Invocation of My Demon Brother

Invocation of My Demon Brother
Name	Invocation of My Demon Brother
Artist	Kenneth Anger / The Rolling Stones?
Released	1969
Recorded	1968–1969
Studio	Olympic Studios?
Genre	Experimental film soundtrack
Length	11:00
Label	Ninth Records?
Writer	Kenneth Anger / Mick Jagger?
Producer	Kenneth Anger

Invocation of My Demon Brother

Invocation of My Demon Brother is a short experimental film score and soundtrack piece associated with the American avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger. The work entwines occult imagery, celebrity collaborations, and psychedelic soundscapes, drawing on networks that include figures from the Beat Generation, British rock luminaries, and Los Angeles countercultural circles. Its production and release intersect with broader late-1960s movements connecting underground film, psychedelia, and celebrity iconography.

Background and Production

The piece emerged during an era marked by intersections among filmmakers like Andy Warhol, Stanley Kubrick, Jean Cocteau, and musicians from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Doors. Kenneth Anger, whose earlier works such as Scorpio Rising had already linked pop music and occult symbolism, drew collaborators from diverse milieus including members of The Rolling Stones, associates of Mick Jagger, and figures connected to Brian Jones and Marianne Faithfull. Production involved experimental techniques reminiscent of Surrealist practitioners like Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, as well as editing approaches used by Dziga Vertov and Man Ray.

Recording sessions reportedly took place in informal spaces associated with Los Angeles and London scenes, referencing studios like Olympic Studios and social hubs connected to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. Anger’s occult leanings invoked sources linked to Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, echoing ritual elements present in contemporaneous works by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Kenneth Anger’s own filmography. The collaborative environment mixed professionals from Hollywood and the underground, aligning with producers and actors who had worked with Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson, and musicians tied to Rolling Stone (magazine) coverage.

Musical Composition and Lyrics

The soundtrack’s sonic palette reflects influences from psychedelic rock, experimental music, and early electronic pioneers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and Morton Subotnick. Rhythmic elements draw on percussion techniques explored by artists like Ginger Baker and Buddy Rich, while melodic fragments recall motifs used by The Beatles on albums like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Revolver. Vocal textures and incantatory delivery parallel performances by figures in the Beat Generation such as William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, whose readings had previously been adapted into musical contexts by producers associated with John Cale and Lou Reed.

Instrumentation reportedly included electric guitars in the style of Keith Richards and Brian Jones, bass lines influenced by Bill Wyman and session musicians linked to Motown Records, and studio effects analogous to techniques used by George Martin and Phil Spector. Electronic manipulation and tape editing techniques echo practices from studios frequented by Pink Floyd and The Who, with echo chambers and reverb settings similar to those used on recordings by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Lyrics, when present, use ritualistic repetitions and evocative phrases comparable to passages from Crowley’s writings and ceremonial language adopted by occultist communities centered around esoteric groups in California and London.

Release and Distribution

The work circulated primarily within underground film circuits, repertory cinemas, and specialty screenings alongside festivals associated with Cannes Film Festival satellite events, midnight showings in venues frequented by patrons of The Fillmore and The Whisky a Go Go, and private screenings in homes linked to Hollywood Walk of Fame celebrities. Distribution channels were informal, involving independent labels and boutique pressings akin to releases on Island Records and Harvest Records for experimental projects. Copies were exchanged among collectors who also traded ephemera tied to Rolling Stone (magazine), Oz (magazine), and zines from the underground press.

Limited pressings and soundtrack press runs made physical copies rare, and bootleg versions circulated via fan networks that included devotees of The Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa. Archival interest from institutions like The British Film Institute and private collectors connected to MoMA and Tate Modern later brought renewed attention to the release.

Reception and Critical Analysis

Contemporary reception was polarized: some critics from publications aligned with The Village Voice and New York Times arts coverage dismissed the piece as sensationalist, while others in Rolling Stone (magazine) and underground periodicals celebrated its audacity. Scholars studying the intersection of film and music—affiliated with universities like UCLA, NYU, and Goldsmiths, University of London—have analyzed the work’s interplay of sound and image, linking it to studies of counterculture aesthetics, ritual performance, and celebrity myth-making.

Academic essays comparing Anger’s work to experimental filmmakers such as Kenneth Anger’s contemporaries Maya Deren and Rainer Werner Fassbinder note the piece’s dense collage technique and intertextuality. Musicologists trace its sonic lineage to artists like Syd Barrett and producers like Joe Meek, situating the soundtrack within broader explorations of studio as instrument.

Legacy and Influence

The soundtrack’s enduring legacy appears in its influence on later filmmakers and musicians who adopt occult imagery and collage soundtracks, including directors like David Lynch and Nicolas Winding Refn, and bands influenced by Anger-adjacent aesthetics such as The Birthday Party and Current 93. Its ritualized approach to sound presaged techniques used by industrial and experimental artists associated with Throbbing Gristle, Coil, and Sonic Youth.

Collectors and curators from institutions such as The Getty Center and Smithsonian Institution have incorporated the work into retrospectives on 1960s counterculture, and contemporary musicians sampling archival recordings cite its textures alongside those of Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. The piece remains a touchstone for studies of celebrity collaboration, underground distribution, and the occult in popular music and film.

Category:Experimental film music