DRAGON’S RETURN
(LP with obi strip, incl. booklet) A meditative, folk-inflected score rooted in improvisation, ‘Dragon’s return’ echoes the soul of A film long buried behind the Iron Curtain
| Genre | Ambient |
|---|---|
| Style | Experimental, Folk |
| Format | VINYL |
| Cat. no | VIERNULVIER011 |
| Label | VIERNULVIER RECORDS |
| Artist | OREN AMBARCHI & FREDRIK RASTEN |
| Release Date | 12/09/2025 |
| Carrier | LP |
| Barcode | 5414165091462 |
| Stock | Out of stock |
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DRAGON’S RETURN
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With Dragon’s Return, Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi and Norwegian guitarist Fredrik Rasten present a new, meditative score to Eduard Grecner’s eponymous 1967 Slovak cult film — a stark, black-and-white parable.
The album captures a unique live performance recorded at the Videodroom Festival during Film Fest Ghent in October 2024, where this new score premiered alongside the film in collaboration with the Slovak Film Institute. What began as a fleeting, improvisational encounter between music and image has since taken on a life of its own — an evocative sound world that retains its power even in the absence of visuals.
The album will be available on vinyl and all digital platforms from September 12 via VIERNULVIER Records. The vinyl edition includes an obi strip, a booklet with film stills, and extensive liner notes on the film.
The label is known for shedding new light on forgotten films through reimagined soundtracks — claire rousay’s acclaimed The Bloody Lady being the most recent example.
“Folklore meets avant-garde in an ancient drama - a ballad about love, hate and finding a way out of loneliness” - Rastislav Steranka (Slovak Film Institute)
Ambarchi and Rasten do not accompany the images so much as speak through them. Their interplay — on guitars, flutes, percussion, and voice — unfolds slowly, without a fixed destination, culminating in subtle, entrancing drones. With few breaks or ruptures, this trippy, folk-inflected continuous composition invites surrender.
Rasten’s 12-string guitar and delicate use of voice create layered textures that shimmer and shift. Ambarchi, known for his electro-acoustic work, here explores a radically softer mode — strumming, bowing and coaxing tones from his instrument as though it were a string section unto itself. He blows into shells, adding breath and texture to the sonic palette, touching on something elemental.
Together, they evoke a sound world that feels both ritualistic and strangely familiar — as if echoing from a forgotten ceremony or dreamed into being after hearing an old folk tale. Rooted in improvisation, the music speaks in tones both intimate and expansive, shaped live in dialogue with the film and with each other, with only minimal overdubs added afterward.
BIO OREN AMBARCHI & FREDRIK RASTEN
Oren Ambarchi (1969) is an Australian composer and multi-instrumentalist who fuses modern electronics, minimalism, and rock, creating unique soundscapes that blend delicate textures with deep bass tones. Originally a drummer in Sydney’s free jazz scene in the 1980s, Ambarchi began exploring the electric guitar in unconventional ways, transforming it into a vehicle for texture, abstraction, and immersive sonic environments.
Ambarchi has collaborated with a wide range of artists across genres, including Jim O’Rourke, Keiji Haino, Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O)))), John Tilbury, and Ricardo Villalobos, blurring boundaries between improvisation, studio composition, and performance. Whether working in electroacoustic improvisation, drone, or rhythm-driven minimalism, Ambarchi’s music consistently seeks to expand the act of listening.
Known for his extended techniques and deep interest in repetition, rhythm, and resonance, Ambarchi has developed a singular musical language that merges the physicality of rock with the conceptual rigor of contemporary composition. His prolific solo output spans labels such as Touch, Editions Mego, Tzadik and Drag City, and since 2009 he has curated the influential experimental label Black Truffle, which boasts over 90 releases.
Fredrik Rasten (1988) is a guitarist and composer based between Oslo and Berlin. His work explores the intersection of just intonation, extended tuning systems, and harmonic resonance, often aiming to evoke an actively listening state in which subtle sonic phenomena can unfold.
Rasten’s practice spans composition, improvisation, and performance, and includes both solo work and collaborations. He is a member of the Berlin-based Harmonic Space Orchestra, co-leads the duo Pip with Torstein Lavik Larsen, and regularly performs in other ensemble constellations.
Rasten’s recordings have been released on acclaimed labels including SOFA, Edition Wandelweiser, Ftarri, Shhpuma, and INSUB, marking him as a vital voice in contemporary explorations of microtonality and resonance.
His compositions have been performed internationally by ensembles and performers such as EKMELES, Judith Hamann, Émilie Girard-Charest, Johnny Chang, Johan Lindvall, and Miroslav Beinhauer, among others.