"Drawing Restraint 9" Soundtrack Lyrics

"The Music from Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9" Soundtrack Description

Overview

What happens when an art-film love story on a whaling ship meets a score built from shō chords, Noh chant, throat singing and harp? Björk’s soundtrack for Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9 answers with ritual, restraint, and sudden ruptures. It swaps conventional “themes” for timbral symbols: the shō’s clustered harmonies suggest breath and ceremony; metallic percussion suggests tools and industry; voices switch between intimacy and liturgy.

Written for scenes aboard the factory vessel Nisshin Maru and a meticulous tea ceremony below deck, the album favors placement and texture over hooks. Will Oldham opens with a historical letter set to harp and celeste; later, Noh vocalist Shiro Nomura pushes the music toward austere theatre; Mayumi Miyata’s shō frames the film’s beginning and ending. It’s a score that behaves like sculpture—material changing state—fitting the film’s motif of petroleum jelly becoming form (and for the lovers, bodies becoming whales). As Pitchfork noted, it “commits all the crimes and good deeds a soundtrack should.”

Questions & Answers

Is there an official soundtrack album?

Yes. The Music from Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9 by Björk was released in 2005 (UK: July 25; US: August 23) on One Little Indian.

Who performs on the soundtrack besides Björk?

Key contributors include Will Oldham (vocals on “Gratitude”), Mayumi Miyata (shō), Shiro Nomura (Noh vocals on “Holographic Entrypoint”), Zeena Parkins (harp), Valgeir Sigurðsson and Mark Bell (production), and Tanya Tagaq (throat singing).

What song plays over the opening sequence?

“Gratitude,” sung by Will Oldham to a text adapted from a post-war letter to General MacArthur, over harp and celeste.

What music underscores the climactic ritual in the tea room?

“Holographic Entrypoint,” built as a Noh performance with Shiro Nomura, accompanies the pivotal ritual/transformation sequence.

Does the film feature on-screen (diegetic) music?

Yes. Mayumi Miyata appears playing the shō on screen near the beginning and at the end; other cues function non-diegetically.

Was there a surround or expanded edition?

Yes. A 2006 DualDisc reissue added 5.1 mixes and the extra track “Petrolatum.”

Where can I hear it today?

The album is available via One Little Independent’s official channels and major streaming services.

Notes & Trivia

• “Hunter Vessel” motifs later resurface on Björk’s Volta (“Vertebræ by Vertebræ,” “Declare Independence”).
• “Storm” appears in the 2012 video game Spec Ops: The Line.
• The film’s ship is the factory whaler Nisshin Maru; much of the film is set below deck around a tea ceremony.
• The DualDisc (2006) adds “Petrolatum” and DTS 96/24 5.1 mixes.
• Tanya Tagaq’s overtone singing powers “Pearl,” paired with shō sonorities.

Genres & Themes

Japanese court sonorities (shō) map to ritual and breath control; they signal preparation, purification and the frame of ceremony. Noh chant marks thresholds—oaths, cutting, metamorphosis—where language becomes ritual speech. Throat singing and low brass carry the body: viscera, industry, and the grind of labor on deck. Harp, celeste and glockenspiel recall gifts, letters, and human tenderness that persist amid austerity.

The palette splits like the film’s two tracks: on deck (industrial timbres, percussive processional rhythms) versus below deck (air and breath instruments, voice as rite). The tension between restraint and release is musical as much as narrative.

Tracks & Scenes

“Gratitude” — Will Oldham (voice), Björk (music)
Scene: Opening passages; an English rendering of a post-war letter to General MacArthur is sung over harp/celeste as ceremonial prep begins (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Sets the historical and ethical field—gifts, permission, and the film’s etiquette of exchange.

“Pearl” — Björk
Scene: Early sequences intercutting sea travel and divers; shō and overtone singing color images of water and preparation (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: The pairing of shō and throat singing links breathwork to the divers’ lung rituals and to maritime labor.

“Ambergris March” — Björk
Scene: Processional deck work and handling of ambergris forms; steady pulses mimic ritual choreography (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: A march for material—object becomes character; sound models weight, repetition, and craft.

“Bath” — Björk
Scene: The Female Guest’s cleansing and dressing before the tea ceremony; intimate electronics and voice (non-diegetic, shadowing diegetic water sound).
Why it matters: A private rite of purification; the score breathes with the character’s readiness.

“Hunter Vessel” — Björk
Scene: Tooling, binding, and costuming; rhythmic cells echo cutters and ropes (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Establishes the motif later re-engineered on Volta, underscoring technology and intent.

“Shimenawa” — Björk
Scene: Threshold moments—passage into the tea room; named for the sacred rope that marks purified space (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Music functions as boundary marker between profane work and sacred ritual.

“Vessel Shimenawa” — Björk
Scene: Inserts around vessels and bindings during ceremony setup (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: A smaller, tensile study of tension and binding.

“Storm” — Björk
Scene: The ship’s night tempest and the couple’s fevered rapprochement (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Björk’s voice erupts at the story’s pressure peak—desire, danger, and decision.

“Holographic Entrypoint” — Noh setting
Scene: The tea-room ritual culminating in transformation; Shiro Nomura’s Noh vocal carries the rite (ceremonial, ritualized performance within scene; functionally diegetic in tone).
Why it matters: Ritual language turns plot; chant becomes consent and metamorphosis.

“Cetacea” — Björk
Scene: Late-film reflection and aftermath; harp/voice as the lovers cross a final threshold (non-diegetic).
Why it matters: Tenderness after incision; naming the order—whales—completes the allegory.

“Antarctic Return” — Björk
Scene: Closing gestures and journey’s resume; quiet persistence (non-diegetic) as the film returns to sea.
Why it matters: The voyage continues; music thins to leave the image breathing.

Music–Story Links

Oldham’s sung letter in “Gratitude” frames the film as an exchange economy—permission, gifts, obligations—echoed by the tea ceremony’s codified courtesy. “Shimenawa” and its variant mark liminal crossings: each time ropes appear (or are implied), music cinches focus, as if tying the room. The Noh architecture of “Holographic Entrypoint” turns action into rite; its measured syllables map to the cutting ritual and the lovers’ consent, turning gore into vow. “Storm” releases bottled breathwork into a human cry, the hinge between restraint and transformation. And the shō’s sustained clusters—heard with Mayumi Miyata on screen—bookend the story, a ceremonial inhale and exhale.

How It Was Made

Björk researched traditional Japanese music specifically for this score, integrating shō (Mayumi Miyata), Noh vocal technique (Shiro Nomura), and ritual percussion alongside electronics and harp. Production and engineering came via long-time collaborators Mark Bell and Valgeir Sigurðsson. Will Oldham’s “Gratitude” adapts text tied to post-war whaling policy, voiced plainly against celeste and harp by Zeena Parkins. Several cues originated from touring sketches (“Nameless” reworked into “Storm”). The film itself was shot largely aboard the Nisshin Maru, with Miyata appearing on screen—one reason the album’s timbres feel anchored to physical, visible instruments.

Reception & Quotes

Critical response highlighted the album’s austerity and function. The Guardian praised its “strange textures” and instrument blend. Pitchfork argued it fulfills the best and worst habits of film music; Stylus Magazine called it “another step forwards and upwards” for Björk. Fans often cite “Storm,” “Ambergris March,” and “Cetacea” as standouts.

“Glistens with strange textures — throat singing, Noh vocal performance and shō.” The Guardian

“Commits all the crimes and good deeds a soundtrack should.” Pitchfork

“Another step forwards and upwards.” Stylus Magazine

Additional Info

• US distribution of the film was handled by IFC Films in 2006.
• DualDisc (2006) includes 5.1 surround plus the bonus track “Petrolatum.”
• “Storm” later appeared in Spec Ops: The Line (2012).
• Official retail today: One Little Independent shop and Bandcamp editions; streaming widely available.
• Credits of note: Zeena Parkins (harp), Mayumi Miyata (shō), Shiro Nomura (Noh), Tanya Tagaq (overtone singing), producers Mark Bell & Valgeir Sigurðsson.

Technical Info

• Title: The Music from Matthew Barney’s Drawing Restraint 9
• Year: 2005 (UK: Jul 25; US: Aug 23)
• Type: Original soundtrack for the feature film Drawing Restraint 9
• Composer/Producer: Björk (with production by Mark Bell, Valgeir Sigurðsson on select cues)
• Key Performers: Will Oldham (vocals on “Gratitude”), Mayumi Miyata (shō), Shiro Nomura (Noh vocals), Zeena Parkins (harp), Tanya Tagaq (overtone singing)
• Label: One Little Indian (now One Little Independent)
• Notable placements: “Storm” in Spec Ops: The Line (2012)
• Releases: Standard CD/vinyl; 2006 DualDisc with DTS 96/24 5.1 and bonus “Petrolatum”
• Film context: Set aboard the Nisshin Maru; themes include ritual, material transformation, and maritime labor

Canonical Entities & Relations

Sources: The Guardian; Pitchfork; Discogs; IMDb; Wikipedia; One Little Independent Records; Treble.

November, 09th 2025