|
Sounds of silence
Devil Music Ensemble breathes
sonic life into horror classic
Thursday, October
20, 2005 In its original language, the
full title of Germany’s famed horror epic is “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des
Grauens.” This translates to “Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror.” The title is especially fitting
for The Devil Music Ensemble, which has turned the silent 1922 classic into a
live concert experience. The Boston-based act is touring theaters throughout
the country performing its original score to “Nosferatu.” “The most challenging thing is
not allowing the music to smother the film,” says Brendan Wood, Devil Music
Ensemble guitarist and founder. “The film essentially becomes another part of
the group.” The trio doesn’t just provide a
piano or organ backdrop like what generally accompanied pictures during the
silent era. Instead, the band concocts an ambient, avant-garde soundtrack
that supplies color to the grainy black-and-white images.
Special to the Journal-World Brendan Wood, left, Jonah Rapino and Tim Nylander of The Devil Music
Ensemble will provide their original live soundtrack to the 1922 silent
horror film “Nosferatu.” “In terms of our music, there’s
more of a rock thing that happens, largely because of the instrumentation
that we use,” says Wood, who shares the stage with drummer Tim Nylander and
violinist/keyboardist Jonah Rapino. “With ‘Nosferatu,’ for me on the guitar,
there’s definitely a heavy metal thing.” Wood admits the process of
scoring a silent movie begins rather simplistically. “Initially, we’ll just watch
it,” he says. “We’ll have popcorn and a pad and pen. We’ll take notes and
talk about it. Then we’ll actually watch the film with our instruments. We
more or less just improvise upon what we’ll see visually. It slowly builds itself
that way.” For this tour — which is the
band’s first cross-country trek — the group is alternating movies along the
route. In addition to “Nosferatu,” the troop is showcasing its scores to the
German Expressionist masterpiece “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920) and the
rather obscure western comedy “Big Stakes” (1922). The latter benefits from
the fact that the ensemble spent two years playing country music at a Boston
tavern every Friday night.
Devil Music Ensemble
Wood believes the group’s
current lineup (which has been together for three years) has gotten quite
proficient at the task. So is the ensemble capable of crafting music for any
silent flick? “I think we could,” he says.
“I’m sure that some films would pose more of a challenge than others.” The Devil Music Ensemble formed
in 1999 as a rock band, with Wood fronting an ever-revolving lineup of
musicians. He took the trio’s name from the George Crumb composition “Black
Angels,” inspired by the Vietnam War. The fourth section of the 13-movement
piece is called “Devil-Music.” “Some people have a problem
with the name of the band,” Wood says. “We’ve played in places where they
don’t want to say Devil Music Ensemble because they perhaps fear we’re Satan
worshippers. Frankly, I don’t care. I’m not going to worry about changing the
name of the band because someone might not like it. That’s not my problem.
That’s sort of their problem.”
He adds, “The music doesn’t
have anything to do with a pagan religion, as much as it does with adventurousness
in music.” Despite the adventurous
mindset, the ensemble isn’t the only group to attempt this merging of sonics
and cinema. Rivals such as The Alloy Orchestra, Blue Dahlia and Club Foot
Orchestra all predated Wood’s outfit. “I’m not sure that they differ
incredibly, aside from the fact we’re three different people and the music we
create is obviously different than the music they create,” Wood says. “We’re
each doing something very similar. But there’s no guidebook or set of rules
on how to set live music to film.” |
Devil Music Ensemble breathes
sonic life into horror classic
Thursday, October
20, 2005
In its original language, the
full title of Germany’s famed horror epic is “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des
Grauens.” This translates to “Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror.”
The title is especially fitting
for The Devil Music Ensemble, which has turned the silent 1922 classic into a
live concert experience. The Boston-based act is touring theaters throughout
the country performing its original score to “Nosferatu.”
“The most challenging thing is
not allowing the music to smother the film,” says Brendan Wood, Devil Music
Ensemble guitarist and founder. “The film essentially becomes another part of
the group.”
The trio doesn’t just provide a
piano or organ backdrop like what generally accompanied pictures during the
silent era. Instead, the band concocts an ambient, avant-garde soundtrack that
supplies color to the grainy black-and-white images.
Special to the Journal-World
Brendan Wood, left, Jonah Rapino and Tim Nylander of The Devil Music
Ensemble will provide their original live soundtrack to the 1922 silent horror
film “Nosferatu.”
“In terms of our music, there’s
more of a rock thing that happens, largely because of the instrumentation that
we use,” says Wood, who shares the stage with drummer Tim Nylander and
violinist/keyboardist Jonah Rapino. “With ‘Nosferatu,’ for me on the guitar,
there’s definitely a heavy metal thing.”
Wood admits the process of
scoring a silent movie begins rather simplistically.
“Initially, we’ll just watch it,”
he says. “We’ll have popcorn and a pad and pen. We’ll take notes and talk about
it. Then we’ll actually watch the film with our instruments. We more or less
just improvise upon what we’ll see visually. It slowly builds itself that way.”
For this tour — which is the
band’s first cross-country trek — the group is alternating movies along the
route. In addition to “Nosferatu,” the troop is showcasing its scores to the
German Expressionist masterpiece “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920) and the
rather obscure western comedy “Big Stakes” (1922). The latter benefits from the
fact that the ensemble spent two years playing country music at a Boston tavern
every Friday night.
Devil Music Ensemble
- When: Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005,
8:30 p.m.
- Where: Liberty Hall, 644 Mass., Lawrence
- Cost: $7
- Age limit: All ages
Wood believes the group’s current
lineup (which has been together for three years) has gotten quite proficient at
the task. So is the ensemble capable of crafting music for any silent flick?
“I think we could,” he says. “I’m
sure that some films would pose more of a challenge than others.”
The Devil Music Ensemble formed
in 1999 as a rock band, with Wood fronting an ever-revolving lineup of
musicians. He took the trio’s name from the George Crumb composition “Black
Angels,” inspired by the Vietnam War. The fourth section of the 13-movement
piece is called “Devil-Music.”
“Some people have a problem with
the name of the band,” Wood says. “We’ve played in places where they don’t want
to say Devil Music Ensemble because they perhaps fear we’re Satan worshippers.
Frankly, I don’t care. I’m not going to worry about changing the name of the band
because someone might not like it. That’s not my problem. That’s sort of their
problem.”
He adds, “The music doesn’t have
anything to do with a pagan religion, as much as it does with adventurousness
in music.”
Despite the adventurous mindset,
the ensemble isn’t the only group to attempt this merging of sonics and cinema.
Rivals such as The Alloy Orchestra, Blue Dahlia and Club Foot Orchestra all
predated Wood’s outfit.
“I’m not sure that they differ
incredibly, aside from the fact we’re three different people and the music we
create is obviously different than the music they create,” Wood says. “We’re
each doing something very similar. But there’s no guidebook or set of rules on
how to set live music to film.”