A Winged Victory for the Sullen

A Winged Victory for the Sullen are an ambient music duo consisting of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released one self-titled album and one EP. Their second album is due to be released in 2014. Their work has received mention in The Guardian, the BBC, and ABC Australia.   On May 24, 2007, in Bologna, Italy, Wiltzie was on tour and playing with Sparklehorse, on what would be their final European tour. Wiltzie had invited friend and colleague Francesco Donadello to see the concert, and Francesco's guest that evening was composer Dustin O'Halloran, who had previously composed the official soundtrack for Marie Antoinette.   Wiltzie and O'Halloran met backstage, and the duo agreed to develop A Winged Victory for the Sullen with the help of large acoustic spaces, hunting down a selection of 9 ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end. Other traditional instrumentation was used including string quartet, French horn, and bassoon, but always juxtaposed is the sound of drifting guitar washed melodies. The recordings began with one late night session in the famed Grunewald Church in Berlin on a 1950s imperial Bösendorfer piano and strings were added in the historic East Berlin DDR radio studios along the River Spree.   There was one last session on a handmade Fazioli piano in a private studio in Italy before the final mixes took place in a 17th-century villa near Ferrara with the assistance of Francesco Donadello. All songs were then processed completely analogue straight to magnetic tape. Notable guest musicians in the album include Icelandic cellist Hildur Gudnadottir, as well as Erased Tapes label comrade Peter Broderick on violin.   The duo composed the original score for Atomos, a dance piece by contemporary choreographer Wayne McGregor and his company Wayne McGregor Random Dance. It premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 9 October 2013. An album of this score is planned for release in late 2014.