Martha Skye Murphy’s score for the enigmatic motion picture directed by Ivan Krzeszowiec The Late Departure comprises of 4 evocative and raw tracks (5:36PM, Hailstones; Connecting Flight; Drive Through and Harvey’s Backroom) which transport the listener into a visceral cinematic world. With a few ambiguous and sparse lyrics, the bed of the soundscape consists of Murphy’s vocal experiments acting as the dominant instrument (as heard in her acclaimed debut EP Heroides and the single Black Eye).

All the compositions were written, produced and performed by Martha Skye Murphy (vocals/piano) during one afternoon, accompanied by Felix Stephens on cello.

The interactive trailer functions interchangeably as a disquieting, experimental silent music video. Operating in the form of a video game, the participant becomes embedded in the film through a labyrinth of unexplained hyperlinks leading them into their own character/ego's narrative. Distorted half-formed memories present themselves in unexpected ways: co-ordinates of a ranch in Marfa, Texas sit invitingly next to the event ‘Harvey’s Backroom’ (the title of the final song in the soundtrack), while videos of ships pulling away from vacant, shimmering ports deliver the viewer into imposing neurodegenerative disorders. These visual clues will not be passively absorbed and instead act as ephemera that instantly attach and are beholden to the participant as they unintentionally map their unique cyber journey, unconsciously becoming the protagonists of the film.

The music by experimental musician Murphy, quietly nods to contemporary classical composers with an ambient leaning, such as Arvö Part and Hildur Guðnadóttir in the minimalist piano and gliding strings. Sonically the atmosphere suggests that of a slow psychological thriller, Polanski perhaps (The Tenant and Rosemary’s Baby) . Surmounting doubt and seduction echo scores by Krzysztof Komeda and Goblin’s iconic soundtrack to Argentinio’s 1971 horror film, Suspiria.

Mixed in with the sculptural drama of the strings, the guttural vocal noises and presbyterian style chorals are strange unidentifiable field recordings, reminiscent of early Musique Concrète. The space The Late Departure creates is both vast and intimate (a trait within all Martha Skye Murphy’s work) with the close dry vocals that jut in between swathes of cello displacing you at every corner.

THE LATE DEPARTURE

(ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)

All songs written, performed and produced by Martha Skye Murphy 

Cello (tracks 2,3,4) by Felix Stephens 

Recorded by Sophie Ackroyd at Metropolis  

Film footage  by Ben Murphy 

Website designed and constructed  by  Martha Skye Murphy