Sleep Has Her House: A Live Score by Magazinist
Artist: Magazinist
Mainstage Presentation
Russian Hall (600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver)
Friday, February 6 @ 8pm
Duration: 90 minutes
Photo: Magazinist
Credit: Illustration by Joy Kim
Image description: The image is an illustration of two musicians performing in front of an audience. The musician on the left side of the photo is wearing a baseball cap and sitting at a keyboard. The musician on the right is standing and holding an upright bass, also wearing a baseball cap. They are in front of a screen that says the name: Jane.
Following a series of sold-out live scores at the VIFF Centre, Magazinist will perform an original score for Scott Barley’s Sleep Has Her House (2017), a landmark of contemporary slow cinema, shot entirely on an iPhone. Barley’s sublime cinematography captures nocturnal landscapes and phantasmagorical mists reminiscent of Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr. According to one reviewer, the film’s “sheer aesthetic magnitudes dwarf its spectator in every possible way.” Living up to this magnitude, Sleep Has Her House was voted among the Greatest Films of All Time in Sight & Sound’s decennial poll, yet it remains little known. Since its premiere, the film has amassed a cult following, with the likes of Ethel Cain stating: “This film changed my life.” For this special presentation, Magazinist will reimagine Barley’s film through an original electro-acoustic performance. Working with an unorthodox combination of gear — including bowed double bass, cristal baschet, bass clarinet, bagpipes, analog synthesizers, and processed field recordings — Magazinist conjures a soundscape from the primeval depths of dark romanticism, drawn from the earthy registers of these instruments and their elemental resonances.
Film directed by Scott Barley
Music by Magazinist (Matthew Tomkinson & Andy Zuliani)
MAGAZINIST is a duo of electroacoustic musicians who make sound for film, dance, installation, and performance. Their work is drawn towards anachronistic instrumentation, hand-built sound objects, extended techniques, and post-minimalist aesthetics. Recent projects include an album with Discreet Archive, titled "Pulsatilla," along with a series of live scores for classic films at the VIFF Centre. They are currently at work on their second dramatic score for Théâtre la Seizième’s upcoming Spring 2026 production, "Liste des enfants dévorés par les loups."
CONTACT
Matthew Tomkinson
matttomkinson@gmail.com
@magazinist.info