Label: Ahornfelder
Catalogue Number: AH20
Release Date: 1.1.2011
Format: CD + Digital Download
Packaging: 6-sided Digipack
Barcode: 708527882023
Distributed by A-Musik (EU), Plop (JP), Darla (US)
Track list:
1. Vampire 2. Eroticism 3. Cannibalism 4. Vamp

Jeanne of the Dark is an exploration of the image of the vamp. Rather than tell a story, composer Marko
Ciciliani has created an unconventional artwork that derives its imagery and its sound world from a range of
reference points transgressing stylistic and cultural boundaries, from vampire movies to eroticism, from heavy
metal to cannibalism. The stereotype of the vamp – the seductive but dangerous woman, man-eater, femme
fatale, inseparable from the dualistic male view of the female as virgin/whore – is teased out and
recontextualised, and a consuming process of attraction and repulsion is set in motion for the listener.
The work is structured in four large panels. The first three, exploring respectively vampirism, eroticism and
cannibalism, has each its own particular style. These three parts are then ingeniously superimposed to create the
final panel, the most dense part of the work, which both manifests and unpicks the multiple threads of the vamp’s
complex, even contradictory nature.
One of the points of departure for Jeanne of the Dark was the 1916 black-and-white crime serial Les Vampires by
director Louis Feuillade, filmed in the streets and interiors of World War I Paris. The film, initially banned by the
French police for its supposed glorification of a band of criminals, became a hit and, later, something of a cult
item, ensuring vampire-like immortality for its star Jeanne Roques (aka Musidora), emblematic in a black body
suit and mascara-laden eyes in the role of Irma Vep (anagram-spotters take note), the cinema’s first screen vamp.
Musically, Jeanne of the Dark sucks blood from a range of innocent and not-so-innocent victims. The line-up of
Bakin Zub (electric violin, electric guitar/bass guitar, synthesizer/electronics and percussion) resembles a rock
band more than a contemporary music ensemble; the virtuosic and fully-notated score flits over and between the
worlds of Heavy Metal and Goth, the easy-listening schmooze of porn soundtracks, the sharp edges of presentday
electronica, and much else. The result is a haunting and multi-layered world that is both entertaining and
provocative: as with the vamp herself, we find ourselves questioning if it’s OK to be seduced by its charms. But
perhaps we should relax: during the time we spend in the company of Jeanne of the Dark, seduction is the only
game in town. Bob Gilmore
Marko Ciciliani is a composer and performer of electronic music, based in Vienna and Amsterdam. He received
his musical training in New York, Hamburg and The Hague.
He has written for a variety of settings, including orchestra, ensembles, solo works and sound installations, often
including live-electronics and other media. A special field of interest lies in the combination of sound and light,
which has led to many compositions using lighting and/or laser.
The different “genres” in which Ciciliani’s music can be heard and seen, are reflecting his manifold musical
activities. His music has been programmed by festivals and concert series of electronic experimental music like
Club Transmediale Berlin, SuperDeluxe/Tokyo or the NowNow Series/Sydney just as much as by international
festivals for chamber music like Wien Modern, Gaudeamus, Forum Neue Musik Deutschlandfunk, Zagreb Biennale,
ISCM World Music Days and many more. www.ciciliani.com
In 2006 Ciciliani founded the group Bakin Zub, an ensemble comprising five distinguished musicians. It serves
as his main platform for the development of large-scale multimedia works. Bakin Zub is: Barbara Lüneburg –
electric violin, Michael Blank – electric guitar, fretless bass, Fedor Teunisse – percussion, drum set and pads,
Marko Ciciliani – electronics, keyboards, table-top bass.