LP with obi strip, incl. booklet. Australian composer Oren Ambarchi and Norwegian guitarist Fredrik Rasten present Dragon's Return, a compelling new score for Eduard Grecner's 1967 Slovak cult film of the same name. Released via Viernulvier Records, this collaboration emerged from a live performance at the Videodroom Festival during Film Fest Ghent in October 2024, where the musicians premiered their improvisational soundtrack alongside the restored black-and-white parable. What began as a singular encounter between sound and image has evolved into a standalone work that maintains its evocative power independent of its visual counterpart. Dragon's Return captures the essence of Grecner's stark cinematography through purely sonic means, creating what Rastislav Steranka of the Slovak Film Institute describes as "folklore meets avant-garde in an ancient drama."
The album showcases both artists working in unexpectedly intimate territory. Ambarchi, renowned for his electro-acoustic explorations, here adopts a markedly softer approach - coaxing delicate tones through bowing and strumming techniques that transform his guitar into something resembling a string section. His incorporation of shells adds textural breath to the composition's sonic palette. Rasten contributes layered textures through 12-string guitar and subtle vocal work, creating shimmering surfaces that shift and evolve throughout the piece. Rooted in improvisation yet feeling both ritualistic and strangely familiar, Dragon's Return unfolds as a continuous composition without fixed destination. The interplay between guitars, flutes, percussion, and voice develops gradually into entrancing drones, inviting complete immersion in its folk-inflected sound world.
The vinyl edition includes an obi strip and booklet featuring film stills and extensive liner notes, continuing Viernulvier Records' mission of illuminating forgotten cinema through reimagined soundtracks, following Claire Rousay's acclaimed The Bloody Lady. Dragon's Return stands as a remarkable document of two master improvisers finding new modes of expression through dialogue with lost cinematic art.
