Smother - Luis Gispert, 2008

via Josh Kay (Phoenecia): "I just finished a soundtrack for a 26 minute film called Smother. I used my monster-case housed Euro-Rack modular and an Arp 2600 as the primary sound sources. These analogue synths were made for drones. There was plenty of post-processing involved, but not a single vsti."

Regarding the image:
"This is my system (the monster case on the left) mixed with Richard Devine's setup. That's the Arp I used on the soundtrack, it used to be mine. Actuality, Rich sold it to me many years ago and eventually I sold it back to him. Since then he's had Phil Cirocco (CMS) thoroughly baptize it (all options except the Moog ladder filter).

In my system, I'd have to say my favorites are the 2 Livewire AFG's the Frequensteiner, the Zeroscillator, the Bananlogue Serge VCS (I wish I had 3 of them), The Plan B model 10 and 24, the Doepfer BBD's (I do have 3 of them), and without a doubt, the MakeNoise QMMG. "

Smother - Luis Gispert, 2008 (Phoenecia's Alternate Score & Edit) from Josh Kay on Vimeo.

"Smother (Phoenecia's Alternate Score & Edit)
Directed by Luis Gispert
Score & Sound Design by Phoenecia (Joshua Kay & Romulo Del Castillo)

From the New York Times review:
"A boy lies on a trampoline, clutching a boombox to his chest. Gradually the blue tarpaulin turns a sickly green as he empties his bladder. “Smother,” a riveting new 26-minute film at Mary Boone Gallery by the New York artist Luis Gispert, explores the relationship between this 11-year-old chronic bed-wetter, also depicted in the photograph at right, and his domineering mother. Like “Stereomongrel,” Mr. Gispert’s 2005 film collaboration with Jeffrey Reed, it follows a precocious pre-adolescent’s odyssey through a perilous adult landscape - in this case 1980s Miami (where Mr. Gispert was raised).

“Smother,” which has a script by Mr. Gispert and the artist Orly Genger and a soundtrack by the experimental duo Phoenecia, is the throbbing, flamingo-pink heart of Mr. Gispert’s two-gallery show, at Mary Boone and Zach Feuer. With its tropical palette and episodic magical realism (which might be too real for some animal lovers), it can seem less like a film than a tenuously linked series of Mr. Gispert’s stills. Dialogue is sparse, and as melodramatic as a telenovela’s. The camera lingers over the spectacular stucco-mansion setting, which Mr. Gispert has aptly described as “narco-nouveau-riche.”

At Zach Feuer Gallery, a sculptural installation echoes the film’s lurid scenery. Photographs of truck interiors, racing-striped walls and high-gloss, heart-shaped speakers put forth a Miami version of the hot-rod-inspired art that emerged in 1960s Southern California. - Karen Rosenberg

Notes:
The alternate score & edit is a remixed version of Smother including parts that were omitted from the release version. An alternate reworked 20 minute version of Smother appears on Phoenecia's Echelon Mall, a collection of works for film & gallery exhibitions. Echelon Mall is scheduled for release in March on Schematic.

Links:
Mary Boone Gallery page:
maryboonegallery.com/exhibitions/2007-2008/gispert/index.html
Zach Feuer Gallery page:
zachfeuer.com/luisgispert_2008.html
New York Times review:
nytimes.com/2008/01/25/arts/design/25wart.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=zach+feuer&st=nyt&oref=slogin
Artnet Magazine review:
artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/davis/davis2-15-08.asp
New York Sun review:
nysun.com/arts/dislocating-dreams/70863/
Phoenecia:
schematic.net & schematic.net/phoenecia"