Featuring a strikingly original score by Roger Goula, Shock Head Soul is an acclaimed cross-media documentary directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Simon Pummell. The film explores the writings of Daniel Paul Schreber, a lawyer who claimed that he received messages from God via a 'writing down machine'. Goula's score was performed by The Raven Quartet and is both an avant-garde piece of work as well as a soundtrack that follows the narrative of the film. Pieces relate to such idioms as a-atonalism and French avant-garde minimalism as well as late romanticism. Instrumental colours in addition to the string quartet include the early electronic instrument, the ondes martenot, and piano...

Roger Goula score for Shock Head Soul is a beautiful work of art. It's a classical music based album that, if there was any justice, should be touring the world as a set piece for quartets. It's heartbreakingly beautiful in places and a little eerie in others.

There are interesting additions, including the rather bizarre 'You're Dead to Me', which I'm sure makes much more sense if you've seen the film, but in isolation the off key piano, strange chat and whistling makes for a very unsettling experience.

The album contains 16 tracks which makes up 33 min, 57 sec worth of music.

9

Darren Rea