Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan (founding members of SQÜRL) return with a
sonic exploration of the cinematic works of Dadaist pioneer Man Ray, a captivating
project that melds music and film.
Over the past eight years, SQÜRL have been enchanting audiences with their live
scores to Man Ray's short films across sold-out shows in prestigious venues like the
Centre Pompidou in Paris, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and the Art Institute
of Chicago. The culmination of their endeavor took place in the spring of 2023, on
the 100th anniversary of Man Ray's inaugural foray into filmmaking, when the newly
restored Return to Reason premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Produced by Womanray (Marieke Tricoire) and Cinenovo (Julie Viez), Return to
Reason unfolds as an anthology featuring four silent short films by Man Ray-Étoile
de mer (1928), Emak bakia (1926), Le Retour á la Raison (1923), and Les Mysteres du
Château de Dé. (1929)-each paired with an original score by SQÜRL.
Jarmusch and Logan, two multi-disciplinary artists known for their experimental
prowess, approached these scores as a way to create an ecstatic state, a space between
consciousness and unconsciousness, reality, and the surreal. The resulting album,
Music for Man Ray, born out of a live recording at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in
February of 2023, features distorted guitars, hypnotic feedback, loops and affected
synthesizers. In the words of Logan, "It's a journey we want to take the audience
on, illuminating themes throughout these films. They are discrete, but there are also
recurring echoes throughout the whole program." Jim Jarmusch adds, "We feel very
proud to be Man Ray's backup band."
Now both the film Return to Reason and the resulting music in the form of Music
for Man Ray are seeing the light of day-both stand as a testament to the creative
synergy between Man Ray's groundbreaking cinema and the innovative musical
interpretation by SQÜRL.
