The Limits of Control - new Jim Jarmusch movie features music by Boris, sunn 0))), Earth...

April 7, 2009

by Black Bubblegum

Jim Jarmusch & Bill Murray

Director Jim Jarmusch, a musician himself, is no stranger to using modern music in his films. In 1994, Neil Young provided the soundtrack to his unique take on the western, Dead Man starring Johnny Depp. In 1999, RZA handled soundtracking and acting duties for his samurai epic Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai. 2003’s Coffee and Cigarettes starred Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, GZA, RZA, Jack and Meg White among others. And there are other examples (see comments).

Jim, not a stranger to Doom either (he featured a track by the recently-reunited Sleep in the movie Broken Flowers), continues the exploration in 2009 with his new film, The Limits of Control. This one will feature, in addition to a possible track by The Black Angels, Southern Lord artists Boris, sunn 0))) & Boris, and Earth! According to a post at The Playlist, Jim chose it all himself as well…

“I have a file of the music that I think is appropriate atmospherically for each film, and that has inspired me even before shooting. I pick the music, so there’s no music supervisor per se…When I was writing ‘The Limits of Control,’ I was already imagining using some things from Boris and Sunn O))), and Earth and The Black Angels. I made [director of photography] Chris Doyle CDs so he could listen to Boris; you could categorize Boris as a psychedelic/noise/metal band, but they’re just so original.” – Jim

The soundtrack (to be released on Lakeshore Records) contains the following burners:

Boris – ” ” aka Smile (from the Japanese version of Smile, on Disk Union Records)
Boris – “Feedbacker I & IV” (from Feedbacker, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -“Fuzzy Reactor” (from Rainbow, on Disk Union Records)
Boris -“Farewell” (From Pink, on Southern Lord)
sunn 0)))/Boris – “N.L.T.” (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
sunn 0)))/Boris – “Blood Swamp” (From Altar, on Southern Lord)
Earth – Omens and Portents 1: The Driver (from The Bees Made Honey In The Lions’ Skull, on Southern Lord)

If you’re curious as to how earth-shattering riffs will combine with Jarmusch’s direction, here is a synopsis of the film:

The new movie from filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Down by Law, Dead Man) is set in the striking and varied landscapes of contemporary Spain … [and] united the writer/director with acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love, Paranoid Park). Isaach De Bankole stars in the lead role for Mr. Jarmusch; this marks the duo’s fourth collaboration over nearly two decades, following Night on Earth, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and Coffee and Cigarettes. The film also features several other actors… including Alex Descas, John Hurt, Youki Kudoh, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton Hiam Abbass, Gael García Bernal, Paz De La Huerta, Jean-François Stevenín, and Luis Tosar. The Limits of Control is the story of a mysterious loner (played by Mr. De Bankole), a stranger, whose activities remain meticulously outside the law. He is in the process of completing a job, yet he trusts no one, and his objectives are not initially divulged. His journey, paradoxically both intently focused and dreamlike, takes him not only across Spain but also through his own consciousness.