Jason Swinscoe’s big family release their silent movie score on DVD.

Martin Scorsese once spoke of the awe he felt as a child when the light emerged from the film projector – the idea that there was a whole other world encased in the film. One might venture that if those magical moments had a sound it wouldn’t be a million miles away from the spectral beauty of The Cinematic Orchestra’s Everyday LP. Released last year, it was an almost symphonic affair that through its panoramic sweep seemed as concerned with how music should look in the mind’s eye as much as how it should sound. Now Jason Swinscoe and his cohorts have taken that idea to its logical conclusion by writing a score for avant garde Polish director Dziga Vertov’s 1929 documentary Man With A Movie Camera.

“We were originally asked to perform a live score for it at a film festival in Portugal,” Jason recalls. “And it went down so well that we decided to record it. It’s a natural progression from Everyday, but the process of scoring for images required a radically different approach.”

Man With A Movie Camera was essentially a piece of communist propaganda, yet contained editing techniques and superimposition that were radically innovative for the period. The film is split into six sections - which correspond with the six main themes of the soundtrack - yet Jason avoided a too formalist approach. “There was definite rhythm in the film for us to latch on to. That repetition is reflected in our soundtrack – we communicate those ideas through the chord progressions and the emotional content of the sonics. We wanted to bring the film back to life.”

The Orchestra will also be taking the film on the road, building on the rapturous receptions they’ve already received by including a fully live band – including string sections and turntables – alongside the projector. “It’s more of an event than a gig because people are encouraged to watch the film. People love seeing it with a contemporary soundtrack and there’s a vast age range there. We’ve managed to transcend the world of electronic music and clubs people normally place us in.”

As it should be, because The Cinematic Orchestra are a unique experience - tripping the light fantastic into your celluloid dreams. Paul Clarke 23 May 03

Man With A Movie Camera is on DVD, LP and CD, out 26 May 03 on Ninja Tune.

useful link: www.ninjatune.net