voices #38
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
Modern Silent Cinema
answering some questions. We have already observed his experimental / concrete / electroacoustic work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: The track from “Surveillance Film” that we prefer is “Nexus”. Can you tell us how it came to light?
► Modern Silent Cinema: Surveillance Film is my fifth score for filmmaker Matt Barry, and with each new score I like to try something a bit different from what I did before. In terms of the amount of recorded music, this would be the longest project yet–requiring nearly an hour of music. And so, to counter that scope, I wanted to reduce the compositional palette and work with repeated motifs and sounds as a fun creative challenge.
At the time, I had recently seen Claus Boesser-Ferrari play guitar at Downtown Music Gallery in NYC, I was really struck by his performance, which embraced the totality of the guitar, the wood, the shape, the depth, the strings, every aspect of the instrument had potential for sound and he explored all of it, and for me that inspired a new relationship with the guitar (I’ve been playing for over 30 years). Claus greatly influenced how I approached this score, playing the whole guitar, and not just melodies and chords on the strings. It also inspired me to consider how other objects could be used for sound (I used my water thermos for percussion on several tracks).
So, for “Nexus,” I started with a Philip Glass type of minimalist rondo, which originally appears earlier in the film but played on a thumb piano. I repeat it on multiple instruments throughout the score–but here it is played on a piano (technically on a MIDI synth, since I don’t have access to a real piano at the moment). I also wanted to do more than just repeat the melody, I wanted this to be its own piece, so I used an acoustic guitar to create scrapes, percussive bangs, and other twangs to create a soundscape as a musical counterpoint. Electroacoustic dynamics is an overarching interest for me–that intersection of a real instrument with electronic manipulations, and I try to explore that throughout all the Modern Silent Cinema albums. For “Nexus,” I wanted to contrast the serene piano melody with these more abrasive noise elements. I also wanted to have a contrast between the intentional, structured melody and the improvisation of the guitar sounds.
[2. CREATION]
■ The A. O.: How do you usually approach composition? Do you start with a concept, a sound, a state of mind or what else? How do you generally proceed from the initial seed to the complete work?
► Modern Silent Cinema: For my soundtracks, I often start with a broad idea of instrumentation, genre, and some sort of feeling that I describe to the director. Usually this is before I’ve seen the whole movie. Matt Barry and I have worked together for years, so we understand each other artistically. For this album, my references were Ennio Morricone, Alessandro Alessandroni, Popol Vuh, and Philip Glass. Once we are on the same page with the vision, I usually wait to see the whole movie before writing anything. In some films, like Cinema Detective, I write completely individual melodies for each scene. For Surveillance Film, as I mentioned earlier, I knew I wanted to have a limited palette, so I took a different approach and just started recording sounds. When I found some ideas I liked, I arranged and mixed until I found something that fit the overall mood and sound I was going for. Then, I brought the sounds to the clips to see how music and image spoke to each other. I was surprised and pleased how often this worked out. At this point I’d write additional elements, or change the mix, to suit the scene.
For my non-soundtrack work, I used to just write and record in my home studio, but now that I’m performing live more frequently, my compositional methods are changing, as I’m trying to keep in mind that it will need to be performed on stage. At the moment, I find these limitations to be inspiring new approaches to composition and performance.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► Modern Silent Cinema: For my soundtracks, it’s my hope that the music interacts with the images to make them more immersive for the viewer. I’d also like the songs to play as an album on their own, not just as accompaniment.
But Modern Silent Cinema isn’t exclusively soundtrack music–in fact most of the albums aren’t scores. I recognize there’s something of a contradiction in the concept of instrumental music meant to evoke silent pictures, especially when the music isn’t period appropriate for traditional silent movies, at all. But hopefully the music evokes some sense of cinematic feeling in the listener, regardless of whether there’s an explicit visual component or not.
[4. IDENTITY]
■ The A. O.: In a world saturated with digital music content, how do you try to keep your sound distinct and personally meaningful?
► Modern Silent Cinema: As AI is becoming more pervasive and intrusive in digital culture, I’ve been becoming more and more comfortable and embracing of the human elements of my composition and performance. I’m not a virtuoso composer or performer. There can be imperfections in my playing. I’m recording in my living room without access to top-shelf gear. But what used to make me feel insecure now makes me feel more secure. This music is me, it’s what I can do with my hands and the equipment at my disposal, it’s what I like to do, and I know that it is me who is in control. The closer I listen to my favorite music, the more I hear moments of humanity–call them mistakes, call them decisions, accidents, coincidences, but whatever you call them, they are wonderfully human touches that give the music character, definition, and individuality.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Mention 3 albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► Modern Silent Cinema: ○ Michio Kurihara – Sunset Notes
The moment I heard Kurihara’s guitar playing, I knew I had found my mentor. His melodies are beautiful, and he’s so expressive with his control of feedback, especially when he’s using an e-bow. There’s a wonderful sense of contradiction in his playing–it’s epic and powerful but also delicate at the same time.
○ Popol Vuh – It’s hard to pick just one album…they were such a pivotal band when I was developing Modern Silent Cinema. I love their use of the 12 string guitar, and the way they merge psychedelic rock, folk, and classical influences. I discovered their music thanks to the films of Werner Herzog. Overall my favorite stuff is the more guitar-oriented music, so I’d pick Einsjäger & Siebenjäger.
○ Ennio Morricone – This is where all my musical influences coalesce. I grew up playing classical guitar and jazz, and loving rock and 20th century classical music. Morricone uses it all — baroque music, electric guitars, whistling, horns, harpsichords, pianos, atonality, noise, ambient sound. He can shift from really beautiful to totally frightening with just a few notes. And I can’t mention Morricone without his collaborators, like Alessandro Alessandroni (guitarist and whistler, and great composer in his own right) and Bruno Nicolai (who orchestrated many early scores for Ennio, and who was also an amazing composer). If I have to pick just one album, it would have to be Morricone’s score for Elio Petri’s Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. That main theme is just wild–it’s got the jaw harp (which I paid homage to on Surveillance Film), out of tune pianos, percussive strings, and that super fuzzy guitar that hardly seems like a guitar, it’s more like rhythmic static (especially the way it aligns with the brushes). And that melody! So playful and sly.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► Modern Silent Cinema: Lately, I’ve been getting deeper into the films of Mark Polonia (often made either with his brother, John, or his son, Anthony). He makes micro-budget genre films, and there’s a wonderful hand-made quality to them. I love his movies, and find Mark’s DIY ethos and unflagging enthusiasm to be really inspiring. I was struck by this quote about his approach to filmmaking, and I think it speaks to how I like to approach music:
“On a micro-budget film there’s no such thing as problems, only solutions. You simply have to be very prepared for a shoot, yet be flexible at the same time.” (Mark Polonia)