Possessed, by Laurel Halo

Possessed

by Laurel Halo

supported by

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£7 GBP or more

1.	Hyphae 06:27	buy track
2.	Rome Theme I 01:32	buy track
3.	Breath 02:51	buy track
4.	Lead 03:45	buy track
5.	Marbles 02:17	buy track
6.	Rome Theme II 01:06	buy track
7.	Zeljava 03:44	buy track
8.	Last Seen 01:25	buy track
9.	Rome Theme III 04:16	buy track
10.	Cave Walk 01:50	buy track
11.	Stabat Mater (Excerpt) 01:11	buy track
12.	Masks 02:25	buy track

about

Laurel Halo presents an album’s worth of score provided for the 2018 experimental documentary Possessed by Dutch design collective Metahaven, produced in collaboration with Rob Schröder and Dutch Mountain Films. Her first foray into writing music for the screen, the album provides a rich variety of sounds, from aqueous, subterranean drones, to plaintive folk pieces for violin and cello, to uncanny pseudoclassical piano mutations.

It’s fitting for Laurel Halo to move into the score world. Already known for her ability to craft evocative, emotionally charged music, the pieces on offer give shade and contour to the central questions of Possessed: how do we find new ways of being together, outside the self-surveillance of social media? What can life look like outside neverending competition? The film’s sophisticated collage including makeup tutorials, phones melted by liquefied lead, FBI facial recognition, selfie risk-takers atop cranes, and ecstatic believers all point to the central question of the film: who is looking out for you?

The soundtrack traverses both the synthetic and acoustic, in keeping with the film’s tension between what is natural and unnatural. Opening track Hyphae unfolds like the eponymous fungal network, spreading and extending indelibly; the Rome Themes signalling religious, romantic yearning; the delicate piano of Marbles recalling the recurrent motif of black marbles, all knocking against one another, but never touching. Zeljava, named after the abandoned former Yugoslavian military airbase featured in the film, is a central piece for its wrenching resonance. In a nod to film music tradition a simple rendition of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is also included in the collection.

Violinist Galya Bisengalieva and cellist Oliver Coates provide rich performances, and renowned engineer Paul Corley lends additional production.

credits

released April 10, 2020

Music by Laurel Halo
Cello by Oliver Coates
Violin by Galya Bisengalieva
Additional production by Paul Corley
Additional string production by Oliver Coates
Mixed by Paul Corley

Mastered by Noel Summerville

Published by Decca Publishing, a division of Decca Music Group Ltd.

P&C Vinyl Factory, 2020

license

about

Laurel Halo Berlin, Germany

contact / help

Contact Laurel Halo

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Laurel Halo, you may also like:

Everywhere at the end of time
by The Caretaker

supported by 71 fans who also own “Possessed”

I probably wouldn't have listened to this without the context of it being about dementia, but even without that context, this is a real work of art. The distorted big-band samples create a sound that starts out nostalgic, and becomes disturbing and confused, then fades into emptiness, but is enthralling all the way through. Stage 4 is my favorite, simultaneously defying musical logic and upholding it. Ivan Stanton
go to album
Workaround
by Beatrice Dillon

supported by 69 fans who also own “Possessed”

Very forward thinking, wonderful stuff indeed, hard to pick a favourite but Workout Eight is totally dying for a Carl Craig remix 🙏 Pete
go to album
hybtwibt?
by Space Afrika

supported by 54 fans who also own “Possessed”

Space Afrika creates a stellar display of how moving sound collage can truly be. VitalA+
go to album
Tearing at the Edges of all Restraint
by BLACKLIGHT CHAMELEON

Blacklight Chameleon voyages to the dark side of electronic music, writing songs full of tension and grim intensity. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 12, 2021
go to album
Cub - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
by Steve Moore

Zombi's Steve Moore scored this synth-heavy soundtrack to a brutal horror film. Available on limited silver vinyl. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 20, 2015
go to album
KiTsuNe / Brian The Fox
by The Future Eve featuring Robert Wyatt

The legendary Japanese producer known as Tomo Akikawabaya meets experimental giant Robert Wyatt for a fascinating electronic journey. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 16, 2019
go to album
After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house
by Nivhek

supported by 54 fans who also own “Possessed”

Deep, interesting, strong and emotional. Just a great work. Liz Harris will always have something strong, special and surprising in the best artistic way. risovic
go to album