Portrait by SG
Modern Silent Cinema
"The perfect lo-fi rainy day disc."–Arcane Candy
"Beautiful sounds, both raw and polished... There is a feeling this is a lost Fahey or Basho recording."–Lost in a Sea of Sound
"Reverberates, resonates and shakes to a range of psychedelic, post-rock, krautrock, scuzz and fuzz influences across a myriad of soundtrack-like instrumentals."–Monolith Cocktail
"From quiet, forlorn electric guitar and bass duets to solo heavy electric guitar riffs. From bluesy workouts to distorted yet melodic songs that strongly recall the likes of Roy Montgomery."—Arcane Candy
Modern Silent Cinema makes lo-fi electro-acoustic experimental instrumental guitar and piano music, composed and performed by Cullen Gallagher.
Contact: modernsilentcinema@gmail.com
Substack mailing list: Flitcraft Follies
Linktree for all my projects: https://linktr.ee/cullenbgallagher
Latest Updates:
12/6/24 - "The Raven" (from Hammitt) on The Transmitter Down episode #384 (CRMK, Newport Pagnell, UK)
12/2/24 - The Cinema Detective is officially released online!
11/29/24 - "The Mystery Writer (Vocal)" (from Hammitt) on The Transmitter Down episode #383 (CRMK, Newport Pagnell, UK)
11/25/24—Pierrette's Escapades (Remixed) will be screenings November 29, 2024 at Millennium Film Workshops (Brooklyn, NY)
11/13/24—Missed it last month (October 8, 2024), but Rob Demperio aka The Head Lump included "Rotorelief" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) on Lumpytunes! Definitely Difficult Listening (96.5 WSLR, Sarasota, FL)
11/5/24—“The Marrying Sort” (from Aphonia) on Feelings with Michele with One "L" (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
11/5/2024—Hammitt available for pre-order on Bandcamp! Release date set for 12/15/24 to coincide with the film's world premiere at Normal's Books & Records in Baltimore, MD. Also streaming in full at Roqbox.
11/4/24—"A Life of Constant Aberration (solo guitar)" (from Aphonia) on Scott Williams's Show (WFMU)
11/2/24—New silent film remix, A Funny Shave (Ah! La Barbe)
11/1/24—Missed this one, but back in June (on the 29th) "Rotorelief" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) was played on Saturday Night Free-Form with Mike Clifford (KRZA 88.7, Alamosa-Taos, New Mexico). Also missed this from May 27: "Come Back to the Corral, Fuzzy St. John" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) was on Free Form Freakout (KMSU, University of Minnesota, Mankato, MN)
11/1/24—"Assless Chaps Do Harm" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) on Shibuya Nights with DJ CJ (Raglan Radio, Japan)
10/30/24—Two new silent film remixes, The Merry Skeleton and The Haverstraw Tunnel
10/24/24—"Goya-a-Go-Go" (from Anemic Music) on Orange Crushed with Erika (WZBC 90.3 FM Newton, Boston College Radio, Chestnut Hill, MA)
10/24/24—New silent remix video, Pierrette's Escapades (Le départ d'Arlequin et de Pierrette) (Alice Guy, 1900/2024)
10/24/24—“The Moving Coffin” (from Anemic Music) on Monolith Cocktail's "Chthonian Party Tunes: Halloween Special for 2024" Spotify Playlist
10/22/24—New video posted, A Match Box Mystery (Die geheimnisvolle Streichholzdose) (1910. Guido Seeber)
10/13/24—Aphonia reviewed at Recent Music Heroes (in Estonian!): "A burst of energy fueled by blues, folk and rock 'n' roll, beams the moonlight of Western music to a wider horizon and a wider highway unhindered by obstacles."
10/12/24—"Nosferatu Boogie" (from Aphonia ) on Currents with Brian D. (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
10/08/24—"Phantasmagoria" (from Aphonia ) on Ceremonial Laptop (Totally Radio, Brighton, UK)
10/3/24—"The Marrying Sort" from Aphonia on Don Campau's No Pigeonholes EXP (KOWS 92.5 FM, Occidental, CA)
9/23/24—"Fig Newton of My Imagination" from Aphonia on Surface Noise with Joe McGasko (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
9/21/24—"Nosferatu Boogie" from Aphonia on The Hotwire Mandate with Mike Lupica (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
9/10/24—New video up, a remix of Segundo De Chomón's 1908 film La grenouille (The Frog). The music is a sneak peak of 2024 album #6.
9/8/24—"The Marrying Sort" from Aphonia on Audio Collision with Cadmium Red (WOZO 103.9 FM, Knoxville, TN)
9/5/24—Aphonia featured in A Closer Listen's "Fall Music Preview 2024."
9/1/24—First review of Aphonia: "Very pleasant album where the sounds make synergy, create landscapes of yesteryear."—A3XN
9/1/24—Aphonia is released!
8/30/24—"The Moving Coffin" (from Anemic Music) on Six Degrees with Alan (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
8/29/24—"Spitting Images" (from Anemic Music) on Scott Williams's Show (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
8/23/24—Added Songkick widget to Events.
8/22/24—"Cinema Liberation" (from Forbidden Frames Soundtrack) on Chuck Nicklow's Popular Culture Process Filter (WRUW FM91.1, Cleveland, OH)
8/21/24—Interview in Vents Magazine.
8/20/24—Two upcoming Events: Le piano irrésistible at Millennium Film Workshops (Brooklyn) on August 30; and a live score to The Astronomer's Dream (1898) with Phenakisto at Normal's (Baltimore) on October 11.
8/17/24—New video. Le piano irrésistible (1907, directed by Alice Guy-Blaché; remixed and new score 2024).
8/15/24—Somehow I missed this review of Passages X–XXI from March at Arcane Candy. "The perfect lo-fi rainy day disc."
8/13/24—Two new silent film scores posted. Composed and performed in collaboration with Phenakisto. Drama at the Bottom of the Sea (1901) and Loie Fuller (1901).
8/9/24—"George Kaplan Suite: Mezzo Forte" (from The Cinema Detective) on Gaylord Fields's Show (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
7/23/24—Anemic Music reviewed at Monolith Cocktail. "Anemic Music reverberates, resonates and shakes to a range of psychedelic, post-rock, krautrock, scuzz and fuzz influences across a myriad of soundtrack-like instrumentals."
7/10/24—Anemic Music reviewed at This Is Darkness. "With gorgeous dark ambient and drone undertones... this is an album that will definitely appeal to those listeners looking for something a little different from the usual dark ambient fare. This is dark and edgy stuff, with eerie soundscape elements that compliment the guitars perfectly. Fantastic stuff!"
7/8/24—The Cinema Detective reviewed at Minor 7th. "Unapologetically anti-virtuosic and sparse... Simultaneously thoughtful, weird and creative... Has a minimalist appeal as the recordings of John Fahey on the Takoma label in the 1970s."
6/26/24—"A Life of Constant Aberration" (from Anemic Music) on Bruise on Silence with Jean D.L. (LYL Radio, Lyon/Paris, France)
6/26/24—"Death Whistles the Clues" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) on The End of Radio (WUSB 90.1 FM, Stony Brook, NY)
6/16/24—"George Kaplan Suite: Fortissimo" (from The Cinema Detective) on Radioactivity with Abbie From Mars (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ)
6/10/24—The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema reviewed at Rosy Overdrive.
6/7/24—Anemic Music featured at One Track at a Time.
6/6/24—"George Kaplan Suite: Fortissimo" (from The Cinema Detective) on Scott Williams's Show (WFMU, Jersey City, NJ).
5/29/24—Added Videos page. Now I just gotta make some new videos :)
5/29/24—Totally forgot I did this interview for Approaching Oblivion back in 2011.
5/25/24—Interview in Asphyxium Zine.
5/24/24—"Rudolf Arnheim" (from The Cinema Detective) on Obladada Soniko #31 (CAMP Radio, France).
5/20/24—"Come Back to the Corral, Fuzzy St. John" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) on FFFoxy Podcast #242 (Free Form Freakout, Mankato, MN).
5/5/24—"George Kaplan Suite: Fortissimo" from The Cinema Detective and "Blues for Colonel Brewster" from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema played on Mixed Bag Sessions (Eternal Radio, UK).
5/4/24—"Forest Warrior" (from The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema) on Currents with Brian D., WFMU (Jersey City, NJ).
5/3/24—New album! The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema is released.
5/2/24—Theatrical premiere of Matt Barry's The Cinema Detective at Normal's in Baltimore.
4/28/24—The Cabinet of Modern Silent Cinema reviewed at Lost in a Sea of Sound.