Throughout the 2000s, composer Anthony Pateras has been hard at work making his name one of the most sought after in experimental neoclassical music. From the frantic free-jazz of Pivixki to the analogue electronics of Poletopra and electro-acoustic compositions of Thymolphtalein, Pateras has never stopped expanding and growing as an artist. And on his most recent release, his soundtrack to the new film Errors of the Human Body, we see the Australian composer’s integration of experimental sound art and classical arrangements reaching a level of stylistic maturity few artists achieve.
The film, produced by up and coming Australian writer/ director Eron Sheean, is a psychological thriller that “is a little science fiction and a little science fact.†With a brilliant, unique script and thrilling, innovative plot, Errors of the Human Body transports us to a bleak post-apocalyptic world where disease and mayhem run free.
Despite such harrowing themes, Pateras’s soundtrack finely captures the film’s intense energy and suspense. Released by Editions Mego, whose roster includes other left field musicians such as Fennesz and Stephen O’Malley, the album clocks in at over an hour long, with twenty-songs selected from the film. The opener, ‘Celluloid Cloud,’ starts with the ominous striking of a prepared piano, and then moves into a chaotic, cacophonous slew of overlapping violins. This feeling of eerie suspense doesn’t end there; almost every song on the album is teeming with uneasiness, the feeling that something is lurking around the corner. Take ‘Burton, for example. Processed electronics and chiming beats are combined with seductive, swirling brass arrangements that sound as if they’re ripped straight out of a David Lynch movie – or better yet, a Tim Burton movie. Or what about ‘Infectious,’ where shuffling jazz beats and discordant pianos are paired against suspenseful droning violins.
In the same effective manner with which he portrays the film’s unyielding suspense, Pateras also tackles the film’s overarching theme of the clash between the natural and the artificial. On one track, ‘Easter Gene,’ robotic beats and ambient frequencies underscore a calming acoustic piano. Even the film’s more “science fiction†elements are depicted in ‘Research from Unexpected Places,’ where vibraphones amidst low-register frequencies echo and swirl around your ears like some bizarre symphony lost in space.
Though the album covers a diverse array of aural territories, never once does its shifting back and forth between styles come off as dizzying. I mean, few artists could ever make the jump from the plangent synths, 16-bit electronics, and frenetic gangs of percussionists of ‘XIJ’ to the exotic oboes, staccato trumpets, and lulling vibraphones of ‘Humans & Mice’ with such ease. Pateras, with an unparalleled stylistic maturity and engaging artistry, melds the film’s myriad of settings, emotions, and concepts into one hour-long listening ride. Enjoy.
Lee Vincent
