Sufjan Stevens presents ‘The BQE’, a film and musical suite exploring New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Sufjan Stevens presents ‘The BQE’, a film and musical suite exploring New York City’s infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music’s Next Wave Festival in November 2007. The critically applauded performance featured 36 performers including a band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, a horn section, projected film footage of the expressway and five hula hoopers.

‘The BQE’ is available as a double-disc format (CD/DVD), which includes the original 16mm/8mm film (in widescreen ‘triptych’ display), the original motion picture soundtrack, a 40-page booklet (with extensive liner notes and photographs), and a stereoscopic image reel (playable in all Viewmaster viewers).

The limited edition vinyl (1000 copies) is available as a double gatefold and includes the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl, a large-scale 32-page booklet with liner notes and photographs, and a black and white version of the 40-page ‘Hooper Heroes’ comic book.

“[The BQE] uses swirling, glimmering Romantic orchestration (by way of soundtracks and 1950s pop) to make [Stevens’] private ruminations more quizzical and more alluring at the same time” – The New York Times;

“Stevens’ film and score managed to turn the city into an object of such joy it felt like an honor to be from the place” – Artslant.