and Emma Byrne. Byrne's father wasCatholic and his motherPresbyterian. Two years after his birth, the family moved to Canada, settling inHamilton, Ontario. The family left Scotland in part because there were few jobs requiring his father's engineering skills and in part because of the tensions in the extended family caused by his parents'interfaith marriage. When Byrne was eight or nine years old they moved toArbutus, Maryland, in the United States, where his father worked as an electronics engineer atWestinghouse Electric Corporation and his mother later became a teacher.[4][5] Byrne stated that he initially grew up speaking with a Scottish accent but adopted an American one in order to fit in at school. He later recalled "I felt like a bit of an outsider. But then I realized the world was made up of people who were all different. But we're all here."[6]
Before high school, Byrne already knew how to play the guitar, accordion, and violin. He was rejected from hismiddle school's choir because they said he was "off-key and too withdrawn". From a young age, he had a strong interest in music. His parents say that he would constantly play hisphonograph from age three and he learned how to play the harmonica at age five.[7] His father used his electrical engineering skills to modify areel-to-reel tape recorder so that Byrne could makemultitrack recordings.[5]
Byrne graduated fromLansdowne High School in southwestBaltimore County, Maryland. He attended theRhode Island School of Design (RISD) inProvidence, Rhode Island, during the 1970–71 term and theMaryland Institute College of Art inBaltimore during the 1971–72 term before dropping out.
He started his musical career in a high school band called Revelation. Between 1971 and 1972, he was one half of a duo named Bizadi with Marc Kehoe. Their repertoire consisted mostly of songs such as "April Showers", "96 Tears", "Dancing on the Ceiling" andFrank Sinatra songs. He returned to Providence in 1973 and formed a band called the Artistics with fellow RISD studentChris Frantz.[8] The band dissolved in 1974. Byrne moved toNew York City in May that year, and in September of that year, Frantz and his girlfriendTina Weymouth followed suit. After Byrne and Frantz were unable to find abass guitar player in New York for nearly two years, Weymouth learned to play the instrument.[9] While working day jobs in late 1974, they were contemplating a band.[citation needed]
By January 1975, Talking Heads were practicing and playing together, while still working normal day jobs. They played their first gig in June.[10][11]
In May 1976, Byrne quit his day job, and the three-piece band signed toSire Records in November of that year. Byrne was the youngest member of the band. Multi-instrumentalistJerry Harrison, previously ofThe Modern Lovers, joined the band in 1977. The band released eight studio albums to critical acclaim and commercial success. Four albums achieved gold status (exceeding 500,000 in sales) and two others were certified double-platinum (exceeding two million in sales). Talking Heads were pioneers of the new wave music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s with popular and creative music videos in regular rotation onMTV.
In 1988 the band quietly went on hiatus during which Byrne launched a solo career and the other members pursued their own projects. Talking Heads reunited in 1991 to record the single "Sax and Violins" and officially split in December 1991.
In 2002, Talking Heads was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they reunited to play three tracks, including "Psycho Killer" and "Burning Down the House".[12]
During his time in the band, David Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating withBrian Eno during 1979 and 1981 on the albumMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which attracted acclaim for its early use ofsampling andfound sounds. Following this record, Byrne focused his attention on Talking Heads.My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was re-released for its 25th anniversary in early 2006, with new bonus tracks. In keeping with the spirit of the original album,stems for two of the songs' component tracks were released underCreative Commons licenses and aremix contest website was launched.
Rei Momo (1989) was the first solo album by Byrne after leaving Talking Heads, and features mainly Afro-Cuban, Afro-Hispanic, and Brazilian song styles, including popular dances such asmerengue,son cubano,samba,mambo,cumbia,cha-cha-chá,bomba andcharanga. His third solo album,Uh-Oh (1992), featured a brass section and was driven by tracks such as "Girls on My Mind" and "The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)". His fourth solo album,David Byrne (1994), was a more proper rock record, with Byrne playing most of the instruments, leaving percussion for session musicians. "Angels" and "Back in the Box" were the two main singles released from the album. The first one entered the USModern Rock Tracks chart, reaching No. 24. For his fifth studio effort, the emotionalFeelings (1997), Byrne employed a brass orchestra called Black Cat Orchestra. His sixth,Look into the Eyeball (2001), continued the same musical exploration ofFeelings, but was compiled of more upbeat tracks, like those found onUh-Oh.
Grown Backwards (2004), released byNonesuch Records, used orchestral string arrangements, and includes two operaticarias as well as a rework ofX-Press 2 collaboration "Lazy". He also launched a North American and Australian tour with the Tosca Strings. This tour ended withLos Angeles,San Diego and New York shows in August 2005. He also collaborated withSelena on her 1995 albumDreaming of You with "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)".[13]
Byrne and Eno reunited for his eighth albumEverything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008).[14] He assembled a band to tour worldwide for the album for a six-month period from late 2008 through early 2009 on theSongs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour.[15]
In 2012, he released a collaborative album with American singer-songwriterSt. Vincent calledLove This Giant. The album featured both Byrne and St. Vincent on vocals and guitar, backed by a brass section. To promote the album, both artists travelled throughout North America, Europe, and Australia on theLove This Giant Tour in 2012 and 2013, with each performing pieces from their career in the album's distinctive brass band style alongside those composed for the album.[16]
In January 2018, Byrne announced his first solo album in 14 years.American Utopia was released in March through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. He also released the album's first single, "Everybody's Coming to My House", which he co-wrote with Eno.[17] The subsequent tour – which showcased songs fromAmerican Utopia alongside highlights from his Talking Heads and solo career to date – was described byNME as being perhaps "the most ambitious and impressive live show of all time", blurring the lines "between gig and theatre, poetry and dance".[18]
In 1981, Byrne partnered with choreographerTwyla Tharp,scoring music he wrote that appeared on his albumThe Catherine Wheel for a ballet with the same name, prominently featuring unusual rhythms and lyrics. Productions ofThe Catherine Wheel appeared on Broadway that same year.
He was chiefly responsible for the stage design and choreography of the concert filmStop Making Sense (1984).
Byrne wrote theDirty Dozen Brass Band-inspired scoreMusic for "The Knee Plays", released in 1985, forRobert Wilson's vast five-act operaThe Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down.
He wrote, directed, and starred inTrue Stories (1986), a musical collage of discordantAmericana for which he also produced most of the film's music. He was impressed by the experimental theatre that he saw in New York City in the 1970s and collaborated with several of its best-known representatives. He worked with Robert Wilson on "The Knee Plays" and "The Forest", and invitedSpalding Gray (of The Wooster Group) to act inTrue Stories, while Meredith Monk provided a portion of the film's soundtrack.
Byrne also provided a soundtrack for JoAnne Akalaitis' filmDead End Kids (1986), made after a Mabou Mines theatre production. Byrne's artistic outlook has a great deal in common with the work of these artists.[19] The same year he also added "Loco de Amor" withCelia Cruz toJonathan Demme's filmSomething Wild (1986).
His work has been extensively used in filmsoundtracks, most notably in collaboration withRyuichi Sakamoto andCong Su onBernardo Bertolucci'sThe Last Emperor (1987), which won anAcademy Award for Best Original Score.
Some of the music from Byrne's orchestral albumThe Forest was originally used in a Robert Wilson–directed theatre piece titledThe Forest. The play premiered at theTheater der Freien Volksbühne, Berlin, in 1988. It received its New York premiere in December 1988 at theBrooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The Forestry Maxi-single contained dance and industrial remixes of pieces fromThe Forest byJack Dangers, Rudy Tambala, and Anthony Capel. Byrne released his soundtrack album in 1991.
Byrne also directed the documentaryÎle Aiye (1989) and the concert film of his 1992 Latin-tinged tour titledBetween the Teeth (1994).
In Spite of Wishing and Wanting is a soundscape Byrne produced in 1999 for Belgian choreographerWim Vandekeybus's dance company Ultima Vez.
In 2003, Byrne guest starred as himself ona season 14 episode ofThe Simpsons. Released the same year,Lead Us Not into Temptation included tracks and musical experiments from his score to filmYoung Adam (2003).
In late 2005, Byrne andFatboy Slim began work onHere Lies Love, adisco opera orsong cycle about the life ofImelda Marcos, the controversial former First Lady of thePhilippines. Some music from this piece was debuted atAdelaide Festival of Arts in Australia in February 2006 and the following year atCarnegie Hall on 3 February 2007.
In 2008, Byrne releasedBig Love: Hymnal – his soundtrack to season two ofBig Love, which aired in 2007. These two albums constituted the first releases on his independent record label Todo Mundo. Byrne and Brian Eno provided the soundtrack for the filmWall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010).[20]
In 2015, he organizedContemporary Color, two arena concerts in Brooklyn and Toronto, for which he brought in ten musical acts who teamed up with tencolor guard groups. The concerts were made into a2016 documentary film, directed by theRoss brothers, and produced by Byrne.[21]
He collaborated withStanford University professorMala Gaonkar in 2016 to co-create NEUROSOCIETY, a guidedimmersive theater performance.[22]
In October 2019, hisAmerican Utopia opened at theHudson Theatre on Broadway.[23][24] Byrne appeared in comedianJohn Mulaney's children's musical comedy specialJohn Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (2019), where he performed the song "Pay Attention!" His song "Tiny Apocalypse" was also featured as the special's end credits song.[25]
On February 29, 2020, after a 30-year absence, Byrne performed as the musical guest onSaturday Night Live with John Mulaney as host. Byrne performed "Once in a Lifetime" and "Toe Jam" with the cast of the Broadway showAmerican Utopia and appears in the "Airport Sushi" sketch singing a parody of "Road to Nowhere". This was Byrne's third appearance onSaturday Night Live. He previously served as the musical guest as part of Talking Heads in1979, and as a solo musical guest in1989.[26][27]
In 2022, Byrne again collaborated withMala Gaonkar on another immersive theater production based on his life,[28] "Theater of the Mind"[29] transforming a 15,000 square-foot warehouse in Denver, Colorado.[30]
Byrne has contributed songs to fiveAIDS benefit compilation albums produced by theRed Hot Organization:Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter,Red Hot + Rio,Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin,Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon, andOffbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip. He appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for10,000 Maniacs during theirMTV Unplugged concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from the following album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on 10,000 Maniacs' CD single "Few and Far Between".
On 24 March 1992, he performed withRichard Thompson at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity inBrooklyn Heights, New York. The concert was recorded and released asAn Acoustic Evening.[31] Byrne worked with Latin superstarSelena in March 1995; writing, producing and singing a bilingual duet titled "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)". This became the last song Selena recorded beforeshe was murdered on March 31, 1995. The song was included on the singer's posthumous albumDreaming of You.
In 1997, Byrne was the host ofSessions at West 54th during its second of three seasons and collaborated with members ofDevo andMorcheeba to record the albumFeelings. In 2001, a version of Byrne's single "Like Humans Do", edited to remove its marijuana reference, was selected byMicrosoft as the sample music forWindows XP to demonstrateWindows Media Player.[32][33]
In 2002, Byrne co-wrote and provided vocals for "Lazy" by the English house duoX-Press 2, which reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom and number one on theUS Dance Chart.[34] Byrne released an orchestral version on his 2004 albumGrown Backwards.[35]
In September 2004, Byrne co-authored a CD collection and performed with Gilberto Gil at a benefit concert promoting theCreative Commons license.[36] In 2006, his singing was featured on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" onThe Cosmic Game byThievery Corporation. In 2007, he provided a cover ofthe Fiery Furnaces' song "Ex-Guru" for a compilation to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding ofThrill Jockey, a Chicago-based record label.
In April 2008, Byrne took part in thePaul Simon retrospective concert series at BAM performing "You Can Call Me Al" and "I Know What I Know" from Simon'sGraceland album.[37] Later that year, Byrne and his production team turned theBattery Maritime Building, a 99-year-old ferry terminal inManhattan, into a playable musical instrument.[38] The structure was connected electronically to apipe organ and made playable for a piece called "Playing the Building".[39] This project was previously installed inStockholm in 2005,[40] and later at theLondon Roundhouse in 2009. Byrne says that the point of the project was to allow people to experience art first hand, by creating music with the organ, rather than simply looking at it.[41] Also in 2008, he collaborated withthe Brighton Port Authority, composing the music and singing the lyrics for "Toe Jam".
Byrne is featured on the tracks "Money" and "The People Tree", onN.A.S.A.'s 2009 albumThe Spirit of Apollo. In 2009, he also appeared on HIV/AIDS charity albumDark Was the Night forRed Hot Organization. He collaborated withDirty Projectors on the song "Knotty Pine". In the same year, Byrne performed at theBonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He also was a signator of a letter protesting the decision of theToronto International Film Festival to chooseTel Aviv as the subject of its inaugural City-to-City Spotlight strand.[42]
In May 2011, Byrne contributed backing vocals to theArcade Fire track "Speaking in Tongues" which appeared on the deluxe edition of their 2010 albumThe Suburbs.[43]
Jherek Bischoff's 2012 albumComposed features Byrne on the track "Eyes". The same year, he also released a show recorded withCaetano Veloso in 2004 at New York City'sCarnegie Hall (Live at Carnegie Hall).
In March 2013, he debuteda fully staged production of his 2010 concept albumHere Lies Love at New York'sPublic Theater, directed byTony Award-nomineeAlex Timbers following its premiere at MoCA earlier in the year. That same month, he and Sakamoto released a re-recording of their 1994 collaboration"Psychedelic Afternoon" to raise money and awareness for children impacted by the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[44]
In May 2014, Byrne announced his involvement withAnna Calvi's EP,Strange Weather, collaborating with her on two songs: a cover ofKeren Ann's "Strange Weather" andConnan Mockasin's "I'm the Man, That Will Find You".[45]
In August 2016, he was featured on "Snoopies" on theKickstarter-funded album,And the Anonymous Nobody... byDe La Soul.[46]
In 2022, he co-wrote and provided vocals on the song "This Is a Life" for theoriginal soundtrack to the 2022 filmEverything Everywhere All at Once, alongside the film's composersSon Lux and American singerMitski.[47] Byrne performed the song with Son Lux at the95th Academy Awards, withStephanie Hsu providing vocals in place of Mitski.[48]
On July 20, 2023, the stage version ofHere Lies Love made its Broadway debut.[49] In the leadup to the premiere, Broadway's musicians' union criticized the show for planning to use a pre-recorded soundtrack and no live musicians.[50] Local 802 of theAmerican Federation of Musicians criticized this choice as "A direct attack on Broadway Audiences — and live music."[51] Statements from the creative team claiming that the decision was inspired bykaraoke and that the show "does not believe in artistic gate-keepers [sic]"[52] attracted further criticism from union members, who accused Byrne of "denigrating" and "tossing aside" live musicians and likened his remarks tounion busting.[53] Following this, the creative team forHere Lies Love announced that the show would employ twelve live musicians, including three actor-musicians.[54]
David Byrne co-founded the world-music record labelLuaka Bop with Yale Evelev in 1990. It was originally created to release Latin American compilations, but it has grown to include music from Cuba, Africa, the Far East and beyond, releasing the work of artists such asCornershop,Os Mutantes,Los De Abajo,Jim White,Zap Mama,Tom Zé,Los Amigos Invisibles, andKing Changó.[55][56]
In 2005, he initiated his owninternet radio station, Radio David Byrne.[57] Each month, Byrne posts a playlist of music he likes, linked by themes or genres. Byrne's playlists have includedAfrican popular music,country music classics,vox humana, classical opera andfilm scores fromItalian movies.
He serves on the board of directors ofSoundExchange, an organization designated by theUnited States Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings.[58]
In 2006, Byrne releasedArboretum, a sketchbook facsimile of his Tree Drawings, published byMcSweeney's. Byrne is a visual artist whose work has been shown in contemporary art galleries and museums around since the 1990s. Represented by thePace/MacGill Gallery in New York. In 2010 his original artwork was in the exhibitionThe Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl at theNasher Museum of Art atDuke University.[59]
David Byrne has also been a speaker at theTED conferences.[60] In June 2010, he spoke at the TED conference about the effects of architecture on music.[61][62] Later in October 2010, he performed a hit from Talking Heads' 1988 albumNaked titled "(Nothing But) Flowers" along withThomas Dolby and string quartet Ethel-the TED2010 house band.[63]
Although a resident of the United States since childhood, Byrne was solely aBritish citizen until 2012, when he became adual citizen of the United Kingdom and theUnited States.[64][65] He has also heldIrish citizenship since 2020.[66] Speaking of his Scottish origins in a 2014 interview withThe Evening Standard, Byrne stated "I have lived in the States pretty much my whole life, but from my parents and everything, there's still an affinity to maybe a Scottish sense of humour, and some of the attitudes that go with that." During the2014 Scottish independence referendum, Byrne expressed his preference for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.[67]
He lives in New York City. His father, Thomas, died in October 2013. His mother, Emma, died in June 2014.[68]
Byrne describes himself as on theautism spectrum, but has not been professionally diagnosed. In a 2020 interview onAmy Schumer's podcast3 Girls, 1 Keith, he said that he felt that his condition was a superpower as it allows him to hyperfocus on his creative pursuits.[69] In 2012, he said that he felt that music was his way of communicating when he could not do it face to face because of his autism.[70]
Byrne had a brief relationship withToni Basil in 1981[71] and he datedTwyla Tharp between 1981 and 1982.[71] While visiting Japan in 1982,[72] Byrne met costume designerAdelle Lutz, and they married in 1987.[73] They have a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, born in 1989, and a grandson born in 2018.[74][75] Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004.[76] After his divorce, he became romantically involved with the art curator andGagosian Gallery sales director Louise Neri.[77] He also had a relationship with the artistCindy Sherman from 2007 to 2011.[78]
Byrne is known for hisactivism in support of increased cycling and for having used a bike as his main means of transport throughout his life, especiallycycling around New York.[79] InLos Angeles, Byrne drives aCitroën DS, but in New York, he does not drive a car.[80][81]
He says that he began cycling while he was in high school and returned to it as an adult in the late 1970s. He likes the freedom and exhilaration cycling gives him. He has written widely on cycling, including a 2009 book,Bicycle Diaries.[82] In August 2009, Byrne auctioned hisMontague folding bike to raise money for theLondon Cycling Campaign.
In 2008, Byrne designed a series ofbicycle parking racks in the form of image outlines corresponding to the areas in which they were located, such as a dollar sign forWall Street and an electric guitar inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn. Byrne worked with a manufacturer who constructed the racks in exchange for the right to sell them later as art. The racks remained on the streets for about a year.[83]
Two bike racks constructed from the Byrne Bike Rack Alphabet, a system of modular letter segments that can be combined to form various words, remain installed at theBrooklyn Academy of Music.[84]
He came to the 2023Met Gala on a Budnitzsingle speed bike.[85]
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | UK | |||
1981 | The Catherine Wheel
| 104 | — | Music for the 1981Twyla Tharp dance productionThe Catherine Wheel. |
1985 | Music for "The Knee Plays"
| 141 | — | Music forPhilip Glass andRobert Wilson's playThe Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down. Re-released asThe Knee Plays in 2007. |
1986 | Sounds from True Stories
| — | — | Soundtrack to the filmTrue Stories. |
1987 | The Last Emperor
| 152 | — | Score to the filmThe Last Emperor, composed withRyuichi Sakamoto andCong Su. |
1991 | The Forest
| — | — | Music for the 1988 Robert Wilson theatre pieceThe Forest. |
1999 | Your Action World
| — | — | Music for Byrne's art presentation ofYour Action World. |
1999 | In Spite of Wishing and Wanting
| — | — | Music for theUltima Vez dance productionIn Spite of Wishing and Wanting. |
2003 | E.E.E.I. (Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information)
| — | — | Music for Byrne's speaking tour andPowerPoint presentation. |
2003 | Lead Us Not into Temptation
| — | — | Soundtrack to the filmYoung Adam. |
2008 | Big Love: Hymnal
| — | — | Soundtrack to the second season ofBig Love. |
2010 | Here Lies Love | 96 | 76 | WithFatboy Slim. A disco song cycle occasionally given staged performances. |
2019 | American Utopia on Broadway Original Cast Recording
| — | — | Original cast recording of the Broadway production ofAmerican Utopia. |
Concert films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1984 | Stop Making Sense | Himself | Concert film fromTalking Heads tour; also composer |
1992 | Between the Teeth – Live | Himself | VHS release; also composer |
2004 | David Byrne Live at Union Chapel | Himself | |
2010 | Ride, Rise, Roar | Himself | Concert documentary[86] |
2020 | American Utopia | Himself |
Other film and television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads" |
1986 | True Stories | The Narrator | Feature film; also director, writer, composer |
1987 | The Last Emperor | — | Feature film; composer |
1988 | Married to the Mob | — | Feature film; composer |
1989 | Heavy Petting | — | Documentary; interviewed subject |
1989 | Ile Aiye (The House of Life) | — | Documentary; composer |
1989 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Woody Harrelson/David Byrne" |
1995 | Space Ghost: Coast to Coast | Himself | Episode: "Fire Drill" |
2003 | Young Adam | — | Feature film; composer |
2003, 2012 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | Episodes: "Dude, Where's My Ranch?", "How I Wet Your Mother" |
2007 | Big Love | — | 12 episodes; composer |
2011 | This Must Be the Place | Himself | Feature film |
2016 | Contemporary Color | — | Feature film; composer |
2019 | John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch | Himself | Children's musical comedy special |
2020 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "John Mulaney/David Byrne" |
Sources:[87]
one of Scotland's most famous expats
born in Dumbarton, Scotland (a point of pride, like his British passport)
I think a lot of places I lived – Glasgow; Hamilton, Ontario; and Baltimore – at the time were all industrial towns.