Underground guitarist Emily Robb scores Philly filmmaker’s sci-fi short ‘The Space Between Attack and Decay’

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Philadelphia experimental guitarist Emily Robb is entering uncharted territory with her next solo effort, a soundtrack album for a science fiction short film. The Jan. 23 release of “Soundtrack to The Space Between Attack and Decay” pairs Robb’s unconstrained sound with the surreal vision of Philadelphia filmmaker Jessica Kourkounis.

This marks the first time Robb has collaborated on music specifically composed for an on-screen narrative.

Kourkounis, who developed the experimental science fiction project with screenwriter Richie Fravel, approached Robb several years ago, drawn to her singular musical approach, to ask her to provide a soundtrack for the short film.

Robb said she welcomed the challenge of working with a new medium, which forced her to jump in without overthinking.

“I just thought: OK, I’m just going to come up with … different things and see if any of these vibes stick with them,” Robb said. “The task of creating something that served someone else’s creative vision was fun.”

Trying to get to ‘not thinking’

Robb has been a prominent figure in Philadelphia’s underground experimental music scene ever since her debut solo record, “How to Moonwalk,” came out in 2021. Having previously played in several bands, Robb has used the past few years to focus on solo guitar records, interspersed with some one-off collaborations and work with impromptu bands. She has gained a reputation as a masterful solo guitarist and improviser, infusing everything she does with emotive, raw power.

Monolithic drone and sustained cycles of sound underpin much of Robb’s recorded work. She said she’s not afraid to clear her mind of chatter and lose herself to the resonant, trance-like pull of the music. Her aim, while she’s playing, is to stop thinking altogether.

“The feeling of not thinking is freedom,” Robb said.

In her work with the film, Robb’s learning curve came immediately. The first scene Kourkounis requested music for had not yet been filmed. With only the script to work from, Robb had to imagine the actors’ movements. The resulting song, “Dance Music,” begins with wandering acoustic guitar and transitions into a deconstructed, feedback-drenched, rock ‘n’ roll framework familiar to fans of Robb’s work, incorporating a full rhythm section.

The acoustic guitar-based track “Shiny Sister Theme” evokes a dusty, wide-open desert landscape on another planet with its deliberate pacing and ghostly reverb. It wouldn’t feel out of place alongside a classic spaghetti western soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.

Conversely, the amplifier hum of Robb’s “Hell Music” summons existential dread, and its shimmering drone and guitar feedback pulse through the listener’s brain like the most terrifying nightmares can.

Many of the album’s songs are also filled with Foley sounds — textural and environmental noises. Robb was tasked with creating aural effects, such as bubbling water, clangs, crashes, scrapes, bangs, floor creaks and nature sounds, to weave throughout the record. Petty Bunco label head and sometime bandmate Richie Charles is credited with “water balloon and creaks.”

Robb said she leaned into the idea of helping build the film’s surreal, post-apocalyptic world.

It was a “really cool learning experience, and it was really fun to see how it all kind of came together,” she said.

“It was fun, because I could just sort of push it in these ways that wouldn’t necessarily be something I would think of doing for my own solo stuff. And I would like to do more soundtrack work for that reason, or maybe just … let go of the whole idea of ‘What is Emily Robb?'”

Various festivals have screened the film, “The Space Between Attack and Decay,” which stars Boris McGiver (“House of Cards,” “Lincoln”) and is narrated by James McAvoy (“The Last King of Scotland,” “His Dark Materials”).

It has won several awards, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival’s Best Experimental Film prize and Roswell Shorts Indie Film Festival’s Best Short Film.

Improvising her way to success

Everything Robb does is guided by a true belief in the DIY ethos.

“I find so much of today’s capitalistic world to be a tiresome [rigmarole]. If you want to play guitar, just pick up a guitar and play. Find someone else that wants to make noise, and do it with them,” she wrote in an email. “Learn from elders. Learn from younger people. Learn from books and records. Don’t spend your time on resumes and applications! Clean your bathroom as fast as possible, and then go do what you want!”

Robb is a regular, welcoming presence in Philadelphia’s experimental music scene, performing in a wide range of solo and collaborative settings. She often turns up at fellow underground musicians’ shows, moving easily and without pretense from performer to supporter and back.

Although she made the new album using digital equipment at Suddenly Studio, her Philadelphia workspace, she prefers the warmth of her analog eight-track reel-to-reel machine. She also occasionally records other bands at her studio, including a project with Philadelphia duo Walnut Brain.

Improvisation remains at the core of Robb’s approach. She said she sees music as something that grows from paying attention to people, places and whatever else is around her. “Everything shows up when you play,” she said. “Things you’ve seen, conversations you’ve had, all of it.”

When performing live, she often creates a rhythmic pulse with guitar loops. In fact, Robb seems transfixed by the propulsive force of her music. The purpose behind that loop pedal, Robb explained, is to create “some kind of un-blank canvas. Sometimes a guitar all by itself sounds crude and awesome but if I’m asking people to hear me play for 30 minutes, it’s nice to have a pedal I can call a bandmate.”

Robb reveals her passion for music — listening to it, creating it, learning about it — in everything she does. Her encyclopedic musical knowledge affirms the eclectic enthusiasm of a lifelong record collector.

Robb says great records are a form of connection. “They can provide the soundtrack to your current situation,” she wrote in an email. “For example, if you need to break through to the beyond, High Rise might be on your stereo, or if you need to focus, you could listen to Joanna Brouk. Or if you want something to crank on the road trip, Creedence! Or Cyndi Lauper!”

Robb is celebrating the release of the new record with a performance at Solar Myth in South Philadelphia on Jan. 31. A collection of musicians, also highly active members of Philly’s underground scene, will join Robb on stage: Richie Charles and Dan Provenzano, her bandmates from Astute Palate; and Dustin Burrows, who also plays with her and Charles in their side project, The Frankensteins. Together, they are the newly formed ER Band. Provenzano is also a member of Writhing Squares, and Burrows is one-third of the band Heavenly Bodies. Walnut Brain will be the opening act. Kourkounis’ film will screen before the show.