Working on their project Talking Book, Bill Gould and Jared Blum have always preoccupied themselves with textures of sounds rather than just melodies. Uniting exploratory sound-work, dramatism and their innate curiosity, the members of Talking Book have approached every release of theirs with this intention. Sonically different from Bill’s most-widely known project, Faith No More, Gould’s work composing the soundtrack for ‘The Eclipse’ brought him to the whole different mental space.
“I had known Nataša Urban for over a decade already, and was already familiar with her previous work.” – explains Bill Gould: “During this time, I had also sent her our two Talking Book releases, which paired well with her visual aesthetic. On top of that, Faith No More was a big soundtrack to her teen years, and as the film is quite personal about her coming to terms growing up in Serbia, it seemed to make sense for us to collaborate together on this film”.
The duo’s artistic journey requires a profound exploration of sound textures, a departure from the familiar tunes of Bill’s renowned venture. ‘The Eclipse’ is a poignant cinematic ode to the scars of Yugoslavia’s tumultuous history. The process of synchronizing their music with the film’s essence became an exercise in shedding conventional creative approaches, embracing instead the art of building new sonic pathways.
“The film itself was made on several film stocks including handmade ones so for us employing timbres that are both grand and decaying at the same time accompanied the visuals very well.” – explains Jared Blum. While fragmentary nature of the shooting helped represent the presence of different people in the picture, it was also learning experience for the duo in terms of of contiguity. “So much of it is about letting go of familiar methods of working; rather than finding a way to express an idea I already have.” – says Bill Gould describing the process: “It is about having the patience to go into something without a specific idea and just employ a process of discovery.” Gould continues: “Our music always has a certain amount of drama of some sort, so we didn’t literally have to write according to the story line. But it meant that we had to look at was happening in the flim intuitively, and make creative decisions based on that. We could have totally missed the mark, but as it turns out, it really resonated with Nataša.”
Bill and Jared’s creative synergy is manifested in their ability to conjure a cascade of imagery passing through a rich spectrum of emotions, in tune with nuances of Yugoslavia’s fractured history. From the delicate subtlety of background whispers to the vast expanses of sonic palettes, the duo has orchestrated a symphony that transcends the boundaries of conventional melodies as natural and emotive as a total eclipse.
