Scott Walker + Sunn O))) – “Brando”

Scott Walker and Sunn O)))’s newly released collaborative album Soused — our Album of the Week — is a powerful and strangely accessible beast among the two artists’ respective discographies, as a listener of either might imagine. And now, it also has its first video, or rather short film for its explosive and droning 9-minute highlight “Brando,” directed by Gisèle Vienne, a French/Austrian director and choreographer. As you might imagine, it’s both beautiful and highly unsettling. Just like the music that both Walker and Sunn O))) make.

The clip — shot at a 1968 chalet in the Swiss alps — is cryptic and ominous, featuring long creepy shots of a drive through a forest, and strange sequences of nearly still dancing. And near the end of the video, things take a much darker turn — take a look at the image above and you’ll get an idea of the direction that it goes. The film has three central characters: a dancer (played by Anja Röttgerkamp), a teenager (played by Léon Rubbens) and French actress Catherine Robbe-Grillet. It’s beautiful, it’s dark and it’s entirely in the character of these compelling and strange artists.

Watch the Scott Walker + Sunn O))) “Brando” short film below, via NPR.