Willow's Song (Hammer sandwich mix) - with theremin

A live performance of Spacedog's latest set at the Blank Gallery, Brighton, June 2008. As seen at the Sanctuary, Brighton Festival Fringe, 2008. This number samples the Hammer classic The Devil Rides Out (1968), mixing it with Willow's Song from that other British occult classic The Wicker Man (Paul Giovanni, 1973). Mind control courtesy the hypnotic voice of the great Charles Gray. The very first sample is from a 1950s Parakeet training record.

The lineup: Jenny Angliss, Sarah Angliss, Mike Blow, Ben Kypreos and Colin Uttley.

For anyone interested in the technical details: The Hammer samples you are hearing are being scrubbed (i.e. speed controlled) live using the theremin. Sarah (the thereminist) has devised a Max/MSP patch that enables her to do so - this also scrubs the video live. Mike (in the green tee-shirt) is cueing in the samples as the song progresses. As the lighting in the gallery wasn't suitable for projection, we've added our usual visuals onto this film, during the edit.

Spacedog
www.sarahangliss.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• theremin
• theremin AV controller
• theremin effects
• The Devil Rides Out
• Spacedog
• Hammer Horror
• Max/MSP
• mind control
• sonic arts
• Wicker Man
• hypnotist
• mesmerism
• magic
• Charles Gray

[harrypartch]

Thanks for that. can you explain a bit more about how the theremin is controlling the sound samples?Would really appreciate that thanks

[SpacedogTelevisor]

Hello

Thanks for your comments - it's a Max/MSP patch, running on the Mac. This continually measures the pitch of the theremin (using a simple zero-crossing method), then uses this to control the playback speed of the audio and video samples. Moving up an octave doubles the speed of the video. There are various other ways to do the same thing, for instance using a fourier transform or - if your theremin has CV out - directly measuring voltage. Hope that answers your question! Sarah (Spacedog UK)

[BohemianAsh]

Wow, this is so trippy and great. I loved the original song in The Wicker Man, but this is good too :)

[spugintrntl]

@electronicoffee They have albums? Where can I get one??

[electronicoffee]

yes, the final track of their first album.. it's simply enchanting. this version is VERy good as well..

[jaine000]

This is the first time I've heard anything by Spacedog. Brilliant!

[goncalobotelhosousa]

yep. it's the last song of their first album

[robertodowneso]

..interesting but Im not sure if the voice samples replace the haunting violins?? did the sneaker pimps do a cover of this??

[tyjeffries]

oops I mean SARAH! who is Sally I wonder?

[tyjeffries]

I saw these guys live the other night.... the way they work with film clips and live performance is incredibly exiting and creates a really moving experience. Jenny has such a beautiful voice hasnt she? And Sally is not only playing the Theramin but controlling the speed/tone of the voice clips from the movie too... its really cool!

[Pompomsugarpuffs]

I think im going to have to subscribe your all great! :D