On Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 April, BRDCST presents two must-see film concerts at Cinema Palace. On Saturday, discover the live soundtrack for The Holy Mountain (1973) by Belgian saxophonist, composer and producer Mattias De Craene. On Sunday, hear and see the live soundtrack for The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) by Dutch composer, flute player and guitarist Jozef Van Wissem.
It's not the first time that BRDCST has embraced live soundtracks. In 2018, we invited experimental synth-duo Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. The Austin-based musicians provided an intriguing synth soundtrack to the superb science fiction series Stranger Things.
Last year, BRDCST and arthouse Cinema Palace teamed up for a film concert: the legendary Hungarian metal vocalist Attila Csihar – known for his work with influential Norwegian black metal band Mayhem and drone ensemble SUNN O))) – provided the live soundtrack to Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau. Due to that success, BRDCST will now present two film concerts.
Mattias De Craene (MDC III) x The Holy Mountain
(1973, director: Alejandro Jodorowsky, 114 min)
Over 50 years ago, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky made waves at the Cannes Film Festival with the premiere of The Holy Mountain (1973, 114 minutes). This psychedelic, surreal film – financed by Beatles manager Allen Klein – explores themes of spirituality, mysticism and the search for enlightenment.
This macabre masterpiece transformed into a cult classic over the years, counting icons such as Marina Abramović and the late David Lynch among its die-hard fans. Another addition to this list: Belgian saxophonist, composer and producer Mattias De Craene (MDCIII, Nordmann). "This film captured my mind, my soul and by extension my music", he says.
Upon request of the Videodroom festival – a collaboration between Film Fest Gent and the art centre VIERNULVIER – he composed a brand-new soundtrack for the film. The original soundtrack was created by Jodorowsky himself, and was played by jazz legend Don Cherry, among others.
Mattias De Craene’s soundtrack has since appeared on the album A House Where I Dream (VIERNULVIER Records), meandering between ethereal ambience and hypnotising folk, hearkening back to Terry Riley’s minimalistic compositions but also reminiscent of contemporary artists such as KMRU and William Basinski.
To be seen on Saturday 5 April at 2 pm, more info and tickets available at brdcstfestival.be
Jozef Van Wissem x The Fall of the House of Usher
(1928, director: Jean Epstein, 65 min)
The French silent horror film The Fall of the House of Usher (1928, director: Jean Epstein, 65 min) was the inspiration behind the eponymous Netflix series, which met with enormous success and was described by Rolling Stone as “a literary orgy of death”. Both the film and the series are based on Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 short story. They all share the same protagonist: Roderick Usher.
Epstein’s film, with a screenplay by Luis Buñuel, is set in a remote house where the deceased wife of Roderick Usher suddenly returns to life after lightning strikes on a stormy night.
The premiere of the live soundtrack for The Fall of the House of Usher by Dutch composer, lutenist and guitarist Jozef van Wissem took place in the first half of 2024 at the Timeless Film Festival in Warsaw.
Van Wissem has a long history of producing amazing soundtracks: Take, for example, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) for which he won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, or more recently Un Prince (2023) by Pierre Creton as well as Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922).
To be seen on Sunday 6 April at 2 pm, more info and tickets available at brdcstfestival.be
