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Liquid Sky: Cult Cinema, Film Scoring, and the Fairlight CMI Courtenay Gallon

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Liquid Sky: Cult Cinema, Film Scoring, and the Fairlight CMI Courtenay Gallon Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2007 Liquid Sky: Cult Cinema, Film Scoring, and the Fairlight CMI Courtenay Gallon Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC LIQUID SKY: CULT CINEMA, FILM SCORING, AND THE FAIRLIGHT CMI By Courtenay Gallon A Thesis submitted to the College of Music In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Music Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007 Copyright © 2007 Courtenay Gallon All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Courtenay Gallon defended on July 31, 2007. _________________________________ Charles E. Brewer Professor Directing Thesis _________________________________ Jeffery T. Kite-Powell Committee Member _________________________________ Brian Gaber Outside Committee Member Approved: _______________________________________________ Jeffery T. Kite-Powell, Chair, Department of Musicology _______________________________________________ Don Gibson, Dean, College of Music The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii To family, friends, peers, and teachers for their interest and support. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Professors Brewer, Kite-Powell, and Gaber for serving as my committee members and for their time, suggestions, and interest throughout this process. Special thanks to Professor Brewer for his guidance and encouragement, as my major professor. Special thanks also goes to Brenda Hutchinson and Clive Smith for their insights on creating the music for Liquid Sky, and their enthusiasm and support during this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT vii INTRODUCTION 1 1. FILM OVERVIEW 1 Crew 1 Plot and Characters 3 Analysis 12 2. LIQUID SKY & CULT CINEMA 15 Defining a cult film 15 Applying the cult label to Liquid Sky 19 3. MUSIC IN LIQUID SKY 21 Adapted Music 21 Marin Marais 23 Carl Orff 23 Anthony Philip Heinrich 24 Original Music 25 “Me and My Rhythm Box” 25 Other 25 Borrowed Music 26 4. CREATING THE MUSIC FOR LIQUID SKY 27 Fairlight CMI 27 Creating the music for Liquid Sky 33 CONCLUSION 41 APPENDIX A. Human Subjects Research Approval Letter 44 v APPENDIX B. Informed Consent Forms 45 APPENDIX C. CD Tracklisting 46 APPENDIX D. “Me and My Rhythm Box” Lyrics 48 APPENDIX E. List of Music Cues in the Film 49 APPENDIX F. Copyright Approval Letter from Fairlight 50 APPENDIX G. Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument 51 APPENDIX H. CMI IIx Page R Manual 52 APPENDIX I. CMI IIx Service Manual 53 BIBLIOGRAPHY 54 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 57 vi ABSTRACT This thesis is based upon information from a variety of sources dealing with the soundtrack for the film Liquid Sky. One of these sources is the movie itself, which can be aurally and visually confusing without peripheral sources of reference. Because comprehending the film Liquid Sky is intrinsically linked to understanding the soundtrack, character and plot analysis is relevant to this study. This thesis acknowledges Liquid Sky as a cult film, but it also provides a context for defining cult films, as well as the characteristics that set them apart from films in other genres. Subsequently, these are used to show how Liquid Sky fits into the genre of cult film. As the main focus of this thesis, the music in Liquid Sky is identified, and its origin and context within the film are explained. The music is organized categorically: adapted, original, and borrowed. Additionally, the possible reasons for the use of these various kinds of music in the film are proposed. The music in Liquid Sky sounds unusual, however the process of creating the music for the film was truly unique for the time period. The main catalyst for the music in Liquid Sky was a synthesizer known as the Fairlight CMI. Although several synthesizers had preceded it, the Fairlight was the first digital model. The machine was specifically chosen by the film’s director because of its ability to manipulate real world sounds. He eventually recruited Brenda Hutchinson and Clive Smith to compose the soundtrack on the Fairlight. A series of correspondences with Hutchinson and Smith provide insight on their own personal experiences while creating the film’s soundtrack, but also the aesthetic wishes of the director for the music. It is my ultimate hope that, taken together, the information provided in the following pages supports the fundamental goal of this thesis, which is to show that Liquid Sky was a ground-breaking, if not overlooked, milestone in cult cinema, and film scoring. Most people did not know what the Fairlight was in 1982, much less how to operate it, and it is effectively used in Liquid Sky to create a sound palette to complement a film that can be most aptly described as alien. vii INTRODUCTION To say that Liquid Sky is an unusual film is an understatement, in many regards. It stands out, even in the genre of cult film, which by its very nature often defies convention, and it is this idea around which this thesis is constructed. The film has already been labeled as a cult film by multiple, credible sources, including some that will be cited in subsequent sections. However, this thesis provides a basic analysis of the music featured in Liquid Sky, and a justification for the “cult” label. It is the music, particularly the way in which it was composed that is one of the most distinctive features of the film. 1. FILM OVERVIEW Regardless of how one chooses to categorize Liquid Sky, the plot is vital to understanding the film. Because the personalities of the characters are primarily revealed through what they do within the plot, character analysis will be discussed as well. The plot is effective in the sense that it takes several storylines and characters, and continually intersects and intertwines them, without making the film too confusing. The events of the film and its characters are connected through the use of heroin, and either direct or indirect contact with the alien. The following plot description is a detailed account of the events in the film. It is purposely more detailed than a synopsis would be. Because of Liquid Sky’s obscurity, this plot description is written with the reader, who has had little exposure to the film or perhaps has never seen the film, in mind. This plot description is preceded by a list of people who worked on Liquid Sky and followed by an analysis of the plot and the characters. Crew While the actors and sets are the most visible aspects of Liquid Sky, there were also many people behind the scenes who played a part in completing the film. Taking into consideration the scope of my research and its focus on the music of Liquid Sky, I have compiled information 1 concerning the individuals that I feel were most important in composing the music for the film. They will be referred to and sometimes quoted in the following chapters, and the information below serves to delineate their roles and accomplishments. Admittedly, there is a certain emphasis on Brenda Hutchinson, Clive Smith, and Slava Tsukerman. It was Tsukerman’s ideas that ultimately shaped Liquid Sky. Brenda Hutchinson and Clive Smith, who were co-composers for the music for the film, were specifically consulted for their insights on creating music for Liquid Sky; their thoughts on the film overall appear throughout the following chapters. In a couple of cases there is an obvious lack of biographical information for some crewmembers; this is due to the lack of basic resources. After each person’s name is their role in Liquid Sky in parentheses followed by their biographical information, when available. Anatoli Gerasimov (composed the music for the song “Me and My Rhythm Box”) (b 1945?) Russian jazz musician and composer. Brenda Hutchinson (co-composer of original music, arranger of adapted music) (b Trenton, New Jersey, 1954) American composer and sound artist.1 She attended Carnegie Mellon University and Goldsmith College where she studied composition and percussion.2 Her compositions and performances cover several mediums including “dance, opera, film, video, radio, and multi-media interactive installations with extensive use of language, stories, and ambient and sampled sounds.”3 She was a member of the new wave band Klang, while doing graduate work at the University of California San Diego. Her master’s thesis was performance based and focused on recordings of her grandmother telling her life stories.4 Clive Smith (co-composer of original music, arranger of adapted music) (b London, raised in New York City) Composer, singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, programmer, sound designer, synthesist, and performer. Received the MA in composition from 1 Hutchinson, Brenda. “Brenda Hutchinson-Home Page.” Brenda Hutchinson. http://www.sonicportraits.org/ (accessed April 18, 2007). 2 Brenda Hutchinson, e-mail message, May 7, 2007. 3 Hutchinson, Brenda. “Brenda Hutchinson-Home Page.” Brenda Hutchinson. http://www.sonicportraits.org/ (accessed April 18, 2007). 4 Brenda Hutchinson, e-mail message, May 7, 2007. 2 New York University in 1977.5 Clive Smith worked on Liquid Sky during his tenure at PASS (Public Access Synthesizer Studio). He served as Associate Director and later Director during his six years at PASS from 1977 to 1983. He has used the Fairlight in popular music and his collaborations include Herbie Hancock, Yoko Ono, Kid Creole, David Garland, Sly Stone, and Geroge Clinton. Aside from Liquid Sky, he has used the Fairlight for the films The Boy Who Cried Bitch, Native Son, as well as a staging of King Lear by the National Shakespeare Company.6 Slava Tsukerman (director, writer, producer, and lyricist for “Me and My Rhythm Box”) (b Soviet Union, 1940?) Although he is probably best known for Liquid Sky, his filmography includes Great Bells, The Heat in Cold Numbers, Professor Alexandrov’s Discovery, and Vaudeville on Vaudeville, as well as a documentary entitled Once Upon a Time There Were Russians in Jerusalem.
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