Tag Archives: soundtrack

Soundtrack Review: The Vigil (2021)

Back in February of 2021, Lakeshore Records digitally released The Vigil Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – with music by Michael Yezerski (The Tax Collector, Blindspotting). Earlier career highlights for Michael Yezerski include HBO’s Only the Dead See the End of War, his first feature film The Black Balloon (winner of 8 AFI/AACTA Awards including Best Picture), PJ Hogan’s Mental, Wolf Creek Series 2, Catching Milat, Peter Allen, the Academy Award winning animated short, The Lost Thing and his collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Red Tree.

Steeped in ancient Jewish lore and demonology, The Vigil is a supernatural horror film set over the course of a single evening in Brooklyn’s Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood. Low on funds and having recently left his insular religious community, Yakov reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi and confidante to take on the responsibility of an overnight “shomer,” fulfilling the Jewish practice of watching over the body of a deceased community member. Shortly after arriving at the recently departed’s dilapidated house to sit the vigil, Yakov begins to realize that something is very, very wrong.

Speaking about the philosophy behind the score, Yezerski said:

“As [director] Keith Thomas and I discussed, music is memory. We associate music with the best and the worst times in our lives. For The Vigil we needed to create a score that explored the malevolence of memory (both personal and cultural).” Yezerski went on further to note, “We needed massive textures that could read as both beautiful and brutal. The music attacks but also meditates on long and difficult lives. After all, what is the greater horror at play here – the supernatural or our lived reality?”

Going in, I thought I knew how The Vigil would sound, but to my surprise I was quite wrong. It’s true that like many horror film scores I’ve listened to in recent years, there’s an ongoing feeling of malevolence that pervades the entire score. But it’s how this feeling is delivered that sets The Vigil apart in my mind from recent scores in similar genres.

For example, the score’s use of the human voice (especially chanting) really emphasizes to me the story’s religious background (as it is based in Jewish folklore). That’s not something you hear in a lot of horror film scores so already the story is set apart in my mind. I also really like it because it evokes the feeling that you are around something ancient, as chanting is one of the earliest song forms in existence.

I also really like how the composer creates aural “textures” that literally make your skin crawl when you listen to them. “Lair” is an excellent example of that technique, but it really pervades most of the score if I’m honest. This is fitting as horror films, to the best of my understanding, are designed to make the viewer uncomfortable. It’s only natural that this should extend to the film’s score as well.

One final note, I also like how the music for The Vigil is full of various creaks and groans created by the instruments. It creates a similar sense of age that the chanting does, but it also gives you a sense that you’re in a space that is falling apart or in disrepair (as I understand it the film is set in a dilapidated house). This is most definitely a unique score, one that’s small but contains some powerful musical thoughts. This is yet another example of why you should never dismiss a soundtrack out of hand because it belongs to a horror film.

The Vigil Soundtrack Track List

Tefillin (4:23)
The Ghost, Pt. 1 (1:58)
The Ghost, Pt. 2 (2:52)
Past (3:15)
Lair (4:25)
Broken by Memories (5:08)
Video Games (4:12)
Behind You (3:32)
Face to Face (4:12)
Begin the Vigil (3:31)
Ner (3:41)
Echo (4:26)
Sunlight (2:24)

Let me know what you think of The Vigil and its soundtrack in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film Soundtracks A-W

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Soundtrack Review: Mortal Kombat (2021)

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WaterTower Music has released the soundtrack to New Line Cinema’s explosive new movie Mortal Kombat, which brings to life the intense action of the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, pitting the all-time, fan-favorite champions against one another in the ultimate, no-holds-barred, gory battle that pushes them to their very limits. The Mortal Kombat (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) contains all new score by Golden Globe-, Emmy-, and Grammy-nominated composer Benjamin Wallfisch (IT and IT Chapter 2, Shazam, Blade Runner: 2049 [w/ Hans Zimmer]). It features 24 tracks by Wallfisch, who interpreted the film’s themes and emphasized the story’s hard-driving, visceral action through his music.

Director Simon McQuoid discussed working with Wallfisch on the score:

“Ben and I both knew that we needed to use the classic Immortals track ‘Techno Syndrome’ as source material for the entire score of Mortal Kombat. But along with that we knew that an updated elevated version of the song also needed to be created. And Ben certainly delivered! I am so excited by this new 2021 version of the track, when I first heard it, it blew my mind. Actually, Ben kind of blew my mind on a daily basis through the making of this film, so we can all thank Benjamin Wallfisch for his genius and passion in creating ‘Techno Syndrome 2021’.

Wallfisch further elaborated:

“When I was invited to come on board ‘Mortal Kombat,’ I was very aware of the responsibility that comes with scoring a franchise so deeply embedded in pop culture and with such a passionate fanbase. My first question was what can we do with ‘Techno Syndrome,’ a piece of music so much part of the DNA of the game and the original movies? What motifs could be reinvented and blown up to a full-scale symphonic sound world in the score, and might there be room for a full reinvention of the whole song as an EDM single in 2021? A huge thank you to The Immortals for giving us their blessing to reimagine their classic track in this way, as a celebration of the world of Mortal Kombat and its fans, and of the uplifting power of Electronic Dance Music, which the original did so much to light the fuse of 30 years ago.”

I have rarely experienced such a turnaround as what I’ve felt regarding Mortal Kombat. Having minimal contact with the video game series (and the one time I made an effort to play not going particularly well), I was initially on the fence and unable to emotionally invest in the idea of the film at all. But then THAT trailer came out, and I was intrigued. Then came the chance to listen to the soundtrack ahead of its release on April 23…

And I think my brain exploded.

I may have the bad habit of using superlatives too often in my reviews, but please believe me when I say Benjamin Wallfisch’s score for Mortal Kombat is one of the best I’ve ever heard. This isn’t just a soundtrack for an action film, this is an entire world realized through sound and melody and I am here for every last minute of it. During the music for the fight scenes (it’s not hard to tell which ones those are) you can feel every punch and every attack with brutal clarity. For the music alone, I am now itching to see these fight scenes in their proper context, because I need to know how this music connects to the action. And it’s such beautiful music, it has what I like to call “height” which is to say it expands and creates the illusion of space as it goes along. You can literally hear the music grow and soar in certain places, which helps to create the idea of a world existing within the music.

However as I said there’s far more to this soundtrack then just action. Wallfisch also demonstrates a keen ability to take the music in the opposite direction, to slow it down and allow the audience to take a collective breath. That’s an important thing for any film: if the soundtrack is just GO GO GO constantly, it can eventually begin to grate on the ear and become quite tiresome. But the music for Mortal Kombat isn’t like that at all (much to my surprise). There’s plenty of action to go around, but also more than enough moments of calm and relative quiet, though it is more often than not the “calm before the storm” type of quiet. There’s an impressive amount of balancing going on between the two extremes of loud and quiet, and I love it all.

Another detail I like about this soundtrack? The track list doesn’t give too much away regarding plot details. In fact, if I’m reading the track list correctly, most of these tracks appear to be themes for specific characters, which is great because I love thematic-based soundtracks (when done properly). Even so, very little is given away in terms of plot, and that’s great. I’ve seen too many soundtracks where you can suss out the plot of a film from the track list names alone, but you can’t do that here.

I could go on and on about the music for Mortal Kombat, but I’ll wrap it up by saying that listening to this soundtrack has rocketed this film to the top of my must see list for 2021 (and six months ago I couldn’t imagine saying that). If you get the chance, you need to check out this soundtrack independently of the film itself, it is that good.

TRACK LIST

Techno Syndrome 2021 (Mortal Kombat)
Hanzo Hasashi
Lord Raiden
Bi-Han
Shang Tsung
Cole Young
Birthmark
Sonya Blade
Kano v Reptile
Liu Kang
The Great Protector
Sub-Zero
Kung Lao
Origins
Kabal
Goro
Arcana
Jax Briggs
The Void
The Tournament
Sub-Zero v Cole Young
I Am Scorpion
We Fight as One
Get Over Here

Let me know what you think about Mortal Kombat (and its soundtrack) in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film Soundtracks A-W

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Soundtrack News: ‘My Hero Academia’ Season 5 EP Out Now!

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Milan Records released My Hero Academia Season 5 (Original Series Soundtrack EP) with music by composer and arranger Yuki Hayashi (My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, Pretty Cure, Strawberry Night) on March 31, 2021.

Yuki Hayashi was born in Kyoto in 1980. Being an active member in a men’s rhythmic gymnastics team in his early years spawned his interest in BGM while selecting songs to complement performances. This led him to begin teaching himself music composition while at university, despite not having a background in music itself. After graduating, Yuki acquired the basics of track making under house techno DJ and sound-maker Hideo Kobayashi and started producing his first range of music accompaniments for dance sports.

Available everywhere now, the EP features music written by Hayashi for the fifth season of the critically-acclaimed, hugely popular anime series. Hayashi returns to the My Hero Academia universe after scoring all four seasons of the hit anime television series as well as the first two film installments, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes and My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising. Based on Kōhei Horikoshi’s well-loved manga series, the fifth season of My Hero Academia premiered March 27.

MY HERO ACADEMIA SEASON 5 (ORIGINAL SERIES SOUNDTRACK EP)
TRACKLISTING –

Go, Plus Ultra
So Classmate Were Born Of Worthy Competition
Successor
A VS B
“QUIRK” DON-PACHI Great Exchange
What To Inherit

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Soundtrack Review: Cherry (2021)

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Late last month, Lakeshore Records digitally released the original motion picture soundtrack for Cherry by Henry Jackman. The soundtrack will be available exclusively on Apple Music for 60 days before becoming available to all other DSPs on Tuesday, March 30, 2021.

Henry Jackman has established himself as one of today’s top composers by fusing his classical training with his experience as a successful record producer and creator of electronic music. Jackman’s upcoming feature is the anticipated drama from The Russo Brothers, Cherry. He recently completed Jumanji 2, a continuation of the magical board game adventure story, and Detective Pikachu, following the story of the beloved Pikachu Pokémon character starring Ryan Reynolds. His other recent work includes Ralph Breaks the Internet, which was nominated for Best Animated Feature. His other diverse credits include Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, Captain Phillips, Big Hero 6, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Cherry follows the wild journey of a disenfranchised young man from Ohio who meets the love of his life, only to risk losing her through a series of bad decisions and challenging life circumstances. Inspired by the best-selling novel of the same name, “Cherry” features Tom Holland in the title role as an unhinged character who drifts from dropping out of college to serving in Iraq as an Army medic and is only anchored by his one true love, Emily (Ciara Bravo). When Cherry returns home a war hero, he battles the demons of undiagnosed PTSD and spirals into drug addiction, surrounding himself with a menagerie of depraved misfits. Draining his finances, Cherry turns to bank robbing to fund his addiction, shattering his relationship with Emily along the way.

Speaking about his score for Cherry, Henry Jackman had the following to say:

“Cherry’s soundscape never deviates from the core idea of emulating the internal. It’s music that ebbs and flows depending on the emotions and mental state of the main character grounding the film in Cherry’s subjective experience.”

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo said of Jackman and his score, “This is Henry’s most sublime work. Beautiful, poignant, riotous, devious. Breathtaking in its ability to manifest such complex tones, while unifying them at the same time. He’s truly a master of the craft.”

The soundtrack for Cherry is definitely one that has subverted all of my expectations. Based on what I know of the film’s plot, I was expecting something that was extremely gritty, rough around the edges, or very action oriented. But Henry Jackman has created something that is none of these things. The music for Cherry is strikingly beautiful, with an orchestral mix that I wouldn’t have expected in a million years. But it’s also got a number of twisted elements at work, several of which I’d like to highlight.

First I want to bring to your attention ‘Carnival of Losers Pt. 1’ and ‘Carnival of Losers Pt 2’. The first iteration of Carnival of Losers will sound like a misnomer, because the piece sounds, for all the world, like a charming waltz with a street carnival vibe (hence the name I’m sure). It’s not until you hear Pt. 2 of Carnival of Losers that you realize the two pieces are mirror images of each other: Pt. 1 takes place before the trauma and Pt. 2 takes place afterward. I say that because Pt. 2 is a muted and twisted version of Pt. 1. It’s set to an almost identical beat as Pt. 1, but it’s clear something terrible has happened between Pt. 1 and Pt. 2.

The most twisted part of all though? That would have to be ‘Star-Mangled Banner’. This piece screamed volumes to me, and likely will to many other people who have had their faith in the government shaken as of late. It takes a while to become recognizable, but there IS in fact a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner in this piece, but one that’s so warped, discordant and twisted that it is barely recognizable. If I observe this piece as a commentary on the state of the nation, it’s a damning piece of musical commentary, and one that deeply moved me.

Those are the big moments that I wanted to highlight from the Cherry soundtrack, but the rest of it is equally fun to listen to. To reiterate, this soundtrack will completely subvert whatever expectations you had going in, but in the best way possible. This is a reminder that one should never let a film’s premise dictate your thoughts on what the music may sound like, you might find you’re proven wrong.

Cherry Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Track List

When Life Was Beginning, I Saw You (2:51)
Madison (2:01)
Carnival of Losers, Pt. I (2:10)
The Elusive Sensation of Bliss (2:09)
It Was Perfect (0:43)
A Thing for Weak Guys (2:19)
Honeymoon (3:25)
Star-Mangled Banner (2:26)
Iraq (5:10)
Triangle of Death (1:01)
Cheerleaders (1:05)
Huffers of 1st Platoon (1:54)
Another Day, Another Mission (3:15)
Night Tremors (2:52)
Unholy Retribution (1:24)
OxyContin (0:43)
Date Night (2:51)
Carnival of Losers, Pt. 2 (2:03)
Acquiescence (2:24)
I’m Your Worst Nightmare (3:34)
Crossing the Line (1:34)
Rob Another Bank (1:57)
Overdose (2:28)
Your Fate is Darkly Determined (6:21)
One Last Job (3:00)
The Comedown (9:23)
What I’m Trying to Say Is… (Bonus Track) (5:06)

Let me know what you think about Cherry (and its soundtrack) in the comments below and have a great day!

See also:

Film Soundtracks A-W

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Soundtrack Review: Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage (2021)

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Yesterday (February 26th) Netflix released the official soundtrack album for Kid Cosmic titled: Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage-Music by Andy Bean from the Netflix Original Series. Andy Bean is an Emmy-nominated songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in music for animation. Through his work with The Two Gentlemen Band, Andy landed his first composing gig scoring Disney’s Emmy-nominated animated series, Wander Over Yonder. His frantic banjo-driven sci-fi scores and heartfelt songwriting for the show earned him two Annie award nominations. For his latest project, Netflix’s Kid Cosmic, Andy created much of the soundtrack under the guise of a fictional 70s psychedelic garage punk band, Dr. Fang & The Gang. The propulsive rock and roll score combines with the show’s distinctive art style to create exhilarating musical-action sequences unique in children’s television.

The soundtrack album includes 20 songs by fictional bands conceptualized by show creator Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends) and Andy Bean (Muppet Babies, Wander Over Yonder), playing with the idea that the show was scored as if they pulled existing music from the Kid Cosmic world.

Speaking about how the series’ unconventional score was dreamed up, Bean said:

“Craig [McCracken] described his vision for Dr. Fang and The Gang (the fictional band that provides much of the score) to me more than five years ago, and I started writing songs in character as the group immediately – even before I knew any other details about the show. We wanted the music in Kid Cosmic to sound like it was being pulled from an old record in The Kid’s collection. This is that record!”

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a soundtrack quite like this one. The music for Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage really does sound like a collection of records that comes straight from the insane world of Kid Cosmic. I’ll be honest, I usually prefer soundtracks that are purely instrumental (it’s nothing personal, just the way I am), but for this collection I’m willing to make an exception because it just sounds so good! Each song puts me right back into the story of Kid Cosmic and his friends. It wasn’t until listening to the songs apart from the animation that I realized just how much these songs by this faux-band dominate the story in the best way possible.

It’s really no wonder I enjoyed watching Kid Cosmic so much. Aside from being a great story, the music in this soundtrack is just so upbeat and happy that after a few tracks you can’t help but smile and bop your head to the beat.

My favorite track out of all of these is ‘The Kid’ (aka The Kid Cosmic Theme). Not only is this the perfect theme for the show, with its off the wall energy, but it’s also the perfect theme for the Kid himself. This music is just like the Kid, it’s non-stop go go go and it just pumps you up, just like the Kid pumps himself up with his boundless enthusiasm for all things superhero. I also really like ‘Rosa Y Rolla’, because it reminds me of Rosa, my second favorite character in the show. The way ‘Rosa Y Rolla’ is put together I can just imagine Rosa in her giant form stopping around the desert and wreaking havoc as only a giant 4 year old can.

If I have one gripe about this soundtrack, it’s that it doesn’t appear to include all of the instrumental music used in the show. Specifically, I would have loved to hear the dark sci-fi music (from the episode where the spaceship is discovered) in its own separate track, and maybe those will be released some day in the future. For now, Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage is a great collection of the music of Kid Cosmic and the perfect way to experience Andy Bean’s wonderful songs.

Hopefully season 2 of Kid Cosmic is on the way and will give us even more of Dr. Fang and the Gang.

Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage Track List

The Kid (Kid Cosmic Theme) (2:01)
Vacation Boogie (2:55)
Airborne Shuffle (2:11)
The Gravity Ball (2:38)
Galactic Interference (2:44)
Somebody Call the Doctor (1:59)
Talkin Tuna (2:50)
Groundspeed Hustle (2:33)
Desert Jungle (2:24)
Here Comes the Gang (1:50)
I’ll Do the Best That I Can Do (1:56)
Fetch Me My Bicycle (1:46)
The Kid (Live) (2:09)
Tuna on the Road (2:05)
Rosa Y Rolla (2:03)
The Papa G Stomp (2:54)
Papa G’s Jam (1:44)
Greasy Spoon Space Gal (2:02)
Superkid Surf Party (2:01)
Party Back at My House (2:13)

Kid Cosmic follows the adventures of an imaginative and enthusiastic boy who lives with his free-spirited Grandpa in a sparsely populated desert town. The Kid’s dreams of being a hero seem to come true when he discovers 5 Cosmic Stones of Power in a wrecked spaceship. He forms a team of local heroes to stop an onslaught of alien attacks to steal back the stones. Though the Kid and his team are the good guys, they’re really bad at it,and the Kid learns that his fantasy of being a hero is very different from the reality of what it actually means to become one.

Let me know what you think about Kid Cosmic and Kid Cosmic and the Sonic Courage in the comments below and have a great day!

A New Music for Superheroes: Talking with Composer Andy Bean about Kid Cosmic (2021)

TV Soundtracks

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Soundtrack News: Final Fantasy VII Remake Original Soundtrack Available Now

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The original soundtrack for the acclaimed Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally arrived! This long-awaited soundtrack album was released today by Square Enix and Sony Masterworks. The soundtrack features over 150 tracks and more than 8 hours of original music from composers Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki and others. It also features the game’s end credits theme song “Hollow” by Yosh.

You can see the complete track list below.

The original soundtrack for the Final Fantasy VII Remake is available now on all music streaming services.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)
TRACKLISTING –

FFVII REMAKE: The Prelude – Reunion
FFVII REMAKE: Midgar, City of Mako
FFVII REMAKE: Bombing Mission
FFVII REMAKE: Let the Battles Begin! – Ex-SOLDIER
FFVII REMAKE: Mako Reactor 1
FFVII REMAKE: Mako Reactor 1 – Battle Edit
FFVII REMAKE: Scorpion Sentinel
FFVII REMAKE: Getaway
FFVII REMAKE: Shinra’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: Those Chosen by the Planet
FFVII REMAKE: The Promised Land – Cycle of Souls
FFVII REMAKE: Chance Meeting in Sector 8
FFVII REMAKE: Let the Battles Begin! – Break Through
FFVII REMAKE: A Close Call
FFVII REMAKE: Shinra Creed
FFVII REMAKE: Shining Beacon of Civilization
FFVII REMAKE: Tifa’s Theme – Seventh Heaven
FFVII REMAKE: Noises in the Night
FFVII REMAKE: Mako Poisoning
FFVII REMAKE: Main Theme of FFVII – Sector 7 Undercity
FFVII REMAKE: Avalanche’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: Scrap Boulevard Cleanup Crew
FFVII REMAKE: Johnny’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: Let the Battles Begin! – A Merc’s Job
FFVII REMAKE: On Our Way
FFVII REMAKE: The Star of Seventh Heaven
FFVII REMAKE: Lurking in the Darkness – Suspicious Man
FFVII REMAKE: Just Another Job
FFVII REMAKE: Lay Down Some Rubber – Let’s Ride
FFVII REMAKE: Midnight Spiral
FFVII REMAKE: Speed Demon
FFVII REMAKE: The Red Zone
FFVII REMAKE: RUN RUN RUN
FFVII REMAKE: Jessie’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: Moonlight Thievery
FFVII REMAKE: A Tower, a Promise
FFVII REMAKE: S7-6 Annex Diversion
FFVII REMAKE: Ignition Flame
FFVII REMAKE: Under Cover of Smoke
FFVII REMAKE: Main Theme of FFVII – Nightfall in the Undercity
FFVII REMAKE: Whispers’ Theme
FFVII REMAKE: A New Operation
FFVII REMAKE: Target: Mako Reactor 5
FFVII REMAKE: Hurry!
FFVII REMAKE: Dogged Pursuit
FFVII REMAKE: Born Survivors – Section C
FFVII REMAKE: Born Survivors – Section E
FFVII REMAKE: Crab Warden
FFVII REMAKE: Undercity Suns
FFVII REMAKE: Tightrope
FFVII REMAKE: Maze of Scrap Metal
FFVII REMAKE: Critical Shot
FFVII REMAKE: Game Over
FFVII REMAKE: The Rendezvous Point
FFVII REMAKE: A Trap Is Sprung
FFVII REMAKE: The Airbuster
FFVII REMAKE: Who Am I?
FFVII REMAKE: The Turks’ Theme
FFVII REMAKE: The Turks: Reno
FFVII REMAKE: Flowers Blooming in the Church
FFVII REMAKE: Under the Rotting Pizza
FFVII REMAKE: Anxiety
FFVII REMAKE: Aerith’s Theme – Home Again
FFVII REMAKE: Hollow Skies
FFVII REMAKE: Let the Battles Begin! – The Hideout
FFVII REMAKE: Whack-a-Box
FFVII REMAKE: Midnight Rendezvous
FFVII REMAKE: Collapsed Expressway
FFVII REMAKE: High Five
FFVII REMAKE: The Oppressed – Beck’s Badasses
FFVII REMAKE: Due Recompense
FFVII REMAKE: Wall Market – The Town That Never Sleeps
FFVII REMAKE: Wall Market – Chocobo Sam
FFVII REMAKE: Wall Market – Madam M
FFVII REMAKE: The Most Muscular
FFVII REMAKE: An Unforgettable Night
FFVII REMAKE: The Sweetest Honey
FFVII REMAKE: Luxury Massage
FFVII REMAKE: Tonight’s Corneo Cup
FFVII REMAKE: Corneo Colosseum
FFVII REMAKE: Colosseum Death Match
FFVII REMAKE: Just Desserts
FFVII REMAKE: Electric Executioners
FFVII REMAKE: Hell House
FFVII REMAKE: Victory Fanfare
FFVII REMAKE: A Certain Gaudiness
FFVII REMAKE: Let the Battles Begin! -REMAKE-
FFVII REMAKE: Stand Up
FFVII REMAKE: Funk with Me
FFVII REMAKE: Sync or Swim
FFVII REMAKE: Vibe Valentino
FFVII REMAKE: Stand Up – Reprise
FFVII REMAKE: Don of the Slums
FFVII REMAKE: The Audition
FFVII REMAKE: Smash ‘Em, Rip ‘Em
FFVII REMAKE: Abzu
FFVII REMAKE: Rough Waters
FFVII REMAKE: Darkness Ahead
FFVII REMAKE: Any Last Words?
FFVII REMAKE: Ascension
FFVII REMAKE: Train Graveyard
FFVII REMAKE: Haunted
FFVII REMAKE: Come On, This Way
FFVII REMAKE: Ghoul
FFVII REMAKE: Alone
FFVII REMAKE: Black Wind
FFVII REMAKE: Waiting to Be Found
FFVII REMAKE: Eligor
FFVII REMAKE: Fight for Survival
FFVII REMAKE: Come Back to Us
FFVII REMAKE: Cheap Play
FFVII REMAKE: Those in Need
FFVII REMAKE: Slums on Fire
FFVII REMAKE: Get to Safety!
FFVII REMAKE: Aerith and Marlene – A Familiar Flower
FFVII REMAKE: Limited Options
FFVII REMAKE: The Look on Her Face
FFVII REMAKE: Rematch atop the Pillar
FFVII REMAKE: Return to the Planet
FFVII REMAKE: A Broken World
FFVII REMAKE: Daughter’s Farewell
FFVII REMAKE: Infinity’s End
FFVII REMAKE: Wild de Chocobo
FFVII REMAKE: Leslie’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: The Day Midgar Stood Still
FFVII REMAKE: Fires of Resistance
FFVII REMAKE: A Solemn Sunset
FFVII REMAKE: The Valkyrie
FFVII REMAKE: The Shinra Building
FFVII REMAKE: Operation: Save Aerith
FFVII REMAKE: All Quiet at the Gates
FFVII REMAKE: Hand over Hand
FFVII REMAKE: Scarlet’s Theme
FFVII REMAKE: Stewards of the Planet
FFVII REMAKE: Corporate Archives
FFVII REMAKE: Cultivating Madness
FFVII REMAKE: Another Day at Shinra HQ
FFVII REMAKE: The Turks’ Theme – Office
FFVII REMAKE: Home Away from Home
FFVII REMAKE: Infiltrating Shinra HQ
FFVII REMAKE: The Drum
FFVII REMAKE: Catastrophe
FFVII REMAKE: Final Experiment
FFVII REMAKE: Trail of Blood
FFVII REMAKE: J-E-N-O-V-A – Quickening
FFVII REMAKE: Rufus Shinra
FFVII REMAKE: The Arsenal
FFVII REMAKE: Midgar Expressway
FFVII REMAKE: Arbiter of Fate – Advent
FFVII REMAKE: Arbiter of Fate – Rebirth
FFVII REMAKE: Arbiter of Fate – Singularity
FFVII REMAKE: I’m Waiting, Cloud
FFVII REMAKE: One-Winged Angel – Rebirth
FFVII REMAKE: Seven Seconds till the End
FFVII REMAKE: Hollow
FFVII REMAKE: Credits

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A New Music for Superheroes: Talking with Composer Andy Bean about Kid Cosmic (2021)

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Recently I had the opportunity to talk with composer Andy Bean about his work on the Netflix animated series Kid Cosmic, which premiered on Netflix on February 2nd, 2021.

Andy Bean is an Emmy-nominated composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career barnstorming across the U.S. and Europe for nearly a decade with The Two Man Gentlemen Band before landing a gig writing music for the Disney animated series, Wander Over Yonder. He is currently songwriter and composer for Netlix’s Kid Cosmic, Disney’s Puppy Dog Pals, and Disney’s Muppet Babies re-boot. Between the latter two, he’s written over three-hundred songs across dozens of genres and scored over one-hundred episodes.

Enjoy this interview about his work on Kid Cosmic!

How did you get started with being a composer?

I was writing songs and performing with The Two Man Gentlemen Band back in 2012 when I was asked to submit a theme song demo for Craig McCracken’s last show, Wander Over Yonder. Craig and the team liked the theme song and asked me if I wanted to try composing for the show and I said… sure! Half the show was frantic banjo music, which I was comfortable with. The other half was synth-driven space orchestral stuff, which I’d never done before. I was a total novice writing and producing music for TV, so I basically locked myself in a room for 6 months and figured it out the best I could.

So I just finished watching season 1 of Kid Cosmic and I loved it! I have to ask, were you really not told anything about the premise aside from “imagine a 70s garage band”? How do you start composing for a show from that kind of starting area?

That’s definitely how it started. As Wander Over Yonder was finishing, I met with Craig and he basically said, “I’ve got this new idea for a show, but I’m not going to tell you that much about it. Just that the main character in the show has a favorite band called Dr. Fang and The Gang, and I’d like you to start writing music for them.” He showed me a drawing of the band and gave me some references – some older stuff and some contemporary fuzzed out garage bands – and I started writing music that night. I was a songwriter first before ever writing music for TV, so a “write songs like this” assignment was in my wheelhouse.

Of course, as I learned more about the show I started tailoring ideas to particular characters and refining the sound. But a handful of the tunes that I wrote early on are part of the score and soundtrack.

What was it like working with Craig McCracken again after Wander Over Yonder?

It’s great! On both shows we’ve worked on together, he’s given me really specific guidance on the concept he has in mind for the show’s sound. Then he gives me an incredible amount of creative license to figure out the nuts and bolts of it. For me, that balance of clear guidance and creative freedom is my favorite way to work. And just as importantly, we seem to be on the same wavelength musically. We like the same kinds of stuff.

It sounds like the story was written to accommodate your music, which doesn’t happen all that often. How did the process of making the story and music work together happen? Were there any unexpected difficulties?

Not so much the story, but I know Craig and the team built specific scenes around certain songs. Before writing and storyboarding started on season 1, I gave the team all the stuff I’d been working on while we were in development – songs and score sketches. I had some ideas about how they’d use some of them – fast rock songs for action scenes for example – but they also incorporated some of the ambient desert score stuff I did in really cool and surprising ways. So for me, it was great. I wrote a bunch of music then sat back and watched the incredible artists working on the show build super cool scenes around it.

Of course, the stuff I wrote ahead of time only covered a portion of the score. So one of the challenges was trying to match the energy and spontaneity of the early tracks when I was writing new music to picture. Most of the songs on the soundtrack were written before production started . But a handful are extensions of shorter pieces I wrote to picture.

How much time did you spend working on the music for Kid Cosmic? Where did the musical ideas start and how did it branch out as you kept writing the music?

Years. I started contributing musical ideas in late 2015 and actual scoring to picture didn’t start until late 2019. During that whole period, I was kicking around musical ideas and submitting demos whenever I had time in my schedule. The abnormally long development period allowed for a lot more experimentation than if I’d come on closer to post production. A lot of time was spent trying to incorporate synth and spacey sci-fi elements into the garage rock sound we started with. The songs ‘Galactic Interference’ and ‘Groundspeed Hustle’ are examples of that.

Also, If I write a bunch of songs in a short period of time, they tend to sound way too similar. So, getting to space out the writing over a long period helped with that.

What instruments are used in the musical score?

Traditional rock band instruments – guitars, drums, bass, organ – make up a lot of it. I leaned pretty heavy on some fuzz effects for guitar and vocal sounds. Distorted vocals with a slap-back echo are a big part of the Dr. Fang and the Gang sound.

I also got to work some pedal steel guitar into the desert country stuff. That’s always been a favorite instrument of mine, and I learned how to play just for the show. The rest of the score is a mix of traditional orchestral score, and synth-heavy stuff for the more sci-fi-y parts.

Did you create specific musical themes for each of the Local Heroes? As I watched the show I thought I heard musical ideas that recurred for different characters, particularly Rosa and Kid Cosmic.

Absolutely. The Kid has his theme. Papa G’s got a few hippy country cues I use for him. And Rosa’s got a recurring cue, too. We worked up most of those early on.

What inspired the “serious sci-fi” part of the score? For example, the awesome music when Kid Cosmic and the group are exploring the wrecked ship, it sounds like regular science-fiction music. It’s all dark and ominous and really fun for me to listen to, and I’d love to know how that came about.

Thanks, that episode was fun to work on. That was some great guidance from Craig and the team, to score an episode featuring a cat who can see the future with something John Carpenter-y.

Do you have a favorite part of the soundtrack?

“Greasy Spoon Space Gal” is one of the jukebox source tunes I wrote for the show. That kind of simple country rockabilly with silly lyrics is right up my alley.

Thanks again to Andy Bean for taking the time to talk with me about his work on Kid Cosmic!

Composer Interviews

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Soundtrack News: The Promised Neverland Season 1 & 2 Soundtracks Available Now

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Milan Records today releases The Promised Neverland (Season 1 & 2 Original Soundtrack) with music by Takahiro Obata. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by Obata for the fan-favorite anime series, which just debuted its second season earlier this year. With a total of 61 tracks, it collects all of Obata’s original music from both seasons, including the hugely popular “Isabella’s Lullaby” introduced in season 1 as well as “The Evil-Blooded Girl (Main Theme),” which premiered earlier this week via Funimation.

Of the soundtrack, composer Takahiro Obata says:

“I’m glad that the fans of The Promised Neverland are paying attention to the music as well. We would like to thank everyone for making the release of Season 1 & 2 Original Soundtrack possible! I hope you enjoy it!”

Freedom is beautiful, but brutal. Fifteen children escape Grace Field House, a false paradise, hoping for a chance at freedom. Instead, they encounter plants and animals they have never before seen, and are chased by demons. The outside world is so beautiful, and yet is almost too cruel to face. Even so, the children refuse to give up. They are guided in their search for better lives only by a message from Minerva and a pen Norman left behind in order to fulfill their promise to return to the House to save those of their family who are still trapped within.

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (COMPLETE EDITION)

TRACKLISTING –

DISC 1 –

Introduction
As a Soft Morning Sunrise
Tag
Studying for Exams
Cold-hearted Isabella
Training For Escape
Tight Tension
Isabella’s Lullaby
Demon’s Manifestation
Emma’s Sorrow
Dancing Krone
63194 (Emma’s Theme)
The Promised Neverland Main Theme 1
GF House
81194 (Ray’s Theme)
Tension
Corpse Found
Krone’s Scheme
Existence of an Insider
Emma’s Agony
Isabella’s Lullaby (No Vocal Version)
Krone on the GF String
The Promised Neverland (Pf solo Version)
Prison Break
Strategy for escape
Emma’s Determination
Grandma and Demons
Isabella’s Lullaby (Mandolin Version)
Analysis for escape
22194 (Norman’s Theme)
Their Own Thoughts
Reasoning for escape
Ray’s Retaliation

DISC 2 –

The Deep Forest
Guidance of Minerva’s Pen
The Adventures of Ugo
Threat of the Demon
Ray Against Demons
Mujika and Sonju (Instrumental Version)
Mujika and Sonju (Vocal Version)
The Promise Between Humans and Demons
Training
An Unlikely Friendship
Nat King Cool
Nat King Ballade
Happy Family Circle
Invasion
Crisis
Isabella’s Return
The Temple Ruins
The Evil-Blooded Girl (Main Theme)
Isabella’s Lullaby (Arabic Version)
Isabella’s Lullaby (Orchestra Version)
Norman’s Lament
The Promised Neverland Main Theme 2
The Promised Neverland (Epf solo Version)
Touch off (Short Version)
Zettai Zetsumei (TV edit)
Lamp (TV edit)
Identity (short version)
Mahou (Anime Size)

The soundtrack for seasons 1 & 2 of The Promised Neverland is available now!

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Soundtrack Review: Minari (2020)

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Milan Records released on February 12 the Minari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with music by award-winning composer Emile Mosseri (The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Kajillionaire). Available everywhere now, the album features score music written by Mosseri for director Lee Isaac Chung’s family drama.

Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Emile Mosseri is an award-winning composer, pianist, singer and producer who has quickly made a name for himself in the world of film music with his song-based approach to crafting emotionally-stirring compositions. Mosseri made his feature film score debut with Sundance standout The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), garnering extensive critical acclaim from LA Times, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly and more. A breakout moment for the young composer, the sweepingly romantic score cemented Mosseri as a sought-after collaborator, next joining director Miranda July for her comedic crime drama Kajillionaire (2020).

Of the soundtrack, composer Emile Mosseri had the following to say:

“Working with Lee Isaac Chung on Minari was the purest collaboration. Isaac made a gorgeous film about his childhood, and it was an exciting challenge to try and musically personify something as visceral and emotionally-loaded as childhood memory. He invited me into his filmmaking process at the script stage which was a first for me and a dream. I’m grateful that my music found a home in his profoundly honest, vulnerable and deeply poetic film.”

“In July of 2019, five days before production began on Minari, Emile sent me musical sketches for the score,” adds Minari director Lee Isaac Chung. “He wrote, ‘I like the idea of the score having a warm beating heart but also some dissonance and struggle, dipping between those two worlds seamlessly.’ As I listened to the pieces, I was in awe of how he had captured this poetic intent perfectly. From the start, his music contained all the things I hoped for in the film: warmth, heart, dissonance, and struggle. I listened to the songs so often during production that the world of the film contains the songs, and the world of the songs contains the film. As you listen to his brilliant score, you will, in his words, be dipping between those two worlds seamlessly.”

I’ve heard a lot about Minari from my fellow critics on Twitter, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the soundtrack as, to my shame, I haven’t seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco or Kajillionaire. As a result, I haven’t heard any of Mosseri’s music before, so this was my first time hearing anything he composed.

To my delight, the music for Minari is deeply touching and rich. The story is set in the Ozarks, deep in the heart of America and it shows in this beautiful music. Unlike other soundtracks I’ve heard this year, Mosseri’s music for Minari seems largely content to just “be” and serve as a backdrop for what’s happening in the story. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this either. More than once I’ve heard a soundtrack that has too much going on and distracts me from the story (or worse, is better than the story itself). It’s a great change of pace to have music that’s so tranquil and slower-paced. It reminded me more than once of a deep river: it appears smooth and quiet, but it’s hiding a lot going on underneath (not a bad metaphor for the film itself given my understanding of the plot).

My particular favorites from this soundtrack are Big Country and Garden of Eden. Both, particularly Garden of Eden, gave me the strong impression of the wilderness and untamed nature. The music flows all around you, giving no hints as to where it takes place in the film. That’s another thing I like, unlike some soundtracks where you can pretty much follow the film through the music (The Invisible Man was one example of this), Minari gives no such hints. Instead we’re treated to an almost concert-like string of music that I took great pleasure in listening to.

MINARI (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
TRACKLISTING –

Intro
Jacob and The Stone
Big Country
Garden of Eden
Rain Song (feat. Han Ye-ri)
Grandma Picked A Good Spot
Halmeoni
Jacobs Prayer
Wind Song (feat. Han Ye-ri)
Bird Slingers
Oklahoma City
Minari Suite
You’ll Be Happy
Paul’s Antiphony
Find It Every Time
Outro

The Minari soundtrack is available now from Milan Records, and I highly recommend purchasing it and checking it out.

Let me know what you think about Minari (and its soundtrack) in the comments below and have a great day!

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Film Soundtracks A-W

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Soundtrack News: ‘Saint Maud’ Soundtrack Available Now

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Milan Records released the soundtrack for Saint Maud today, with music composed by Adam Janota Bzowski. The album will also be released in vinyl format this spring. From A24, Saint Maud arrives in select theaters and drive-ins January 29 and will be available to stream exclusively on EPIX beginning February 12.

Adam Janota Bzowski is a London based composer, sound designer and visual artist. As a child he was known for his fondness of intermittent static between radio stations, an interest that led him to study Sound Art at the University of Brighton. Whilst living in a disused biscuit factory on the English coast, Adam became heavily influenced by ambient music – performing under the moniker Adam Halogen, he utilized an old 4-track tape recorder and various guitar pedals to create compositions for theatre, short films and animations. Saint Maud marks his first feature-length score, which has already won him Best Original Music at the 2020 Gérardmer Fantasticarts Film Festival.

The debut film from writer-director Rose Glass, Saint Maud is a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, a newly devout hospice nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul — but sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.

Of the soundtrack for Saint Maud, composer Adam Janota Bzowski had the following to say:

“Before coming on board, I initially received only a treatment for Saint Maud containing a short synopsis alongside various macabre pictures of twisted figures and haunting spectres. From this alone I created around 30 minutes of demos inspired by the images and plot outline, much of which ended up in the final film. Rose wanted the audience to feel inside the head of the main character, Maud. As a result we gave the score a very claustrophobic almost creature-like quality to it, often leaning closer to sound design than traditional music. After sending her cues, Rose would frequently feedback ‘go weirder, go stranger’ – words which I had waited my entire career to hear from a collaborator.”

SAINT MAUD (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
TRACKLISTING –