PARE DE SUFRIR

Description

The music of Pare De Sufrir, by artist, composer, and producer James William Blades, will be released on October 4 on AD 93. Pare De Sufrir ("End of Suffering") is the official soundtrack of the film by A.G Rojas of the same name. The Spanish-born filmmaker, raised in Southern California, AG Rojas is known for creating videos and working with artists like Jamie xx, Gil Scott-Heron, Kamasi Washington, Spiritualized, and Mitski. Rojas's sensitive eye and subjectivity have led him from the world of music videos to creating his first independent film: a 48-minute feature that follows three people as they navigate the liminal space between life and the afterlife in an attempt to heal themselves and others. Rojas's film is a fragile and wordless meditation on grief and how it can transform and baptize the body and spirit. This nearly silent film testifies to Rojas's trust in Blades's composition to express the director's voice and emotions. Rojas reached out to Blades after discovering his music for Keeping Time (directed by Darol Olu Kae). An intimate and unusual process then unfolded. Blades did not watch the film and instead worked instinctively to develop a conception of how the music would unfold, shaping its operatic, textural, and grainy tone. Blades then recorded the entire score with orchestra and choir, without seeking Rojas's input, aware that he was taking a total risk. The appeal of the score reflects the process of grief itself, how its moods and memories oscillate up and down through lost pasts and futures, with Blades hitting all these spaces with diverse and stretched notes.