Steven Severin's "Music To Silents" January 13, 2010

"From the symmetry of forms as two women play against mirrors in 'In Loop,' to the sexual and violent tones of 'The Bad Dropper' and 'Third Bride' –- what really caught my eye was 'Mercury Gash.' Accompanied by flanger-style effects, the imagery was nothing short of Dionysian. A frenzied, orgiastic experience, as images of surreal sexual positions shuttled by, the music losing itself in passion." -- Slowdive Music

In his Los Angeles live solo debut, Steven Severin (founding member and longtime bassist for Siouxsie And The Banshees) comes to the Cinefamily for two successive Wednesdays of intense, compelling, moody and sensuous live scores to rare silent and experimental films! This first evening is based upon trance-inducing tracks from his 2009 solo album "Music For Silents". The centerpiece of the evening is his new score for Germaine Dulac's The Seashell and The Clergyman (1928), considered to be one of the very first surrealist films. A collaboration between Dulac and the infamous French playwright Antonin Artaud (who was reportedly infuriated by the final product), the film tells of an amorous priest, and the object of his desire whom he never can grasp. Severin's sparkling piano lines, played backwards and forwards, collide headfirst with subtle synthwork to shattering effect.