TVD LA had an opportunity to chat with A Winged Victory for the Sullen, the ambient duo consisting of Dustin O’Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. Their latest project is the score for ATOMOS, a dance composition for famed choreographer Wayne McGregor (Random Dance, the London Ballet, and that guy Thom Yorke).
A Winged Victory for the Sullen brings this score to the El Rey on Sunday, April 5th.
We can assume writing for both dance and film involve telling a story. How is the approach for scoring for dance different from your work scoring for films?
The history of dance and music together is much older and really developed together—it’s very natural in the sense that music comes first and the choreography comes after. You have lots of images and concepts in your head, but it’s really close to writing for yourself. Film seems to have confines as you are locked into edits and timing—it’s really two different ways to work. Both have the object of telling a story, but dance is something that is movable and happens in the moment, and film is something carved out in time.
This process is incredibly unique. Since choreography and dance tend to be dictated by the music, did the movement of the dancers come to mind or have an effect on the movement of the music? Did you see clips, did you send the dancers demos?
We started working on the score on our own with just some images and videos that Wayne McGregor sent us. About half way through the process we went to London to his studio to see what he was creating. We really could not imagine how someone would dance to our music, so the biggest inspiration was how well it worked. It just made us more confident that we were on the right path. The whole dance piece is built in a kind of modular way with these little scenes that could be put together or separated …much like atoms.
I am so impressed by what I have read about the partnership between the two of you and that you tend to swap who plays which role in the creation of the music. Is this something that is done intentionally to challenge yourselves or do you walk into the compositional process already knowing who will contribute what?
Sometimes our process is mysterious to even us! It’s a long winding road of sound research and ideas and usually the final result is really different from where we started, and we have no idea how we ended up there. We decided in the beginning to only write together in a studio—not sending files back and forth—and I think this creates a unique way for us to write as we are in the moment, able to bounce ideas off each other until they become their own.
So yes, we do switch roles—sometimes I am working on string parts, and Adam is working on piano parts, and we both work on other sounds. It’s what’s right for the piece ultimately that finds its place. I think we are both working for the common goal of the music leading us.
There are so many different instruments and such an intricate sonic experience involved in making your albums and the feeling the music evokes is very expansive. What is the approach for putting together a live show to replicate this feeling of expansiveness?
It took us a while to figure this out and it was not easy. First we really had to find the right string players (which we finally found after a lot of trail and error) and formed a language with them. We also worked a lot with our soundman to help produce the kind of expansive sound we were looking for, but it’s a lot of layers in there and trying to make everything completely live and organic. At the moment I think it’s the best we have sounded since we began, so its been a real pleasure to do the shows.
Since this album is so intertwined with movement, what can the audience expect at your live show?
Well, we don’t move much! But I think we are going to have some nice lights and hopefully you can find your own movement and imagery in your head.
Now to get super serious and all Hollywood on you—since we are in LA, were there any film scores that stuck out to you this year?
I think my favorite score in the last years is Mica Levi’s score for Under The Skin. I think it was a really unique score and I got to see it performed live in LA which made me appreciate it even more. Her use of string textures and abstractions was really unique to hear in a film score these days.
A Winged Victory for the Sullen plays at the El Rey on Sunday, April 5th. Tickets are available here.
