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Live Soundtracks Festival

Cinema & live music

By Sergio Pulido 21.04.15

While we are used to films featuring musical soundtracks integrated with images and dialogue, since the advent of sound it’s very rare to have live music played along with films anymore, unlike the silent era’s in-house pianist who played in theatres providing a more dynamic accompaniment to the antics of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Live Soundtracks is an interdisciplinary festival based on the idea of a musician choosing a favourite movie, composing a soundtrack and then performing it live. After five years of being a series of one-off events, which included performances from artists such as Luomo, Mika Vainio and Alva Noto, now in 2015 it has become a festival accommodated within the Convent dels Angels MACBA, located right at the heart of Raval taking place between April 24th and 25th, run by Anna Mastrolitto and Julia González, with the collaboration of well known figures on the cultural scene here such as Djs Alberto Nerone and Marc Piñol, Maxi Ruiz of the Primavera Sound festival and Carlos Medina of Scanner FM.

The programme includes artists like Jamie Pantaleon who’ll be providing an Indie and slowcore approach to the first film of the cult zombie genre movie, "Night of the Living Dead" directed by the venerated George Romero back in 1968. Düsseldorf based DJ Lena Willikens has come up with a completely different take, Willikens is best known for being part of the record label Cómeme Matias Aguayo, she’ll be providing music for the Japanese melodrama "Japanese Girls at the Harbour" directed by Hiroshi Shimizu (1933). The violinist Sara Fontan ambitiously takes on a true classic of independent film "La Jetée" (1962) directed by Chris Marker, an influential short using animation which was the inspiration for "12 Monkeys" by Terry Gilliam. Marker will be doubly represented during the festival, the members of the local Barcelona psychedelic band Shinkiro will be providing musical accompaniment to another of his films, "Sans Soleil" (1983). Brian Pyle, who goes by the name of Ensemble Economique, has chosen 4 segments from the "Dreams" film by Akira Kurosawa "(1990) to which he’ll be providing his experimental synthesizer sounds and instruments played live.

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Anna Mastrolitto with Julia González, the directors of Live Soundtracks Festival. PH: ©Alessia Laudoni

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Jaimel Pantaleon

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Lena Willikens

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Ensemble Economique

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Sara Fontan

  • Live Soundtracks Music Festival

    Shinkiro, Barcelona