Stephen O'Malley has already carved himself a pretty unique CV. The list of bands he has played in has become a long list taking in such highlights as Sunn 0))), Khanate, Lotus Eaters and Ginnungagap. His record label Southern Lord is home to such heavyweights as Earth, Boris, Om and Thrones. His is also renowned for his design work for record sleeves and the odd silkscreen poster too.

However, his most recent project has seen KTL duo [Stephen with English electronic artist Pita] creating a new soundtrack to the classic 1921 silent Swedish film “Körkarlen” better known in English as “The Phantom Carriage”.

We spoke to Stephen O'Malley in his French lair and began by asking him when he first saw “The Phantom Carriage”?

“Oh wow, not until the piece was commissioned. It came about because Tartan Films got in touch about working together. I knew Bergman [who cited the film as a huge influence and cast it’s star/writer/director Victor Sjöström in his classic “Wild Starberries”] but I hadn’t seen the film before that. It was an interesting discovery to me too. I was immediately attracted by the early special works, and the collage technique it’s very basic but pretty classical. Some of that work is very artistic. The special effects are completely beyond that in some ways but in some ways there’s more art to it. Its purpose is not to convince but to present its illusion”

How did you approach scoring the film? Did you watch it while improvising or sit down and compose?

“It was both of those ways. A lot of it came from trying to tap into the mood of the piece and to respect the surrealist vibe of that mood. It wasn’t so much about making a timeline and trigger points, it was more about capturing the mood. The version of the film we were given as reference had a score on it, a traditional silent film music with pseudo jazz 5-piece band but a bit clichéd. Sound was often used in films to accent mood directly and to be a colour, we wanted to make it a bit blurrier rather than surprises with flourishes.”

There have been lots of great tours where bands have played live alongside silent films, such as when Faust toured with “Nosferatu”. Is that likely to happen with KTL & The Phantom Carriage?

“Yeah, we’re considering that.”

You’re probably better known for your Sunn O))) project that for KTL. When did KTL begin?

“KTL was developed in the summer of 06. It was started to score a theatre piece. All of the albums we’ve done (3 studio releases) have been documentation of the work we did for the score. We decided to turn it into a “band” that did concerts. It’s pretty fresh at the moment, we’ve done quite a lot in the past. Right now, I’m in Lyon with the theatre piece doing it live with the performance. It’s similar direction to what we did with “The Phantom Carriage”, setting a mood. You can make the canvas with the sound and let everyone else make the paintings.”

Given how well your soundtrack to “The Phantom Carriage” has worked out, what film would you most like to score next?

“It’s brand new to me and exciting to think about working more in that direction. One of my favourite films visually, sound-wise and pacing is Tarkovsky’s “Stalker”. I wouldn’t want to try and make a score for it but it’s a beautiful piece of work. I’d like to try and do some more. What we did was a brutally basic process. We were given the ability to reinterpret the film without any director telling us what to do. Working with contemporary contacts would be very interesting direction to go. It may be down the road.”

You’re now based in France, what brought about the move?

“I lived in New York for quite a while but I do a lot of work in Europe. I lived in England in the 90s, and I’d always wanted to try out Europe again. Circumstances brought about a dramatic change of pace but I don’t want to go into that. I’d been coming over to Europe for 8 months at a time, so it made things easier to live here.”

Your album cover design work is also very striking, particularly the vinyl editions you release through your Southern Lord label. What’s been some of your favourite album covers by other designers?

“I’ve always loved album covers, it’s a big format. One of the ones that I remember were from my father’s collection with Jeff Beck “Blow By Blow” on the back was a photo and a painting of the photo on the cover. I thought it was interesting. My favourite album covers are often, for the same reason they’re my favourite albums, because it’s captivating and stimulating to the senses. It stimulates the imagination and becomes a whole piece of art.”

Some have suggested that the increase in illegal downloading was related to the poor design and packaging that many CDs came with.

“It’s a complicated topic, caused by CD sales falling. The problem with CD is it turned music into a commercial product. LPs were more like books with a sense of archive or library. Some of the best packaged CDs are beautiful but in general the format has its limitations, not very high quality printing, just a piece of plastic. Downloading, you go away with the music. It’s the most current form but it’s the most ancient way, just listening to sound, no presentation or artwork or packaging.

You can download anonymously and listen. The problem with it being ‘Illegal’ and ‘hurting sales’ comes from relatively recent concept in music. The last 50 years of music have seen the commercialising of an art form that was very folk-based. On the other hand as an obsessive person, I love colleting records. I think the format of the future is deluxe vinyl packing with some card to allow you to access high resolution files for your mp3 player. So you get high quality digital and the vinyl.”

So what’s next for you?

“Boris and Sunn O))) are playing together at “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and then a big show at the Forum in London with Earth. This will be the first collaboration show in Europe; it’s going to be real awesome. The other big thing is Sunn O))) is working on a new album. We’ve finished the first phrase, that’s going to be the major work next year. I feel very good about it.”

Interview by Ned Netherwood
Big thanks to Paul @ Tartan DVD