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This is a rather novel concept. The compilation featured here, courtesy of Was Ist Das?, is, as the Guardian states, “… a fittingly weird 50th anniversary tribute to The Wicker Man’s startling soundtrack. Magpahi’s synth-drizzled Maypole, Dean McPhee’s Sunset and Meg Baird’s Willow’s Song are particularly gorgeous.” Each track stands well on its own, but generally fits the ethos of the…
I don’t remember Somewhere in Time as being a classic movie, but the film was enjoyable and starred Christopher Reeve (of Superman fame) and Jane Seymour. It’s fun to hear a much darker take of the soundtrack coming from composer Scott Lawler. This would have made the film a much more emotionally gloomy affair.
A note of thanks to one of the great oddball reissue labels, Vreemde Opties Records, who operate out of Belgium. Apparently, they have taken the time to license used-bin treasures like this and remaster them well enough to sound spectacular on your computer (or however you choose to listen to these). This one, of course, comes the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television show. It’s a collection of…
I don’t do year-end lists because of the absolute onslaught of releases I get to hear throughout the year can be overwhelming, but I like when those I admire do it for me. The magnificent Four Flies Records have released a compilation of 15 easy-listening/soundtrack cuts that made a swinging impact. I look forward to hearing much more from these guys!
I have never heard of Oleg Karpachev, a Israeli soundtrack composer, but thanks to the fine folks at the legendary Cold Spring Records, I can spend this day blown away by this soundtrack which melds together Hans Zimmer and In Slaughter Natives in some fashion. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Released for the first time on any format, we proudly present the soundtrack to the 2020 sci-fi horror…
Brooklyn-based composer and cellist Clarice Jensen has an incredible resume, including performing on new releases from both Michael Stipe and Taylor Swift as well as well as being the artistic director of ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. This release is from her first soundtrack. Information from her Bandcamp site follows: “The fifteen-minute long 5-track EP was recorded at…
Living Pictures – No Headlights
Experimental / Trap project Living Pictures produced a one-track single that sounds like it would fit perfectly in a John Carpenter score. It’s bleak, but the synths are sensual in some weird way. I like what I’m hearing.
Mikael Tariverdiev – Visions in Black & White
Mikael Tariverdiev was a Russian cinema and TV composer of Armenian extraction but raised Tbilisi, Georgia, a true man of the Soviet world. Though he was quoted as not particularly liking jazz, he was as good an improviser that Russia ever produced. From the release’s Bandcamp page: “Visions in Black and White is a collection of rare jazz and improvised themes by one of the greatest Russian film…
Gabor Csupo – Blue Yonder For Pluto
I have the pleasure of sharing an album of electronic music composed by my friend and old boss, Gabor Csupo (of Klasky-Csupo fame). As well as being an animation legend, he’s a rather fine electronic music composer in the vein of groups like Tangerine Dream, Holger Czukay’s solo work, or a more sunny Brian Eno. This album has more of a ‘soundtrack’ feel to it, and it serves as a paean to the…
Aaron Martin – The End of Medicine (Original Score)
Lost Tribe Sound continues to surprise and amaze me with the quality of not only the experimental music on the label, but the soundtracks as well. Cellist Aaron Martin has released his score for the documentary The End Of Medicine, and it’s a deeply resonant collection of music. From Aaron’s Bandcamp site: This original score is Aaron’s first solo release presented by Lost Tribe Sound, even…
Igor Vasilev Novogradska – Bikini Moon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
If Andrei Tarkovsky had Edward Artemiev as his soundtrack specialist and early Roman Polański had Krzysztof Komeda, then it stands to reason that Macedonian auteur Milcho Manchevski would have his in Igor Vasilev Novogradska. Parts of this new soundtrack are filled with dirge-like qualities befitting this movie, but what truly impressed me were at the end of the album. Chessboard sounds like it…
Zoran Simjanović – Grlom u Jagode
Zoran Simjanović was a film music composer, film music editor and soundtrack composer from Serbia in the Former Yugoslavia. While talking with my girlfriend, we discussed the passing of actor Branko Cvejić, and she made mention that he starred in the TV series Grlom u Jagode. The soundtrack was quite popular in its day, and Simjanović composed this slice of Yugo-nostalgia.
Atli Örvarsson – Wolka
Iceland is one of those countries who seem to produce musicians at an incredible rate in comparison to the size of its population. Atli Örvarsson is one of a handful of gifted soundtrack composers to hail from the island nation, and is the first one I can think of who doesn’t originally come from the capital, Reykjavik. He is now a Los Angelino pursuing a career in composition, and is becoming…
TienYinMen – Between Clouds (雲峽)
TienYinMen are a collection of composers and musicians based in Hong Kong who release a lot of thematic soundtrack music played on traditional instruments and electronic instruments. They have a healthy body of work to choose from, and I found this one to be the best out of a great lot. I can see why they would be in demand for scoring TV programs as well as theater.
[Video] Julia Hülsmann Quartet – This Is Not America | ECM Records
Julia Hülsmann is a pianist from Bonn, Germany who has recorded quite a few stellar albums for the legendary record label ECM. This particular song is a fine rendition of This Is Not America, originally performed by David Bowie and Pat Metheny as part of the soundtrack to the film The Falcon and The Snowman.
Rettward von Doernberg – Night Drive
Because this isn’t a Bandcamp release, and because I should be exploring more sites so that readers can enjoy an ever-widening array of music, I am happy to offer for your ears a track by Berlin-based composer (and an alum from the Musician’s Institute in my home town of Los Angeles), Rettward von Doernberg. Though the headline in his webpage had me a bit worried, reading “Indian, Chinese,…
Sublamp – Lianas
French imprint Eilean Records was a truly remarkable label with 100 releases of ambient and related musics. I was going through my collection today and came across this album I purchased sometime in 2018. Sublamp is a fellow Los Angelino, Ryan Conner, who is a sound and video artist by profession. This work, like all of his titles, is a record about an imaginary space, a soundtrack for a…
