DAGERLOFF & GALNER: Haxan LP
The soundtrack for the 1922 classic occult movie composed by the French duo for its 2021 re-release. Dark pieces between tradition and modernity that enhance the heretical quality of the film. Dagerlöff & Galner is a French duo that seeks to create its own vision of modern music, including elements of futuristic synths, Japanese video games, progressive jazz, or epic and textured soundtracks. Their sound has a progressive touch that can recall the works of Aphex Twin or Oneohtrix Point Never. To be given the opportunity to set this masterpiece to music, the first cinematic venture into the occult, was a real treat for them. Presented in the style of a lecture, Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages is a Swedish silent documentary -- horror film directed by Benjamin Christensen which was originally released in 1922 (in Sweden) and deals with witchcraft from antiquity to the film's contemporary period. The movie was released in the US in 1968. Witchcraft is carefully portrayed through illustrations from medieval books and audio-visual reconstructions. From the witches' sabbath to the interrogations of the Inquisition, the classical images come to life in disturbing spectral visions using all the special effects available at the time: overprints, models, jump cuts, stop motion, make-up, and prosthetics. The film's soundtrack is divided in three parts, including the one by Dagerlöff & Galner. The duo enhances the heretical character of the work through dark pieces with constant intensity. This work of digital synthesis (choirs, orchestra, organ, analog modulars and tapes) allowed them to draw lines between tradition and modernity, like a film whose purpose remains as strong and relevant almost a century later.
A1. Paradisium
A2. Mass Disorder
A3. Heaven and Hell
A4. The Cave
A5. Contract With The Devil
A6. Pagan Days
B1. The Demon Dance
B2. Flight of the Witches / Bacchanales
B3. Torments Of A Woman
B4. Black Mass