Listen to “Les Yeux II” from the New Score for Georges Franju’s Les Yeux Sans Visage

French composer Félicia Atkinson has unveiled a provocative new project that bridges the gap between cult cinema and contemporary sonic exploration. With the release of the single “Les Yeux II,” Atkinson has provided a glimpse into her upcoming Félicia Atkinson Sans Visage album, a wholesale reinvention of the score for Georges Franju’s classic horror film, Les Yeux Sans Visage.

The project represents a deep dive into the psychological tension of Franju’s work, transforming the original atmosphere into a modern composition. Scheduled for full release on June 26, the album serves as a condensed distillation of a much larger body of work, offering a focused listening experience that examines themes of trauma, identity, and resilience.

Originally conceived for the Videodroom series at the Belgian cultural center Viernulvier, the composition was first realized as a full 90-minute score. The forthcoming album, Sans Visage, is a 34-minute edit of that original performance, curated to capture the essential emotional arcs of the cinematic experience.

Cinematic Reinvention and the Horror Legacy

The source material, Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face), is a cornerstone of cult horror, centering on a surgeon obsessed with performing a facial skin graft on his daughter. While the film is renowned for its haunting imagery and clinical coldness, Atkinson’s approach to the score is not merely to mimic the horror, but to reinterpret the internal lives of those within the narrative.

Atkinson has sought to shift the perspective of the music to focus on the agency of the victims. “Through the music, I decided to bring back [the characters’] empowerment despite what they endure,” the composer stated in a press release, signaling a departure from the traditional role of a horror score, which often emphasizes dread or helplessness.

A Dedication to Strength and Justice

Beyond its cinematic ties, Sans Visage carries a heavy sociopolitical weight. Atkinson has dedicated the record to Gisèle Pelicot, a French rape survivor who became a symbol of courage and systemic challenge during her highly publicized trial. The intersection of the film’s themes of bodily violation and Pelicot’s real-world struggle created a profound parallel for the composer.

Atkinson noted that the “trial happened while I was in the process of composing the music,” explaining that the legal proceedings deeply influenced her creative process. “I kept thinking of her strength and her decision to share her trial in order to reverse the shame,” Atkinson added, framing the music as a reflection of that resilience.

Expanding the Sonic Palette

The Sans Visage project follows a trajectory of experimental exploration seen in Atkinson’s previous solo records, Space as an Instrument and Promenades. Her work continues to push the boundaries of how sound interacts with space and emotion, a trend further evidenced by her most recent collaboration with Christina Vantzou, Reflections Vol. 3: Water Poems, which was released last month.

The album’s structure is divided into two primary movements, moving from the “Les Yeux” series into the “Sans Visage” series. The tracklist is as follows:

• 01 Les Yeux I
• 02 Les Yeux II
• 03 Les Yeux III
• 04 Les Yeux IV
• 05 Les Yuex V
• 06 Les Yeux VI
• 07 Sans Visage I
• 08 Sans Visage II
• 09 Sans Visage III
• 10 Sans Visage IV
• 11 Sans Visage V

Upcoming Performance Schedule

In tandem with the lead-up to the June release, Atkinson is performing a series of dates across North America and Europe. These performances provide a live context for her compositional style:

The full Sans Visage album is set to be released on June 26. We will continue to monitor the release and subsequent critical reception of this intersection between avant-garde music and cinematic history.

Do you believe modern music can effectively reclaim the narrative of classic horror? Share your thoughts in the comments below.