Silent films have never truly been silent. Even before the advent of popcorn and sweets in crinkly wrappers, cinema has always been a noisy affair. From the early days (in the 1890s), films were almost always accompanied: first by a single pianist or organist improvising in the corner, then by small ensembles, and now you can find full orchestras playing along to Hollywood blockbusters.
In those early ‘silent’ screenings, the music was instrumental to the drama. It set the pace, shaped the emotion, and helped tell the story. Accompanists would create entire scores on the fly, drawing on popular tunes, classical fragments, or their own instinct. No two screenings were ever quite the same. What audiences experienced was a live collaboration between image and sound.
Which makes Drifters particularly interesting.
Made in 1929 by John Grierson, Drifters wasn’t just another silent film. It marked a turning point in how film itself was understood. Grierson is widely credited as the founding father of the British documentary movement and Drifters was his first film.
Earlier films may had shown “real life” – ships arriving, workers leaving a factory – but Drifters takes the everyday work of North Sea herring fishermen and turns it into a comment on society, poverty and the hardship faced by working men. Not fiction, not reportage, but something in between.
Pianist, Jospeh Havlat says “This is a work that presents a canvas for sound that is still fresh and impactful today. The contrast between a remembered idyll of British seaside life and the gritty, smoggy truth of these steam-powered fishing ships is complemented perfectly by the black-and-white quality of the film, which to my mind renders it almost as a steampunk
fantasy.”
It’s all in the way the film is crafted: the rhythm of nets being hauled, the machinery of the boats, the movement of sea and fishermen all sewn together into something almost musical. Grierson’s use of montage turns daily work into something epic – less about individual characters, more about rhythm, energy, and collective effort. Which makes it particularly suited to live accompaniment, especially from improviser extraordinaire, Havlat.
Rather than treating the film as something to be neatly “scored”, Havlat’s performance embraces the original tradition of improvisation: part composition, part instinct, responding moment by moment to what’s on screen and what’s happening in the room. His music doesn’t sit underneath the film as move in conversation with it.
He explains “There is a tangible human base to this industry that persists today despite vast technological advancements, and I am enjoying greatly the challenge of marrying these elements together in my semi-improvised score. Finding a sound that can live in and represent both the distant past and the present day simultaneously is a delicate process to manage, so I’m very much looking forward to showcasing what I sculpt for this film at Tree of Strings on 4 July.”
While live accompaniment to silent film might sound like nostalgia, Drifters will be very much alive and in the moment.
Book your tickets here and we’ll bring the pick ‘n’ mix!
