STEVEN SEVERIN - 'Vampyr'

CSR170CD (July 2012)
CD in natural card sleeve
Barcode: 5060174954085



Following on from 2010's 'Blood Of A Poet' (CSR135CD), Steven Severin presents the third score in his 'Music For Silentes' series. Acclaimed solo artist and founder member of the legendary Siouxsie And The Banshees, Severin presents a mesmerising score, heightening appreciation of the surreal and enigmatic nature of the original work. 'Vampyr', Carl Theodor Dreyer's unsettling tale of fear and obsession, finds its aural counterpart in Severin's textured score; a synthesised, highly atmospheric soundscape drawing the listener rhythmically into the story. Shot with a silent film aesthetic despite being within the sound era (and a year after Lugosi starred in Universal's 'Dracula'), 'Vampyr' is an alternative take on the cinematic vampire, creating an intense, nightmarish atmosphere that haunts the mind. Presented in a natural card sleeve with artwork by Arban.

Track listing:

1. Through A Glass Darkly
2. Allan’s Theme
3. Upon My Death
4. Shadow’s Play
5. They Are Murdering Him
6. (Intersection)
7. Giselle’s Theme
8. Leoné Summoned
9. Leoné Smiles
10. Bloodwork
11. Poison / Aftermath
12. (Intersection)
13. Phantom’s Journey
14. The Apparition
15. The Mill



Reviews:

"What Severin has done utilising modern electronic equipment is create a highly textured score; a synthesised, darkly atmospheric sound scape that aims to draw the listener rhythmically into the story. There is no point in claiming that this is an easy listen... however a modicum of persistence will pay off, allow yourself to be immersed within the sounds, feel the textures and you will find yourself mentally transported to a dark, even nightmarish environment... Severin has crafted a modern soundtrack to a film that the majority will not have heard of let alone had the benefit of viewing, its credit to his musical ability that he is able to convey the themes explored within the film" (Louder Than War)

"The world Severin creates is as dark as its unsettling... each track ignites into the next bringing more darkness... turn off the lights and listen to the macabre delight that is Vampyr... nothing short of pure excellence... A synthesised melodic masterpiece that falls somewhere between Brian Eno and the greatest horror band of all time Goblin!" (Horrorscreams Videovault)

"Steven Severin presents a highly illustrative, cohesive dark ambient style, at the same time operating a wide range of atmospheres. The album contains fifteen tracks, or should I say, impressions. Expressionist impressions, so to speak, each corresponding to a particular scene from the film... Rather uneasy than frightening. More like a looming shadow on the wall, disappearing around the corner, than a pale gentleman in a black cape transforming into a bat... old Spring has risen to the occasion. Not only did they release the album of someone from a completely different musical world, but in addition it’s not art for the sake of art, but a piece of really good, evocative work... a series of consecutive successful marriages of dark ambient and silent movies." (Santa Sangre)

"Severin's use of brooding synth shards that ooze in and out provides a delicious counterpoint to Dreyer's consciously over-egged visual signifiers, which bridge Victorian melodrama and high-end expressionism. Ushered in by bells, a recurring theme for Allan, and even some dance-band jauntiness, Severin's latest score in his Music For Silents series following treatments of works by Germaine Dulac, Robert Wiene and Jean Cocteau lends even more menace than Wolfgang Zeller's original in an intensely brooding and at times sepulchral-sounding affair, that's wholly serious in intent and execution" (Coffee Table Notes)

"The pieces are primarily keyboard based sounds and the way they are written and performed manage to convey atmosphere and a sense of unease that befits a horror film in a way it would be very easy to lose with pieces like this listened to on their own with no visual stimulus. There’s no particular standout piece they all work well in their own ways but the whole album is best listened to all the way through as you then get a far better sense of the moods of the film as the pieces rise and fall... it manages to stand on its own two feet as an album that you can easily return to for repeat plays" (Progress Report)

"Auf diesem Album hat er sich den gleichnamigen Horror-Meilenstein des dänischen Regisseurs Carl Theodor Dreyer vorgenommen und ihm im Nachhinein einen Soundtrack verpasst, der es in sich hat. Wenn man sich die Musik nämlich anhört, kann man sich in etwa vorstellen, wie düster und beklemmend jener Film sein muß. Severin arbeitet mit allen Schattierungen des Dark Ambient, konventionelle Songstrukturen sucht man vergebens. Alle Stücke kommen ausgesprochen finster daher und sind handwerklich hervorragend produziert" (Medienkonverter)

"Die 15 Stücke auf Steven Severins „Vampyr“ sind, entsprechend der von mir vermuteten und durch die Namen der Titel naheliegenden szenischen Zuordnung, eher kurz und musikalisch natürlich dem Topic des Films verpflichtet... Dark Ambient, Keyboard basiert... soundlich leicht korrodiert und damit und durch den vereinzelten Einsatz von Samples (ein altes Streichorchester etc.) auch etwas (positiv gemeint) „Altertümliches“ ausstrahlend... auch als filmloses Dark Ambient-Album rein zum Hören geeignet" (Black Magazin)

"Strumentazione elettronica e atmosfere tetre potrebbero essere i presupposti per un lavoro complessivamente dark ambient, ma l'esperienza di Severin gioca un ruolo chiave e all'ascolto ci si trova dinnanzi a tutt'altro, riuscendo ad evitare una rischiosa caduta nel calderone post-industriale. I suoni sono minimali, spesso appena accennati e perfettamente in linea con lo stile del film; si parte di norma da ombrosi tappeti di synth, i rumori assumono forme para-melodiche e le stesse melodie fanno capolino in più punti con andamenti ripetitivi e ossessivi. Le partiture prossime al noise ricordano vagamente quelle ascoltate in diversi film di Lynch o in lavori di musica classica sperimentale, immerse nel vuoto e votate alla riflessione piuttosto che alla negatività" (Darkroom)