Black Vinyl
Dagerlöff and Galner are 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. 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 and Galner.
The duo enhances the heretical character of the work through dark pieces with constant intensity. This work of digital synthesis (choirs, orchestra, organ, analogue modulars and tapes) allowed them to draw lines between tradition and modernity, like a film whose purpose remains as strong and relevant over a century later.