A Conversation with MARCO BELTRAMI About Recent Projects
Andrew Scott Bell: WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY II
Soundtrack Reviews
DINOSAUR/James Newton Howard/Intrada – CD
FRIDAY THE 13 PART V – A NEW BEGINNING – THE ULTIMATE CUT/Manfredini/LA-LA Land – CD
DOCTOR WHO: THE DALEKS IN COLOUR!/Tristram Cary w/Mark Ayres/Silva Screen/digital and CD
THE UNION/Rupert Gregson-Williams/Netflix Music – Digital
UNWAVERING/Christian Heschi/MovieScore Media – digital
News: • Film & TV Music News • New Soundtrack News • Non-Film Musical Works by Film Composers • Documentary Film & Soundtrack News • Vinyl & Video Game Soundtracks
Film composer Marco Beltrami established an early reputation as a genre innovator with his non-traditional horror scores for the SCREAM franchise. Beltrami’s musical palette has since expanded to virtually all film genres. He has received accolades for his music, including two Academy Award nominations for Best Score: 3:10 TO YUMA and Best Picture winner THE HURT LOCKER, co-scored with frequent collaborator Buck Sanders. In 2011 Beltrami won a Golden Satellite Award (Best Film Score of the Year) for SOUL SURFER. He scored the Marvel film LOGAN, directed by James Mangold, and Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER. He also wrote the theme for the hit video game FORTNITE. Beltrami scored the critically acclaimed box-office hit A QUIET PLACE, was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Score, and was shortlisted for Best Score at the Oscars. Beltrami won an Emmy for National Geographic’s 2019 Oscar-winning documentary FREE SOLO (with co-composer Brandon Roberts) for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary, Series, or Special.
Beltrami’s recent projects include scoring Paramount Pictures’ horror sequel ?A QUIET PLACE PART II. He also provided the musical backdrop for James Mangold’s FORD V. FERRAI, Guillermo Del Toro’s SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, and Jordan Peele’s THE TWILIGHT ZONE for CBS All Access. His work can also be heard in the Lionsgate comedy LONG SHOT starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, and the Zac Efron-starrer EXTREMELY WICKED, SHOCKINGLY VILE, AND EVIL.
Marco’s latest film project is THE KILLER, the 2024 American action thriller film directed by John Woo, based on Woo’s 1989 Hong Kong action film of the same name, in which an assassin tries to make amends to restore the sight of a beautiful young singer. Flipping both the gender and race of the lead that Woo had in his original film, the film follows Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) who is a professional hit woman living in Paris who is regularly employed by Finn (Sam Worthington), an Irishman working for crime lord Jules Gobert (Eric Cantona), to eliminate Gobert’s rivals in the drug business. Her violent lifestyle has left her with few things to enjoy, including the friendship of an old high-class tailor named Tessier, who provides her with disguises for her jobs, keeping a goldfish, and solving crossword puzzles. She has become infamous as the Queen of the Dead in the underworld. The streaming service Peacock released the film in the United States on August 23, 2024.
Watch the trailer for THE KILLER:
Q: Let’s start with the original song you did for THE KILLER… How did that happen, and how was it used in the film?
Marco Beltrami: It stemmed out of this thematic idea for the main character, which is based on this whistling motive, and then for the end of the movie, we thought it might have legs as something more involved. I had the idea of turning it into a song. I approached a friend of mine, Giampiero Ambrosi. He’s a writer, and I asked if he’d be interested in writing a lyric for it. So I worked on it, and then I played it for John and Zach Staenberg, the editor, and they liked it a lot. They thought it summed up the character and the movie end’s well with it. They used it in a couple of other places in the movie, as well as source music. It all stemmed organically from the film.
Q: How would you describe your instrumental texture for that song?
Marco Beltrami: We had guitars, bass, drums, and all, but we also had strings play on it. We have these bell-like sounds; the beginning, combining crotales and glockenspiel, gives it a little magical quality. There’s also some hand percussion and a drum kit; we also had whistling in the voice.
Q: You’ve worked with John Woo previously in SILENT NIGHT. How did that collaboration launch into your scoring THE KILLER?
Marco Beltrami: I had worked with the picture editor before on another project, and he asked if I’d be interested in meeting John on SILENT NIGHT. And I was very excited, too, and I liked his movies. We hit it off. The thing I like about John is that he’s not asking you to copy – like in so many cases – a temp score or something that’s been used previously, but rather, he’s pointing in terms of his inspiration for whatever he’s doing. In THE KILLER, for instance, there were these great movies from the ’60s, like LE SAMURAI, and the scores were great. It’s funny because he even has a visual reference to LE SAMURAI in his film when Zee’s looking in the mirror and fixing her hat; it comes directly from some of that music! So, I took that as my inspiration, and what that does, is open a wide creative pallet that I can work from, similar to SILENT NIGHT, in that respect. The movies are different, but I enjoy the way they work. It’s refreshing. It takes this action movie and turns it into a very thematic score; instead of just being a propulsive action score that drives the picture forward, it gives it another depth, which I think is what John goes for in his movies. It’s not just action; it’s almost. People call it almost like a ballet, almost like an action ballet. And having a thematic score enhances that, I think. So it’s really a composer’s dream. He takes the music seriously; it’s not just a background to him. I went to the playback of this movie, and it was mixed so loud; I think it’s the loudest I have ever seen my music mixed! So, it was a dream.
Q: How would you describe your instrumentation and themes for the new KILLER film?
Marco Beltrami: It’s all pretty much orchestrally based. There are two main themes: one is for Zee’s emotional life and all that, which uses a whistler as the main instrument, and then there’s her Killer theme, which you’ll hear sprinkled throughout, but it has its first full statement when she is lighting candles for the dead in the church, which features a female voice. There is definitely some ornamentation in the bass area in a couple of the places it’s used, but for the most part, it’s orchestral. There was another instrument I was shocked to hear, but again, it was adorable – John likes saxophones, so we thought, “How could we use a saxophone in the music?” There was a little bit of romantic attraction between the two of them, although nothing happens; in the hospital scene where they’re looking at each other, both beating people up – which is another thing John does – this romantic attraction in the middle of these violent scenes, the sax plays there, and then again later on in the score, in the church when they’re fighting in the middle of an action scene. I think those were the unique characteristics of the score, instrumentally.
Q: How would you describe working with John as you’re putting this score together?
Marco Beltrami: It was really refreshing to work with someone open to creative expression and exploration and supportive and encouraging of the creative process. I love working with him.
Q: What was most challenging or rewarding in scoring THE KILLER? Marco Beltrami: The most challenging part was the ending sequence, which was a 20-minute-long action scene with a feeling of direction, even though there were many peaks and valleys, and it had to feel like it was building. It’s a long sequence; you can’t just have one piece of music going, yet you don’t want it to be disjointed. It was developing something that would develop properly for that sequence – also the fact that it was in a constant state of flux and change, editorially. I think that was the trickiest sequence of the movie to write for.
Q: You’ve also recently scored APPLES NEVER FALL, a TV Drama/Mystery Mini Series with Annette Bening and Sam Neill. You scored the show with Miles Hankin. What can you tell us about this project?
Marco Beltrami: That was a fun project as well. I’ve been lucky and worked on a few exciting things recently. I like working with Miles; we did another show before that one called NINE PERFECT STRANGERS; we’re doing the second season of that now. There are a few people that I like to work with, who have a similar aesthetic, and Miles is one of them. We co-scored that show. The show-runner, Melanie Marnich, I loved her. Again, I think it’s a common theme for people I’ve been working for are open to creative exploration. They’re not set in “this is what we want you to do.” I devised a theme for them early, which she liked a lot, which made the process fun.
Q: I recently binged James Wan’s CONJURING series and especially enjoyed your score for THE NUN II, a splendidly terrifying horror film, as James Wan’s movies tend to be. Here, you co-scored with Michael Chaves. How did you work together to establish the music needed to score this particular series entity?
Marco Beltrami: I wasn’t familiar with the other movies in the series, which didn’t seem to matter much – he wanted to do something original for his film, which I responded to. Again, it’s primarily an orchestral score. There are some synthetic elements in it, as well as some processing and manipulation sounds, which is something I like to do. I work here with Buck Sanders in the studio, and we do that. I also worked with another friend of mine, Brandon Roberts, and we collaborated on many things. He did a lot of heavy lifting in that project. There was a lot of music. We started writing some thematic things; we moved from general ideas to specific scenes and then sent those over to James Wan. Those last two projects you mentioned were during COVID, so there wasn’t a lot of face-to-face. We did have a little face-to-face interaction, but not as much as usual. Music is abstract, so once you start a dialog about what they like and what they’re responding to, it becomes easier to interpolate that for other scenes. It’s a process, especially with a new director you haven’t worked with before. But he was very open to trying things as we went along.
Q: How did you treat the Nun’s character in that film?
Marco Beltrami: We had a thematic signature motive for her. For me, the scarier thing of the Nun itself, which is often accompanied by its sound effects and all that, was, when you don’t see the Nun; the built-up around her and all that, that’s more the suspense. Like in JAWS, you feel the shark’s presence; it’s not as important to hear it when you see it.
Q: Another recent horror score you did was RENFIELD, with Nicholas Cage and Nicholas Hoult, which I immensely enjoyed. How did you create the score and musical characterizations between Cage’s Dracula and Hoult’s Renfield as the film developed?
Marco Beltrami: That was interesting because it was a genre-bending movie – it was all over the place, making it fun. There are some horror and some classic parts; they can spoof horror a little bit, and there are also relationship themes. Stylistically, it covered the gamut, which was one of the fun things. Chris McKay, the director, was very encouraging about trying all different types of stuff. This film was also a bit of a moving target, like things would constantly change, but as long as we had thematic string ideas, which we did, it was easy to adapt. There are different motives for the Mexican gang. It was great for Renfield, Dracula, and Awkwafina to pool them all together, putting them in various settings and other ways of arranging thematic ideas – that was both the challenge and the fun.
Q: What’s next for you that you can talk about?
Marco Beltrami: I mentioned the next season of NINE PERFECT STRANGERS, which Miles and I are doing. I’m working on a documentary now for Davis Guggenheim, THE SIEGE OF GALLAUDET, which is really good. I’m excited about that. And I’m just starting some preliminary work on Bong Joon-ho’s (SNOWPIERCER, 2013) next movie, which I think will be a great challenge.
Special thanks to Sam DeFrank of Costa Communications for facilitating this interview and to Marco Beltrami for the opportunity to chat with him about these latest projects.
See my previous interview with Marco Beltrami from February 2022 covering THE QUIET PLACE II, LOVE AND MONSTERS, CHAOS WALKING, FEAR STREET, VENOM, SHADOW IN MY EYE
The sequel to WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY 2 gives a splendid new face to the first film, a new focus on the storyline, and, not to mention, even more uniquely crafted musical instruments to follow in Andrew’s Beehiveolin — a combination of a beehive and violin — from the first movie.
WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY 2 is the second installment of The Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and a sequel to WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY (2023), which serves as a horror retelling of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s Winnie-the-Pooh books. With the same director, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the film stars Scott Chambers as Christopher Robin and Ryan Oliva as the titular character, with Tallulah Evans, Teresa Banham, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Alec Newman, and Simon Callow in supporting roles. It follows Pooh as he embarks on a murderous rampage through Christopher Robin’s childhood town to seek revenge on him for revealing his existence to the world.
Watch the trailer from WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY 2:
Q: You’ve recently composed a score for the sequel to the original WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY. What was most different for you in the second film?
Andrew Scott Bell: I had never done a sequel before; this was my first time stepping into the world of revisiting music I had written from the past, and I found that to be really delightful. I usually write themes for one movie, and then it’s on to the next one, which is a totally different thing! In a way, getting to revisit music I had already written – by this point, it was about a year and a half before – to expand on it, bring new life, and continue the progression of these characters was really fun. What was more different about this was that it was a sequel but not a direct one, because it’s a whole new Christopher Robin, and a whole new look for Pooh. They had more of and experience and a larger budget, so they wanted to redo a lot of stuff. They turned the first movie into a movie-within-the-second-movie, which was about what Christopher Robin experienced. The experiences we had, all those events, to some extent, happened, but when you watch the first one again, you’re watching the movie that was in the universe of the second movie made about what happened to Christopher.
That was interesting! Talking with Rhys about it, we knew we wanted to call back to some themes from the first film; even if it’s a little bit familiar, we wanted the sequel and the soundtrack sequel to have their quality. It was its own tone for the movie, too. I found that to be a really fun challenge – even though they retconned the first movie, there are still fans who will want to come and see and hear what they liked about the first one. So how do we accomplish that, while pushing the envelope and trying something completely new because it’s a movie within a movie now? We can’t fully quote the themes from the first film directly. I found that to be a fun challenge, and that was different about this one – it was darker in tone and more serious. We went further for the visceral tone and away from the campiness of the first film, although the second film is still campy and fun in its own way.
Q: Your main instrument for the first film, of course, was the Beehiveolin. Coming onto the sequel, what unique musical elements did you begin to consider for BLOOD AND HONEY II?
Andrew Scott Bell: Yeah, we had the Beehiveolin, an experimental instrument maker named Tyler Thackray, and me – he’s online as violintorture, on Instagram and TikTok. He makes instruments for me. BLOOD AND HONEY II was the third time I’ve worked with him on a movie. The first BLOOD AND HONEY was the Beehiveolin. That got a lot of attention, so Tyler and I wanted to step it up and push the envelope just like the new film did; we tried to mirror that by creating something new, unique, and enjoyable for the sequel. So, I reached out to Tyler. I found a link online that somebody, I think it was Russia, had made a guitar from a bear skull, so I thought it would be cool to do something similar. So I sent that to him along with some sketches or loose drawings, and I said: “What if we did a cello out of a bear skull? And then, like a month or two later, he’s fleshed out this whole idea, and he’s added things to it – instead of it being just a bear skull, it was a bear skull on top of a cigar box, and he’s got these coyote bones on the side, and he’s strung strings between the jaw of the bear so I could bow those. I probably used that more than any other instrument part because it sounded so cool. Then I told him I searched for a sound for each unique character. I had found one for Tigger that I made myself – when I say “made,” it was just because of a plumbing mishap that I did in our house; I was nailing into a wall and accidentally nailed into a copper pipe. I had a bunch of some extra PVC tubing – I bought this piece of copper tubing called a SharkBite; so for Tigger, I created what I call the Tiggertube, which is a trombone mouthpiece inside of the flexible tubing, and you can wiggle it as you play it, and it makes this crazy sound.
So, we had our theme for Tigger. Piglet’s not in the movie very much, so we didn’t need to find a signature sound for him, though in the first film, we gave him a lot of drums. So, I was trying to come up with something for Owl. I told Tyler that when Owl does this thing, when he kills somebody, he puts his head up in the air, puts his wings out, and shakes his feathers ritualistically. So I wanted a shaker, like a maraca, something like that, or a can that’s filled with something that I could shake, so any time Owl flies by or is doing something, we used that shaking sound. It was simple but brilliant – Tyler filled up a mini Jameson Whiskey bottle with an assortment of animal bones, and when I combined that with the maracas, it made a chilling sound. I always find that’s where we get unique sounds, something a little bit similar but also off in a certain way. That’s where I like to explore. The Beehiveolin, to a certain extent, sounded like a violin where the resonating chamber was filled with something. It was like a violin and also not like a violin at all. The bear skull cello was very interesting because it was a cello, but it doesn’t play as cleanly and nicely as a traditional cello. If I want a cello sound, I can use a cello, but the bear skull cello was grittier, darker, and meaner in a very weird way. So that’s where the fun is for me, creating these instruments.
Q: Aside from the main characters, what additional new instruments have you invented for use in the sequel?
Andrew Scott Bell: The sonic quality that we used in this film was a little bit different, and because this movie was so much more than the first one – it centers mainly around the relationship between Pooh and Christopher Robin and their mirrored stories – Christopher is feeling like he doesn’t have a home because everyone in the town of Ashdown is saying he was a murderer and killed all those people, and he’s being ostracized there. People are hunting down Pooh, Piglet, and Owl, so they feel ostracized. I liked the mirror image of these two characters at odds with one another. So, musically, I was trying to find places in the first film where the two of those characters were together and what theme they had in common. There’s a Christopher Robin theme… there are a couple of moments in which Pooh and Christopher interact in the first film. There was a little melody that I used to transition between Christopher’s theme and Pooh’s theme; even though, in the first movie, it’s just a transition between their two themes, it worked well as the main theme for the second movie because it was more about them.
In contrast, the first movie didn’t have as much about their broken relationship to explore. But I found it interesting that I used many bars of music – three or four bars, which I had used in the first film to transition between Christopher’s theme to Pooh’s theme or Pooh’s theme back to Christopher’s theme. So I used that and then mined it, expanded on it, stretched it, and it gave me the main theme of the sequel. It’s darker in tone; it’s more inquisitive, and there’s more of a mystery to it, so you hear that all throughout the second film, and it’s taken from a very little bit of music that you hear in the first film.
Q: Terror and Grue are more significant parts of WINNIE II than the first film. How did you musically treat these horrific elements, especially at the rave party?
Andrew Scott Bell: Yeah, that’s an interesting question. I remember there was quite a bit of work between Rhys and me trying to make the music more intense. My inclination was still very much in the “it’s a sequel; we should use some of the themes from the first film,” so he had to pull me along. That’s the joy of working in film – it’s not just up to me; it’s a collaboration, and ultimately, it’s the director’s film. So, I’m always trying to find what the director wants. Ultimately, Rhys was right – when I started to write these vast, fast-paced drums and screeching strings in that moment, like Winnie The Pooh feeling intimidating instead of feeling silly and busting through a door and walking into the room. It’s a different actor, and he’s a very tall guy, Ryan Oliva, so it had a different energy. I remembered at that moment this was what Rhys was looking for. I’m happy that he pushed me to try again because when we went back to some of the other scenes and added some heavier tension and metal scrapings, it really brought to life more of the horror and less of the campy-silly fun for Pooh. Tigger has more of the campiness in this movie; he’s got some one-liners, so we had some fun there! To answer your question, I guess we leaned into less… there are moments for themes and melodies, but in those big, scary, gory set pieces, we leaned more into thick drums and huge textures to build tension for those scenes than in the previous film; it seems like every scene had some melody that we were playing because it was a different tone. The first film had a totally different tone.
Q: I remember when you’d put together the video on that. I was taken by your various synthesizers, and I remember how you utilized some of that to get some horrific-sounding pieces of music. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Andrew Scott Bell: The score was pretty orchestral for the most part, but there are some synthesizers in this. The ones that I like to use for the WINNIE THE POOH films are all based on organic sounds that are manipulated onto a computer. For example, a low drone sometimes hits like a “pwooonnnnngggggg…”
Q: Oh, I love that!
Andrew Scott Bell: That one comes from various lighthouse foghorns. They are recorded and then manipulated on a computer into a synthesizer instrument. I use some other ones; I used one a lot in both POOH films because it sounded like swarming bees. It had a buzz to it. It was from organic sounds that they manipulated, and then we played them on a keyboard. What I really like to do with that is to hold a pitch, and as a scene is happening, gradually raise the pitch. As the scene goes on, drums are playing, and this pitch is just slowly getting higher, like a string being tightened, and you think, “It has to snap now!” but it keeps getting tighter and tighter. There’s something off-putting about a synthesized sound getting higher and higher. That was from a company called https://reverbmachine.com/ . The synth I used comprises Roland Juno-106, Prophet-08, Moog Sub 37, and Waldorf Blofeld samples.
Q: Where you’ve had quieter moments in the score, how have they been treated sonically?
Andrew Scott Bell: This movie has quite a story to it. The first film had a plot and a story, but this one dives into the psychological problems Christopher is dealing with after the first film’s events. So there are so many quiet moments, whether he’s with his parents trying to figure out the mystery of what happened in his childhood, there are some touching moments when he’s with his friends, and when he’s with his younger sister, Bunny. But, we also didn’t entirely go in the direction of the first movie, where there were quieter moments, because we wanted it to feel a little more grounded. For example, Christopher’s Theme in the first movie, especially when you first meet him and he’s bringing his fiancé into the forest, is a rich and flourishing theme on the piano. It feels very British to me, and it’s very melodic. For the sequel, Rhys and I talked about intentionally stripping away many flourishing piano notes to just the bare minimum. The first movie had far more flourishing notes, which worked in that film; we wanted a more straightforward melody in this one. It called for something more simple, with fewer notes. Claude Debussy said that the music is silent between the notes. I always try to remember that. Sometimes, simplifying things a little bit down is really more impactful. So, that’s where we went with those quieter moments, and I really love those moments in these movies. I felt like I could do more for the storytelling by being subtler in this film than in the first one. The first film had more room for bigger and more prevalent melodies, while in this film, there were so many beautiful, quiet moments, like between Christopher and his young sister. I actually had a fun time inverting Christopher’s Theme into the major key – if you listen to it, you might think they were the same theme, but one is an inverse of the other. Christopher’s Theme has a primary key instead of a minor key, which I found to be very simple, beautiful, and sweet. Because the child who played Christopher Robin’s younger sister did such a wonderful performance, that scene barely needed music to be emotionally impactful.
Q: What’s coming up for you next, that you could talk about?
Andrew Scott Bell: I’m excited about a film I scored just about a year ago. It’s been running around the states in film festivals, and it’s gotten a bunch of awards – I’m very honored that I received some best score awards for this one; it’s now finally finished the festival circuit and is being released by Cranked Up Films on VOD, September 24th. It’s an anthology film called TENANTS, and man, it is a lot of fun! It was made by a group of people who worked together on a 2021 film called PSYCHO STORM CHASER, which I scored. The movie takes place in an apartment complex, so each segment of the anthology has a mini-story in an apartment within the apartment building, and then you slowly begin to find out why all these horrific things are happening here, and that is the mystery unfolding. I’ve worked on some anthologies in the past – DEATHCEMBER was also an anthology film; they hired me to write the central theme, and I scored two of the segments, and then I worked on a film called GIVE ME AN A, where I scored one of the segments and then they brought me in for the opening theme as well. I’ve never gotten the chance to work on an anthology from start to finish. It was brilliant for them to bring me on to that for TENANTS instead of having a different composer for each apartment, which they could have done – they had different directors for each segment. Still, they had the same director of photography, the same editor, and the same composer for all of it. I think they intentionally did that to make the whole thing not feel like a bunch of little shorts but feel like one big story out of several little stories.
So that was fun to work with and to find ways to make musical connections between the stories, which you wouldn’t be able to do if every story had a different composer. So much of it is about grief, for example, so there were some wonderful connections between these people’s stories that otherwise may not have been there. The soundtrack is also out now. It’s an old-school Bernard Herrmann type of score; it’s musically an homage to some of the horror roots I love – Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Bernard Herrmann. I really got to enjoy some of my influences and celebrate them musically in a way that feels very me. And then, in the next couple of months, I’ll begin scoring a movie called THE DEATH OF SNOW WHITE, which they say is a horror retelling of the story of Snow White. Still, the more I talk to the director, and they send me pictures from the crew, I think it’s more like a dark, twisted fairytale than a horror version of SNOW WHITE. They will lean into the Brothers Grimm storytelling aspect and tell a good, twisted fairytale.
Special thanks to Andrew Scott Bell for taking the time to discuss his scoring of POOH II with me!
Watch the trailer for TENANTS:
and listen to a bit of Bell’s music from the film here.
(see my first interview with Andrew about WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY here )
Watch the complete extendedBehind the Score - Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 video, via youtube:
DINOSAUR/James Newton Howard/Intrada – CD
Intrada announces a new, 2-CD expansion of James Newton Howard’s excellent score to the Walt Disney animated feature DINOSAUR (2000), a groundbreaking blend of traditional animation and computer-generated imagery. First of three animated features Howard would score during that time for Disney, followed shortly thereafter by ATLANTIS and TREASURE PLANET; DINOSAUR was a fun and exciting sonic mix of soaring melodies, aggressive action, comedic moments, and prehistoric adventure. Howard’s score is a grand mix of orchestra and choir, enlivening the animated musical story through likable characters and a carefully cultivated music treatment to bring a family of Dinosaur characters to life, Disney-style. Directed by Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag, the film follows the journey of an iguanodon named Aladar, a family of lemurs raised after being orphaned. As he grows, Aladar and his adoptive family face the challenges of a changing world and struggle to survive against the backdrop of a dramatic asteroid collision. Dinosaur is notable for its innovative visual effects, which combine CGI dinosaurs with live-action backgrounds, creating a visually stunning and immersive prehistoric world – and one of JNH’s most beloved scores. The track “Across the Desert” is a vivid trek for voices, mixed percussion, and a powerful string choir; “The Courtship” is subtle for hand and heavy percussions, winds, lilting voices, and muscular choir, and the commanding “The End of Our Island” (Hear this one via youtube now):
Disney released the original soundtrack CD in a 51-minute presentation. Intrada has now provided a new release of the total score, offering 82 minutes of Howard’s stimulating prehistoric adventure score, 31 minutes previously unreleased on the soundtrack. For this new release, Intrada was given access to the complete multi-track sessions stored at Disney, which Chris Malone remixed. Douglass Fake assembled the album program (one of the last projects he could personally produce before his passing). Fake was a huge fan of Newton Howard’s work and was thrilled with the opportunity to revisit this epic work. He would have been proud of the final result.
See more details, and listen to some of the new, previously released tracks at Intrada:
Listen to the splendid track “The Courtship” from the 2000 soundtrack:
FRIDAY THE 13 PART V – A NEW BEGINNING – THE ULTIMATE CUT/Harry Manfredini/La-La Land Records - CD
La-La Land Records presents an all-new restored, remixed, remastered, and expanded “ULTIMATE” stereo presentation of renowned composer Harry Manfredini’s original motion picture score to the 1985 feature film FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V – A NEW BEGINNING, the famed horror franchise’s fourth sequel, directed by Danny Steinmann. The ULTIMATE CUT is the newly restored, remixed, and expanded presentation of composer Harry Manfredini’s F13 PARTS 1, 2, 3, 4 (THE FINAL CHAPTER), 5 (A NEW BEGINNING), 6 (JASON LIVES), 9 (JASON LIVES: THE FINAL FRIDAY), 10 (JASON X). With FRIDAY 5, Jason’s series had attempted to give the beloved series exactly that: a new beginning. But the dark beating heart and soul of both Jason and the franchise – Harry Manfredini’s brilliant scores – unquestionably had to remain front-and-center to preserve what came before while pushing it into new territory. He’d scored almost all of the succeeding FRIDAY THE 13TH sequels, except for FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1988; he was working on DEEP STAR SIX for Sean Cunningham at the time; Canadian composer Fred Mollin, then scoring the anthology FRIDAY THE 13TH TV Series and Mollin came back to score FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (1989) at the behest of the makers. Manfredini came back to score the rest of the original FRIDAY franchise except for FREDDY VS. JASON (2003), which was scored by Graeme Revell (its distributor, New Line, claimed they wanted to take the series into a “new direction”).
Now, in 2024, this film’s iconic score, as well as its iconic original composer, pushes further into new territory with the release of FRIDAY THE 13th PART V – A NEW BEGINNING: THE ULTIMATE CUT, a newly restored, remixed, and expanded presentation of composer Harry Manfredini’s score to the famed horror franchise’s fourth sequel. In 2021, the discovery of original FRIDAY score elements culminated in La-La Land’s “Ultimate” restoration of the first three films in the legendary franchise. Engineer Jerry Lambert and album co-producer Brian Satterwhite, under the supervision of Manfredini, have brilliantly restored and remixed the music with results nothing short of astounding! The score is richer, bolder, and as unstoppable as Jason himself! Included in this deluxe assembly is music that was NEVER released before. This special CD release features exclusive liner notes by Satterwhite that provide a detailed track-by-track breakdown and an in-depth examination of the release’s restoration and remix process. The art direction is by Dan Goldwasser, and the original cover art is by Scott Saslow. See more details here.
DOCTOR WHO: THE DALEKS IN COLOUR!/Tristram Cary w/Mark Ayres/Silva Screen – digital and CD
As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of iconic series DOCTOR WHO, one of the show’s most renowned tales underwent an out-of-this-world update as it received an artistic colorization. Originally transmitted in December 1963 to February 1964, The Daleks were introduced to audiences and soon became one of the Doctor’s most formidable and enduring foes. The story follows the very first crew of the TARDIS as they land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor (William Hartnell) leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover danger at every corner and what will become his deadliest enemy, the mutant Daleks. These seven original 25 minute episodes have been colorized and weaved together into a 75 minute blockbuster. With a brand-new sound, and brand-new soundtrack – created by Mark Ayres utilizing elements of Tristram Cary’s original music with newly recorded score – The Daleks has been updated, whilst ensuring the original classic story remains as thrilling as it was when it began in 1963. “The main instruction was to ‘be bold’, and not be too hidebound by the original,” Mark Ayres said on re-scoring a TV classic: “That original is ingrained in my nearly-63-year-old DNA, so that was a challenge! But a good one. There was some early discussion about doing a complete re-score, but I argued for keeping as much of Tristram Cary’s original as possible. I wanted my contribution to be both celebration and reinvention: respectful to the original, while not entirely reverential. After all, Tristram was a friend of mine, as is [sound designer] Brian Hodgson, and I think their work is groundbreaking, unique and wonderful.” The release is now available to stream/download digitally, and as a double CD set with the complete soundtrack on Disc 1, and with Disc 2 containing alternate edits and unused cues which will only be available on the CD format.
Available via Silva Screen Records
THE UNION/Rupert Gregson-Williams/Netflix Music – Digital
THE UNION, released by Netflix on August 16, 2024, is a 2024 American spy/action/comedy/thriller film directed by Julian Farino (FLORIDA MAN, GIRI/HAJI, THE CHILD IN TIME, BALLERS) from a screenplay by Joe Barton and David Guggenheim. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, and J. K. Simmons. As the story unfolds, the rekindled relationship between Mike and Roxanne adds layers of romantic tension and humor to the intense action, creating a blend of espionage, comedy, and romance. Mike, an ordinary man thrust into extraordinary circumstances, must navigate the dangerous world of international intrigue alongside Roxanne, culminating in a thrilling and unpredictable journey. The soundtrack, by Rupert Gregson-Williams, offers an enjoyable mix of fervent action (“Analyst” provides the primary theme in a nice opener; a secondary theme, “Athena,” is a very pleasing melodic motif that grows out of the opening action and then back into the pulsing combat; both treatments offer effective engagement; “Overbid” is a quieter rendition of the action music with some interesting treatments before churning into the main theme; all in all it’s an enjoyable bit of conflict and makes an gratifying listen. The soundtrack is available on Amazon, Spotify, Apple, and other popular players.
UNWAVERING/Christian Heschi/MovieScore Media - Digital
Austrian film composer Christian Heschi provides a fine musical treatment for UNWAVERING, an original documentary score from the 2024 short directed by Chris Schmid. Most recently, he composed the score to the new six-part adventure series LOST CITIES REVEALED for Disney+. Further credits include the highly acclaimed NBC/SyFy documentary LIKE HELL I WON’T and the PBS/TerraMater Film-epos HIPPO KING directed by Emmy nominee Will Steenkamp. His previous music for Chris Schmid’s documentaries FROZEN WARRIORS and OKAVANGO, which were showcased on National Geographic, earned him various accolades. The Swiss documentary UNWAVERING explores the mesmerizing lives of muskoxen (aka musk ox), the spirited and imposing inhabitants of the ice-covered tundra. “Embark on a cinematic adventure through the frozen expanse of the Arctic as the fascinating story of muskoxen is unveiled. Set against a landscape painted in shades of ice and snow, filmed over the span of three years, the documentary explores the strength and beauty of muskoxen living in harsh winter conditions. They stand as silent witnesses coming from another time. Delving into the heart of their world, the film unravels the challenges posed by the harsh environment and the extraordinary resilience of these mighty creatures.”
via - Swissfilms.
“I worked with classical cellist Teodora Miteva to create freezing textures by experimenting with special playing techniques on the instruments,” said the composer. “I also focused on a strong, simple main theme, which appears in the opening and the film’s finale, creating a sonic bow over the whole film. The outstanding cinematic look of director and cinematographer Chris Schmid required a strong cinematic sound in the score, with both big orchestral cues and small intimate cues driven only by electronic sound design and fragile string textures.” Heschi’s musical intention mixes orchestral treatments with cello soloing, elegant and effecting tonalities nicely fitting the arctic environment and the large, durable musk oxen, masters of hardiness and majestic inhabitants of the Arctic tundra. The music breathes with the energy of the cold and the majesty of these animals, and Heschi immerses the music with the land as much as with these husky creatures of the northern hemispheres. The score immerses the listener in the captivating lives of these massive creatures, the resilient and majestic bovines who once called prehistoric homelands their own. Heschi’s sonority exemplifies the hardiness of these animals of the north, mainly through vivid textures and provocative ambiance. Cues such as “A Cub’s Journey,” “Mock Battles,” “Leading Female,” and “Muskox Fighting” emphasize beguiling and provocative musical examinations of these fascinating creatures. The score concludes with a resonant deference to the “Harmony of Our Planet,” a musical representation that admires how these robust animals have endured for centuries. It’s a compelling and provocative examination of the splendor of these hardy creatures.
UNWAVERING is available digitally from MovieScoreMedia
Watch the official trailer for UNWAVERING:
MEGALOPOLIS is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor's daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves. The film is written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and will be in in theaters and IMAX September 27. Osvaldo Golijov (THE OATH, THE MAN WHO CRIED) has scored the picture; he is an Argentine composer of classical music and music professor, known for his vocal and orchestral work; and has collaborated with Francis Ford Coppola on three films, YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH, TWIXT, and now MEGALOPOLIS.
MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS, an all-new documentary, will take a comprehensive look at on the life and career of the legendary STAR WARS composer. The doc will have a limited theatrical release and begins streaming November 1 on Disney+ and will premiere in theaters later this year. Read full details here.
In the new action-comedy THE KILLER’S GAME, when top hitman Joe Flood (Dave Bautista) is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend (Sofia Boutella), he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it’s too late. The score is by Roque Baños. Additional cast members include Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, with Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley.
Toronto-born composer Lesley Barber (MANCHESTER BY THE SEA) scores BONJOUR TRISTESSE, a film adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s unforgettable coming-of-age novel. Montreal-based “discovery” Durga Chew-Bose both directed and wrote the screenplay. BONJOUR TRISTESSE captures the complexity of relationships among women and how they can come to wield influence over one another’s fates.? Multi-instrumentalist, conductor, pianist, and producer, Barber’s interest in modern electronic programming, loops, and effects adds dimension to her work, creating hybrid atmospheric scores with lush orchestration with an innate ability to bring the essential to light and avoid the cliché. Lesley is a proud and active member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, which has taken a leading role in the much-publicized diversity conversation. Synopsis: At the height of summer holiday, 18-year-old Cécile (Lily McInerny), the apple of everyone’s eye, is languishing at the French seaside with her devilishly handsome father Raymond (Claes Bang) and his bohemian lover Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune), whose age is not far from Cécile’s. Other than tending to a budding romance with a local boy (Aliocha Schneider), Cécile has all the time in the world to float and daydream, giving her a front row seat to Apéro-laden adult conversations free of morality. Building her sandcastle just as the tide rolls in, her postcard-perfect world is threatened when a visit from her late mother’s friend Anne (Chloë Sevigny) – a celebrated American-born, Paris-based fashion designer who fits the scene like a glove – casts a shadow over Cécile’s good, beautiful life, despite her longing to connect.
Composer John Debney joins Kevin Costner at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 2. The continued journey of the series delves deeper into the rich tapestry of American history with an intricate storyline and dynamic characters. The cinematic experience follows the historical events that shaped the expansion and settlement of the American West through an emotionally evoking lens. Set against the backdrop of the Old West, this installment features an all-star cast Kevin Costner, Ella Hunt, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, and Georgia MacPhail.
In EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS, a Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Together, they struggle and learn that forgetting might be a greater challenge than forgiving. Written and directed by Titus Kaphar, the film follows Tarrell (André Holland), an admired American painter who lives with his wife, singer Aisha (Andra Day), and their young son, Jermaine. Tarrell’s artwork excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth, keeping past wounds at bay. His path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks), a conscience-stricken man desperate to reconcile. Tarrell’s mother, Joyce (Ellis-Taylor) a pious woman with a profound and joyful spirituality, hopes that Tarrell can open his heart to forgiveness, giving them all another chance at being a family. Music score by Jherek Bischoff (SMALL TOWN UNIVERSE, ORGAN TRAIL, LORO). Only In Theaters on October 18, 2024. Watch the trailer¨
From Shout! Studios comes THE WASP, a tense, twist-filled psychological thriller. Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer deliver captivating performances as two estranged friends who reunite over tea, only to unveil a dangerous and deceptive plot that will irrevocably alter their lives. Adam Janota Bzowski (SAINT MAUD, THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER, FEMME) scores the film, which came to theaters August 30.
According to the Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, up and coming composer Julia Newman will provide music for ABC’s new medical drama series DOCTOR ODYSSEY, starring Joshua Jackson, Don Johnson and Phillipa Soo. DOCTOR ODYSSEY, which takes place on a luxury cruise ship, is created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken. It is set to premiere on September 26, 2024. Julia Newman just co-scored with her father Thomas Newman for MONSTERS: THE LYLE and ERIK MENENDEZ STORY released by Netflix Music.
Coming soon from Movie Score Media is the soundtrack for SATURN, from composer Emer Kinsella (FAITH, SHE THE CREATOR, I HATE NEW YEAR’S). When a mysterious planet appears in the sky, a young father must choose between the life he loves and an ancient call to save the world. Soundtrack release date, September 24; also is TREASURE TRACKERS (composer Robin Hoffman, (IN LOVE AND WAR, HUNTING FOR LOVE, SAVE ANGEL HOPE, NIGHT CAST). The family adventure film follows a trio of misfit middle schoolers band who together to investigate their small town's mythic treasure, only to uncover a Halloween curse. Set for October 1st in the US. See MSM.
In SPEAK NO EVIL, when an American family is invited to spend the weekend at the idyllic country estate of a charming British family they befriended on vacation, what begins as a dream holiday soon warps into a snarled psychological nightmare. From Blumhouse comes an intense suspense thriller for our modern age, starring BAFTA award-winner James McAvoy (SPLIT, GLASS) in a riveting performance as the charismatic, alpha-male estate owner whose untrammeled hospitality masks an unspeakable darkness. SPEAK NO EVIL stars Mackenzie Davis (TERMINATOR: DARK FATE, HALT AND CATCH FIRE) and SAG award-winner Scoot McNairy (ARGO, A QUIET PLACE PART II) as American couple Louise and Ben Dalton, who, along with their 11-year-old daughter accept the weekend-holiday invitation of Paddy (McAvoy), his wife Ciara (AISLING FRANCIOSI; GAME OF THRONES, THE FALL) and their furtive, mute. SPEAK NO EVIL is based on the screenplay of the 2022 Danish horror sensation GÆSTERNE, written by Christian Tafdrup and Mads Tafdrup. That film earned 11 Danish Film Awards nominations, the Danish equivalent of the Oscars. The score is by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans (THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, Netflix’s OZARK, THE GIFT, TOKYO VICE). Watch the trailer:
Nainita Desai has scored Season 3 of THE TOWER, now “bigger and better with some shock twists and turns, and a brilliant cast,” she said in a twitter post. The series is a British police procedural television series based on Kate London's Metropolitan trilogy book series. It stars Gemma Whelan (Yara Greyjoy in HBO’s GAME OF THRONES), Emmett J Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif, debuted in 2021, began when a long-serving cop and a teenage girl fall to their deaths from a London tower block; and Detective Sarah Collins investigates the dark heart of policing. The new season is based on Kate London’s third novel, Gallowstree Lane. The action picks up almost two years after the season 2 finale; Sarah Collins is investigating the stabbing of a teenager, which brings her face to face with Lizzie (Tahirah Sharif), who is doing her best to manage being a detective and a mother.
Before Rosemary, there was Terry. From the producers behind the A Quiet Place franchise and The Purge film series, the chilling original film APARTMENT 7A stars golden globe® winner Julia Garner, Academy Award® winner Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess, and Kevin McNally. The spine-tingling horror film debut at Fantastic Fest, Friday, September 20. Streaming exclusively on Paramount+ and available now for purchase on digital. Score by Adam Price (WILD TOKYO, THE RIZEN: POSSESSION, JOEY ESSEX: WHO AM I). Synopsis: An ambitious young dancer Terry Gionoffrio (Julia Garner) dreams of fame and fortune in New York City, but after suffering a devastating injury, an older, wealthy couple (Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally) welcomes her into their home in the luxury apartment building the Bramford. When fellow resident and influential Broadway producer (Jim Sturgess) offers her another chance at fame, it seems that all her dreams are finally coming true. However, after an evening she can’t fully remember, disturbing circumstances soon have her second-guessing the sacrifices she’s willing to make for her career as she realizes that something evil is living not only in Apartment 7A, but in the Bramford itself.
Watch the trailer:
Gabriel Yared (THE ENGLISH PATIENT, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, COLD MOUNTAIN, THE LIVES OF OTHERS), a Lebanese-French composer best known for his work in French and American cinema, has announced that, for the first time, he “has decided to open the doors of my music library, an intimate space where my inspirations and creations come together. Through a series of videos that will be broadcast every week on my YouTube channel, I will invite you to discover the works and musicians that have nurtured my path as a composer, whether for film, ballet or song... All of this music, drawn from a variety of genres, has had a deep impact on me and guided me in my work. I'm very happy and eager to share them with you. Meet me on my channel from September 14th onwards for this unprecedented musical journey.”
Join Yared on youtube.
Cristobal Tapia de Veer PONYBOI, BLACK MIRROR, SMILE, ELECTRIC DREAMS, THE WHITE LOTUS) has composed SMILE 2, directed by Parker Finn and starring Naomi Scott, Rosemari DeWitt, Lukas Gage. Synopsis: About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.
SALEM’S LOT is an upcoming American supernatural horror written and directed by Gary Dauberman, co-produced by James Wan,
creator of THE CONJURING Universe and a producer of IT, premieres October 3 exclusively on Max. This is the third project based on Stephen King's 1975 novel ‘Salem’s Lot. The film stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbæk, Alfre Woodard, and William Sadler; its plot centers on a writer who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration, only to discover the presence of a vampire. The film score is by Nathan Barr and Lisbeth Scott, with Dimitri Smith providing additional music. The film is scheduled to premiere as the opening film at the Beyond Fest on September 25, 2024, and will be released by Max on October 3, 2024.
Watch the film trailer:
Watch the official trailer (below) for Academy Award nominee RaMell Ross’ feature directorial debut, THE NICKEL BOYS, based on the book by Colson Whitehead. Cast: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Music by: Alex Somers & Scott Alario. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, NICKEL BOYS chronicles the powerful friendship between two young African American men navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida. Backdropped by the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appear worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King’s burnished oratory. Despite Nickel’s brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner. The drama has a rating of PG-13 for thematic material involving racism, some strong language including racial slurs, violent content and smoking.
After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, WICKED makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining two-part cinematic event this holiday season. WICKED, the untold story of the Witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (HARRIET, BROADWAY’S THE COLOR PURPLE) as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. Based on the musical WICKED, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, from the novel by Gregory Maguire, Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey.
Watch the trailer:
ARCANE (titled onscreen as ARCANE: LEAGUE OF LEGENDS) is an adult animated steampunk action-adventure television series created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. It was produced by the French animation studio Fortiche under the supervision of Riot Games, and distributed by Netflix. Set in Riot’s LEAGUE OF LEGENDS universe, it primarily focuses on sisters Vi and Jinx. The series was announced at the League of Legends 10th anniversary celebration in 2019, and first released in November 2021. The score is by Alexander Temple and Alex Seaver. A song soundtrack was released in 2021, but no score release as of yet. The second and final season will opened this November. Watch the Season 2 trailer:
Filmmusicreporter has announced via BBC that Hans Zimmer and Kara Talve for Bleeding Fingers Music are set to compose the music for the upcoming drama LORD OF THE FLIES. The show is developed by Jack Thorne (HIS DARK MATERIALS, ENOLA HOLMES) based on William Golding’s classic novel of the same title. David McKenna, Winston Sawyers, Lox Pratt, and Isaac Talbut are among the primary cast. The series is directed by Marc Munden (UTOPIA, THE THIRD DAY) tells the story of a group of young schoolchildren who find themselves stranded on a tropical island with no adults, following a deadly plane crash. More details at filmmusicreporter
From Blumhouse, HOUSE OF SPOILS follows an ambitious chef (Ariana DeBose) as she opens a restaurant on a remote estate where she battles kitchen chaos, crushing self-doubts… and a haunting presence who threatens to sabotage her at every turn. Score by Jim Williams; the composer has previously scored the 2022 feature RESURRECTION. HOUSE OF SPOILS will make its streaming debut on October 3 on Prime Video. – via filmmusicreporter.
Watch the film’s trailer:
Original Soundtrack Godzilla-1.0 Complete Edition: Japanese Composer Naoki Sato reports that the complete original soundtrack to GODZILLA-1.0, which includes 10 previously unreleased songs that fans have been waiting for, and Godzilla’s footsteps and roar as a bonus track, has finally been released. The ambient content is different from previous Godzilla music, and the arrangements by Naoki Sato, who pays respect to Akira Ifukube's Godzilla music, are masterful! The first press limited edition comes in a duo case and a three-sided box! At the same time, digital distribution, including Dolby Atmos® distribution, has also started, and will be available from Apple Music and Amazon Music. Release date: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 in Japan. Domestic version: Title: Original Soundtrack Godzilla-1.0 Complete Edition; Price: 4,400 yen (tax included), Genre: Soundtrack, Released by: Rambling Records – details for sales to the US and Europe will presumably follow, but Rambling Records is well-known to ship from Japan.
See this link for details:
Quartet Records, in collaboration with GDM, Universal Music Publishing Italy, and EMI General Music Publishing, presents a revised, remastered reissue of the famous giallo score composed by Ennio Morricone in 1971 for LA CORTE NOTTE DELLE BAMBOLE DI VETRO (aka SHORT NIGHT OF THE CRYSTAL DOLLS) directed by Aldo Lado and starring Jean Sorel, Ingrid Thulin, Barbara Bach and Mario Adorf. Considered one of the best and most consistent giallos, the film is about journalist Gregory Moore (Sorel), whose corpse is found in a Prague square and taken to the local morgue. But Moore’s spirit is alive, trapped inside his dead body and desperately remembering the disappearance of his beautiful girlfriend, who is linked to a terrifying conspiracy of depravity. Can a reporter with no visible signs of life solve this perverse puzzle before his existence ends? Morricone prepared a vinyl album to coincide with the film’s release in 1971, but despite the success of the film, the album was aborted and only the main theme from LA CORTA NOTTE DELLE BAMBOLE DI VETRO was released on the RCA compilation “I Film Della Violenza” in 1975. It was not until 1998 that the Screen Trax label in Italy released a CD with a selection of 14 cues personally chosen by the composer. That selection was expanded in 2009 on a Digitmovies CD, and quickly sold out. Also presented by the label, in collaboration with GDM and Universal Music Publishing Italy, is a revised, remastered reissue of the famous 1975 Bruno Nicolai giallo score from GATTI ROSSI IN UN LABIRINTO DI VETRO (aka EYEBALL) directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring John Richardson, Martine Brochard, Inés Pellegrini and Mirta Miller. The plot involves the typical red-hooded killer who kills tourists in Barcelona, this time by tearing out their eyes. Bruno Nicolai’s music is one of his best of the genre, with a catchy main theme and elegant variations on it, as well as sophisticated suspense music. It was not until 1999 that a selection of 11 cues was released on an RCA CD paired with Guido & Maurizio De Angelis’ score for the slasher film TORSO. An expanded selection with the complete score (32 cues) was released by Digitmovies in 2007, which quickly sold out and went for high prices on the second-hand market. The present edition contains the same material, supervised by Claudio Fuiano and remastered from the original tapes by Chris Malone. The package includes an essay by the much-missed Gergely Hubai discussing the movie, the composer and the score.
See this link and/or this link.
Intrada presents the premiere release of composer Frédéric Talgorn’s first film score: the 1989 MGM horror film EDGE OF SANITY. As he describes in the liner notes, “I’m from a mid-70s generation of people who discovered film music when John Williams put symphonic scoring back on the map. I realized the power of what you could do for the cinema with orchestral music thanks to composers like him, Jerry Goldsmith and Miklós Rózsa.” Bringing a fresh voice to a legacy of music scores sprawling decades behind him, EDGE OF SANITY brims with strong themes, fierce action, eerie suspense and even some brief moments of pastoral joy. Seemingly lost for decades until its recent discovery in DAT format by the composer, the breadth of the music’s brash, richly melodic transgression remains as wonderfully shocking as ever, no more so than to Talgorn. “When I listen now, I’m surprised by some of this music,” he remarks. “You write what you are, and my obsession was to write for an orchestra. I didn’t even think of doing anything else, because the greatest film music I knew was orchestral. The energy you feel in this score comes from that beginner’s enthusiasm because I wanted to show what I could do.” This long overdue album was well worth the wait. Talgorn produced the album for Intrada, with Doug Schwartz responsible for mastering. See more details.
The first four soundtracks from Bear McCreary’s second season of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER have been released via Amazon. The first album, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER: SEASON 2, offers 25 featured tracks culled from the composer’s score from the new season; while four soundtrack albums of season episodes have been released separately featuring music from the first three episodes – much like the digital soundtracks were released for the first season’s score albums. These first soundtrack albums will continue through the remaining five albums (8 episodes in all), again in the manner of the first season. Two soundtrack albums, a 2xCD and a Mutant Explosive Vinyl edition of the first THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER: SEASON 2, will be released by Mutant estimated on November 29th.
See details for the Mutant albums, here:
Lakeshore Records has released JACKPOT! – Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally, August 16 featuring music by composer Theodore Shapiro (Severance). The riveting electronic and orchestral score is an exhilarating backdrop to the action-filled comedy directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, A Simple Favor), starring Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians), and John Cena (Ricky Stanicky, Vacation Friends). In the near future, a ‘Grand Lottery’ has been newly established in California - the catch: kill the winner before sundown to legally claim their multi-billion-dollar jackpot. When Katie Kim (Awkwafina) moves to Los Angeles, she mistakenly finds herself with the winning ticket. Desperate to survive the hordes of jackpot hunters, she reluctantly joins forces with amateur lottery protection agent Noel Cassidy (John Cena) who will do everything in his power to get her to sundown in exchange for a piece of her prize. However, Noel must face off with his slick rival Louis Lewis (Simu Liu), who also seeks to collect Katie’s commission at all costs. JACKPOT! is directed by Paul Feig and written by Rob Yescombe. Says Shapiro: “In ‘JACKPOT!,’ Paul Feig conjures a gonzo Los Angeles of the near future— bright, garish, and spectacular. I wanted to give this world a score to match. The score features a massive brass section, the piercing tones of Commodore 64 chip sounds, and fast beats. All in all, it’s a collage of hyper sounds at hyper tempos.” Purchase/Stream.
In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the landmark film, SCHINDLER’S LIST, La-La Land Records, Universal Music Special Markets, Universal Studios, Amblin Entertainment and Geffen proudly present SCHINDLER’S LIST – 25th ANNIVERSARY SOUNDTRACK, a 2-CD remastered re-issue of legendary composer John Williams’ Oscar-Winning original motion picture score to the 1994 Best Picture, SCHINDLER’S LIST, directed by Steven Spielberg. Winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score, this true story follows the enigmatic Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. It is the triumph of one man who made a difference and the drama of those who survived one of the darkest chapters in human history because of what he did. Williams’ musical masterwork is an indelible part of this powerful story, whose lessons of courage and faith continue to inspire generations. Disc One of this special 2-CD presentation showcases the original soundtrack assembly, sourced from the original 1993 release’s 24-karat gold Ultimate Masterdisc digital master, while Disc Two contains previously unreleased tracks, sourced from engineer Shawn Murphy’s stereo digital masters, including two major cues that are now presented in the versions heard in the picture: “Schindler’s Workforce” and “I Could Have Done More,” both of which underwent revisions after the 1993 album had been prepared. Also coming from the label is the original motion picture score to the triumphant action-comedy BEVERLY HILLS COP – AXEL F, starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Mark Molloy , with a score by acclaimed composer Lorne Balfe’s. For this and more see La-La Land Records here.
Composers Brooke Blair & Will Blair (BLUE RUIN, NIGHT STALKER: THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER, GREEN ROOM, MARMALADE, BLACK CHRISTMAS) are reteaming with director Jeremy Saulnier on the new Netflix original film REBEL RIDGE. The movie is written and directed by Saulnier and stars Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Emory Cohen. Synopsis: An ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief. The film premiered September 6 on Netflix. Netflix Music has released the soundtrack album on September 6. The duo’s next feature project include Macon Blair’s THE TOXIC AVENGER, which premiered at last year’s Fantastic Fest and is currently awaiting a release date.
Hollywood Records, Marvel Studios, and ILM Immersive announce that What If…? – An Immersive Story Original Soundtrack, with score by Oscar® nominated and five-time Emmy® award-winning composer Laura Karpman and Grammy®-winning composer Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, which is now available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other digital platforms. The soundtrack features music from “What If…? – An Immersive Story,” the Emmy® award-winning and first-ever interactive Disney+ Original story available exclusively on Apple Vision Pro. The single “Time, Space, Reality” (lofi version) is now available on Apple Music and Spotify. This version is inspired by an immersive experience that embraces the calming nature of the graphics, enhancing a “chill” relaxed mood. Composers Laura Karpman and Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum commented, “Creating and collaborating on the music of the immersive ‘What If…?’ for the Apple Vision Pro was a truly awesome experience. The technology allowed us to immerse the listener in the story in a very physical way – surrounded by a giant orchestra, the music expands, contracts and bends with the Multiverse. It was tremendously exciting for our studio to collaborate with Dave Bushore at Marvel Studios, ILM Immersive, and Skywalker Sound on this innovative new platform that pushes into new storytelling territory.” Recorded in spatial Dolby Atmos, the soundtrack is also available for fans in an immersive format.
Available here and here:
Also available on Apple Music, YouTube, etc.
The Watchers is a 2024 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan in her directorial debut, produced by M. Night Shyamalan, and based on the 2021 novel by A. M. Shine. It stars Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouéré and Oliver Finnegan, and follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist who becomes trapped in a vast, untouched forest in the west of Ireland. Seeking shelter, she becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are stalked by mysterious creatures every night. The film received negative reviews, according to some, but I felt it was an intriguing and persuasive kind of folk-horror story; and the musical score by Abel Korzeniowski is quite good and effective - rdl. The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music and is available on Amazon and the usual sources. Listen to a track, “The Dying Gods,” from Korzeniowski’s score:
Lakeshore Records is celebrating the release of the TERMINATOR ZERO Original Series Soundtrack featuring music by composer duo Michelle Birsky and Kevin Henthorn. The Netflix original anime series introduces a new generation to the TERMINATOR franchise while paying homage to the original films. By mixing styles and leaning into a modern direction, they focus on the emotional drama of the series and capture the feeling of existential dread inherent in the story. The composers note “With this score, we sought to create a fresh, new sound for a new generation of TERMINATOR. In a time when we are all grappling with the concept of humanity vs. artificial intelligence, our score sought to highlight this dichotomy by using electronic instrumentation interwoven with human voice and electronically-altered acoustic instruments. The score is brash and bold, while also getting to the heart of the characters and the complexity of being human in a digital age.” ABOUT TERMINATOR ZERO: 2022: A future war has raged for decades between the few human survivors and an endless army of machines. 1997: The AI known as Skynet gained self-awareness and began its war against humanity. Caught between the future and this past is a soldier sent back in time to change the fate of humanity. She arrives in 1997 to protect a scientist named Malcolm Lee who works to launch a new AI system designed to compete with Skynet’s impending attack on humanity. As Malcolm navigates the moral complexities of his creation, he is hunted by an unrelenting assassin from the future which forever alters the fate of his three children. The album is available now digitally
Watch the TERMINATOR ZERO trailer:
Following the events of THE BATMAN (2022), Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin, makes a play to seize the reins of the crime world in Gotham. THE PENGUIN is an upcoming American crime drama television limited series created by Lauren LeFranc for HBO. Based on the DC Comics character Penguin, it is a spin-off from the film THE BATMAN (2022) that explores the Penguin’'s rise to power in Gotham City's criminal underworld. LeFranc serves as the showrunner of the series, which is produced by DC Studios in association with Warner Bros. Television. Colin Farrell stars as the Penguin, reprising his role from THE BATMAN, alongside Cristin Milioti and Rhenzy Feliz. A music composer has not been announced. The film premieres September 19 at 9pm ET on Max, and then Sundays at 9pm ET starting September 29.
Watch the trailer:
Netflix Music has released a soundtrack album for the British Netflix original series KAOS. The album features selections of the show’s original music composed by Isabella Summers (aka Isa Machine of Florence + the Machine) (LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER, LISA FRANKENSTEIN, STRANGE PLANET, PHYSICAL). KAOS is created by Charlie Covell and stars Jeff Goldblum, Janet McTeer, David Thewlis. The fantasy comedy revolves around three mortals who are destined to reshape the future of humankind as discord reigns on Mount Olympus and the almighty Zeus spirals into paranoia. The Gods of Olympus are just one big, dysfunctional family — unaware of the mortals with the power and fight to bring them down. Change is afoot with Riddy and Orpheus at the heart of it all.
Listen to this cue from the soundtrack:
Caldera Records proudly presents Zbigniew Preisner’s score for Fernando Trueba’s movie HAUNTED HEART. Trueba’s Highsmith- and Hitchcock-inspired suspense thriller tells the story of Alex (Aida Folch), a young woman who moves to an island in Greece to work at a restaurant. There, she meets the mysterious Max (Matt Dillon), her superior. While everybody warns her against him, Alex can not resist his charisma and quickly falls in love. When the restaurant closes in winter, and the couple is among the only ones who stay on the island, Alex discovers haunting secrets about her partner that threaten to destroy their relationship – and Alex. The film reunites Trueba and his composer Zbigniew Preisner, who made a name for himself internationally with Krzysztof Kieslowski’s DEKALOG and the THREE COLOURS TRILOGY. For his new film, Preisner developed a sultry and suspenseful score that captures the thrill of a blossoming relationship and the danger that Alex finds herself in. As Preisner elaborates: “I wrote the music from the perspective of mystery that is present all the time in Max and Alex’s relationship. Alex, a young, open woman full of emotions, is entangled in those secrets. I wanted to describe the mystery that entwines their relationship musically.” For that purpose, the composer used an orchestra, solo woodwinds, and electronic instruments. One of the highlights of the score is his new arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s “Alexandra Leaving,” here recorded by guitarist Javier Mas and singer Sofia Cordoba. The 57th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Leszek Kaminski and produced by Stephan Eicke and Zbigniew Preisner. See more details here:
Hollywood Records & Marvel Music have released the first track from the soundtrack for Marvel Television’s new Disney+ limited series AGATHA ALL ALONG. Available to stream/download now on all major digital music services is a remix of the song Agatha All Along (originally written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez for 2021’s WandaVision) by Dave Audé. The series premiered on September 18, 2024 on Disney+, with Christophe Beck scoring the series. The infamous Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road… – via filmmusicreporter
Listen to the remix song, via youtube, here:
THE WILD ROBOT is a 2024 American animated science fiction survival film based on the book series of the same name by Peter Brown, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling. The film was written and directed by Chris Sanders, produced by Jeff Hermann, and executive-produced by Sanders' longtime collaborative partner Dean DeBlois. It stars Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, the title character, alongside an ensemble voice cast including Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O'Hara. Score by Kris Bowers (GREEN BOOK, THE LAST REPAIR SHOP, HAUNTED MANSION, THE COLOR PURPLE [2023], BRIDGERTON).
Composed by Fabrizio Mancinelli (OUT OF THE NEST, JAILBIRD, THE BOAT) and directed by Robert Salerno (INCIBUS short), HERE AFTER (2024) is a suspense/drama/horror thriller. Miraculously revived after a fatal accident, Robin gasps back to life – but she’s come back a little… different. Is Robin just a teenager undergoing all the usual hormonal highs and lows? Is she possessed? Or is mom Claire losing her mind? The film met with largely unhappy reviews, but the sinister sounding and affecting musical score “effectively plays with the listeners imagination, half heard sounds momentarily pop in and out of cues, which makes one wonder if it is the score or maybe a sound from somewhere else. There are sinewy interludes, where solo violin is employed conveying tense and nervous sounds and phrases, the composer utilizes conventional instrumentation alongside synthetic elements that together bring to fruition dark and foreboding interludes, there are also sections where the composer uses voices that bring another dimension to the already harrowing score.” – via Jon Mansel, read his full review of Mancinelli’s score, here.
Watch the film’s nicely creepy trailer:
Latest new releases from MusicBox Records of France: In CD, Gabriel Yared’s THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition), Pierre Bachelet’s GWENDOLINE and Bachelet’s HEADBLOW / VICTORY SINGING (Remastered Release); and four excellent soundtracks in digital: Alexei Aigui for the Pascal Bonitzer films, THE GREAT ALIBI (2008) and SEARCH FOR HORTENSE (2012), Gabriel Yared’s THE 1001 NIGHTS and THE MOON IN THE GUTTER. See more details here.
Hollywood Records has released ALIEN: ROMULUS (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by BAFTA® and Grammy®-nominated composer Benjamin Wallfisch, available now on digital platforms. The science fiction horror film is directed by Fede Álvarez and written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues. It is part of the ALIEN franchise, set between the events of ALIEN (1979) and ALIENS (1986). The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. It follows three pairs of siblings, all downtrodden young space colonists, who encounter hostile creatures while scavenging a derelict space station. Wallfisch reflects on the score, “It was an honor to work with Fede Álvarez and my love for the original films made it a joy to contribute to this iconic franchise. By immersing myself in the musical legacy of Horner and Goldsmith, the aim was to embody the tone of what came before while creating fresh elements through a fusion of electronics and traditional orchestral textures. The score is a reflection of the film's complex characters and the eerie, tension-filled atmosphere of deep space, blending new techniques with the timeless sound of the Alien universe.” The soundtrack is also available to pre-order now on vinyl, courtesy of Mutant, and will include 6 bonus tracks.
In addition, Hollywood Records has released its newest episode of their music docuseries, The Big Score. In this episode, composer Benjamin Wallfisch delves into his exhilarating score for ALIEN: ROMULUS. Wallfisch, known for his orchestral mastery and innovative blend of electronics, explores how his love for film music and orchestral giants like Stravinsky shape his unique approach. He shares insights on crafting themes that interweave human and alien elements, using silence as a powerful tool, and experimenting with choir and complex sound design. Watch the episode here.
TWILIGHT OF THE GODS is an upcoming American adult animated television series. Zack Snyder unleashes a bold and bloody vision of Norse mythology in this adult animated series about a warrior with an ax to grind against the gods. The title refers to events that led to the destruction of Midgard and Asgard, then the death of most of the Æsir and Vanir gods, in an ultimate battle against evil, the forces of nature and the Giants. It features the voices of Sylvia Hoeks, Stuart Martin, Pilou Asbæk, John Noble, Paterson Joseph, Rahul Kohli, Jamie Clayton, Kristofer Hivju, Peter Stormare, Jamie Chung, Lauren Cohan and Corey Stoll. Produced by The Stone Quarry, and Xilam Animation, the series premieres on Netflix on September 19, 2024. Hans Zimmer has scored the series.
Composer Reber Clark, (THE INNSMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, COWBOYS VS. PTERODACTYLS, HOUSE OF THE GORGON), is known for his splendid Lovecraftian audio scores from the Dark Adventure Radio Theatre®, like these (https://reberclark.wixsite.com/music). The DART has adapted Prosper Mérimée's classic weird tale “The Venus of Ille” as a Nate Ward adventure, with The Iron Maiden. Archeologist Nathaniel Ward returns to the Isle of Wight and recalls a strange incident from his younger days. While viewing Roman ruins on a local estate he’s invited to stay for a wedding. Ward uncovers an unusual Roman artifact. Will the discovery prove auspicious for the young couple, or will it unleash a strange and terrible wrath? The story bounds to life with a cast of professional actors, thrilling sound effects and an original orchestral score by Reber Clark. Check out the soundtrack which is available now, here on bandcamp– or have a listen to the 75-minute CD audio show of the story, plus a collection of props to enhance your listening experience – or listen for more details… The Dark Adventure Radio Theatre® series they're like movies you can enjoy with your eyes closed.
BATMAN BEYOND ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK VOL. 2, drops next Friday, Sep 20, 2024, Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis, & Kristopher Carter (The Dynamic Music Partners) are excited to announce the second volume of music from the hit WB Animated series: 98 tracks with over 2.5 hr of music drawn from popular episodes including: Splicers, Lost Soul, Earth Mover, Once Burned, Terry’s Friend Dates A Robot, Mind Games, and more. Dynamic Soundtrack Records is releasing the album, which will be available on all major streaming and digital outlets. See more details on their Dynamic website.
Kronos Records of Malta has announced it’s latest three releases: the soundtrack to Jolanta Warpechowski’s DESIRE-HOPE, film follows Casimir who lives with his wealthy wife Katharina in Warsaw, but something is missing in his life till Caroline arrives. They flee to Vienna, where huge obstacles await them. The film is composed by young Polish composer Szymon Szewczyk, whom the label had previously released the composer’s RED YELLOW PINK, a dramatic Polish film from 2020. For DESIRE-HOPE, Szewczyk composed a very colorful soundtrack in a beautiful neo-classical fashion that gives this almost a feel of a period drama yet without sounding minimally anachronistic or not totally appropriate. (Link to album). Second in line is a 2023 hit feature film, ZONDEBOKKEN, in which, on the eve of the French Revolution, two town officials confront the Buckriders – a criminal gang who appear to ride on flying goats with the Devil – but along the way they will face deceit, corruption, betrayal and finally each other. Joris Hermy, whom Kronos work previously on KATTENOOG and GINA AND CHANTAL (Link to album). Third is GEO, featuring music from a selection of documentaries from the Italian cult series by the same name, All music composed by Italian composer Matteo Cremolini, who scored the label’s SUONI VELATI, and who offers in this new soundtrack a score rich in flavors and eclectic in nature, offering an emotional journey of discovery, both geographical and emotional (Link to album).
Film Fest Gent has announced their new album Elliot Goldenthal – Music for Film featuring music by the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s World Soundtrack Awards, including all-new studio recordings of selected scores by the composer performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by the festival’s music director Dirk Brossé. The album includes two new concert suites for his Academy Award-winning score from Julie Taymor’s FRIDA, THE GRAND GOTHIC SUITE, which includes highlights from his Grammy-nominated score for Joel Schumacher’s BATMAN FOREVER and his never commercially unreleased score for BATMAN & ROBIN, the suite FINAL FANTASIA, which celebrates his music for Hironobu Sakaguchi’s FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN and a suite from his score for David Fincher’s ALIEN 3. Other titles included on the record are INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE & MICHAEL COLLINS (for both of which he received Academy Award nominations), as well as PUBLIC ENEMIES, HEAT, and TITUS. The CD will be released during the 51st edition of Film Fest Gent in October and is now available to order on the festival’s website . The album licensed to Silva Screen Records will be also available digitally and physically in other music stores.
Swedish composer Jon Ekstrand has scored the music for Gustav film SONS (Vogter) and the soundtrack is out on all streaming platforms. The movie premiered in the main competition section on this years Berlinale film festival in Berlin and will premiere in Denmark on Friday the 13th of September. The movie follows the idealistic prison officer Eva, who is faced with the dilemma of her life when a young man from her past gets transferred to the prison where she works. The film is a sequel to Möllers’ THE GUILTY (2021); Ekstrand is also known for scoring MORBIUS, QUEEN OF HEARTS, LIFE, WHEN IN ROME, MADAME LUNA and OPPONENT); SONS is available as a soundtrack EP from Apple Music and Spotify in the US, so far.
Lakeshore Records has digitally released TRAP, Original Motion Picture Score, featuring music by composer Herdís Stefánsdóttir (KNOCK AT THE CABIN). The pulsing and ominous orchestral score adds a menacing backdrop to the horror thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The Warner Bros. Pictures’ film starring Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill is in theaters worldwide. Synopsis: A father and teen daughter attend a pop concert, where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event. Purchase/ Stream:
Listen to the cue, “The Butcher,”
via youtube:
Lakeshore Records releases ZORRO – Original Soundtrack from the Paramount+ series, with music by Julie Roué. About ZORRO: Upon becoming mayor of 1821 Los Angeles, Don Diego de la Vega faces resistance from corrupt entrepreneur Don Emmanuel. The series airing on Paramount+ and starring Jean Dujardin will also be available in France from September 6, and later in 2024 in other European countries and Latin America. Link to soundtrack.
In 1920, one brilliant movie jolted the postwar masses and catapulted the German Expressionist film movement into history. That movie was THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a team of visionary designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community. This authoritative edition presents the F.W. Murnau Stiftung’s meticulous 4K restoration of the film, with a new orchestral score by Emmy®-winning composer Jeff Beal (HOUSE OF CARDS), which had its premiere performance at Carnegie Hall on June 3, 2024.
Product Extras, Available: Oct 22nd 2024: Music by Jeff Beal (4KUHD & Blu-ray, 5.1 Surround and 2.0 stereo); 2014 Orchestral Score (4KUHD & Blu-ray, 2.0 stereo); CALIGARI: How Horror Came to the Cinema (Blu-ray, 52 min.); Audio commentary by composer Jeff Beal (4K UHD & Blu-ray); Audio description for the vision-impaired (4K UHD & Blu-ray), and others. Only ships to US & Canada.
Lakeshore Records has released THE THICKET, featuring music by Ray Suen, who has performed alongside an A-list of rock, alternative, pop, jazz, country and hip-hop music royalty. The film, directed by Elliott Lester and starring Peter Dinklage, Juliette Lewis, Levon Hawke, Esmé Creed-Miles and James Hetfield is streaming on Tubi now. When a bounty hunter and a band of unlikely heroes pursue a brutal killer, they find themselves in a deadly no-man's-land known as the Thicket. Notes Suen: ‘Given the location in the icy tundra of Calgary, Alberta, I wanted to somehow express the purple and blues of the freezing cold of the north and evoke the tension and stillness that accompanies the chill of Calgary in winter. In a film filled with so many haunted and unhinged characters, the feeling of madness and isolation is channeled into the more cacophonous and dissonant pieces.” Purchase/ Stream
Hollywood Records has released THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT (Original Soundtrack) by composer Kathryn Bostic. The album was released August 23 on digital platforms, coinciding with the film’s release on Hulu. Drawing from her jazz and classical background, Bostic emphasizes serving the film's story and characters, particularly focusing on Barbara Jean's journey of abandonment and growth. Her orchestral score blends raw blues influences to reflect the characters' emotional depth and evolution, using vocal textures to convey trauma. Bostic's music evolves as friendships deepen, the score crescendos into a jubilant, blues-filled climax, celebrating the powerful bond of sisterhood that defines the characters' lives. Bostic reflects on the music, “The score reflects the growing friendship of the three main characters; Clarice, Odette and Barbara-Jean as they explore challenges and triumphs within their own lives. I chose a simple melody that grows in variations and mood to reflect their personal catharsis that inevitably tests their friendship as well. Instrumentation is primarily orchestral and piano in addition to some bluesy guitar, vocal and bass motifs. I wanted the score to support this brilliant cast and elevate their dynamic performance in very subtle ways.”
THE CROW is a 2024 American gothic superhero film directed by Rupert Sanders from a screenplay by Zach Baylin and William Schneider. A reboot of THE CROW film series, it is the fifth film in the franchise, and is the second film, after the 1994 film, to directly adapt the 1989 comic book series of the same name by James O'Barr. The film stars Bill Skarsgård as Eric/The Crow, a murdered musician who is resurrected to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancée, played by FKA Twigs. PLOT: Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right. Volker Bertelmann has scored the film.
Lakeshore Records is set to release BLINK TWICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, featuring music by Emmy® nominated composer Chanda Dancy (DEVOTION, LAWMEN: BASS REEVES). The electronic and orchestral score has tense strings that deliberately build to stunning crescendos providing a riveting backdrop to the psychological thriller directed by Zoë Kravitz. Texas-raised Chanda Dancy received her first Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series with her acclaimed work on LAWMEN: BASS REEVES. Starting her orchestral composing journey at the age of 12, she has been described as a “phenomenal composer” (Ted Chung, Zacuto: Featured Filmmakers) and “quickly gaining recognition as a foremost black American contemporary composer.” (Anthony Parnther, Conductor, San Bernardino Symphony). Her works are described as “emotionally penetrating” and “rich.” BLINK TWICE stars Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum; from Amazon MGM Studios in theaters, August 23. When tech billionaire Slater King (Tatum) meets cocktail waitress Frida (Ackie) at his fundraising gala, sparks fly. He invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. It’s paradise. Wild nights blend into sun-soaked days and everyone's having a great time. No one wants this trip to end, but as strange things start to happen, Frida begins to question her reality. There is something wrong with this place. She’ll have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out of this party alive. Purchase/ Stream
Plaza Mayor Company has released Ollie Howell’s and additional composer Olivier Lliboutry’s score to crime thriller KISS OF THE CON QUEEN, for director Tom Waller. Plot: A struggling actor thinks he's on the verge of success when he’s contacted by Hollywood producers for a huge role in a blockbuster film. But when he’s sent to shoot in Jakarta, Indonesia, nothing goes as planned and he must uncover the truth - that he's caught in the trap of the Con Queen of Hollywood, a master con-artist executing a prolific global scam on the entertainment industry. Stars Eoin O’Brien, Patrick Bergin, Ravi Patel. Soundtrack available now from Spotify.
Decca Records has released the soundtrack for the Studiocanal film THE OUTRUN, starring Saoirse Ronan. The track “Corncrake,” was released early from the soundtrack by composers John Gürtler and Jan Miserre, who note: “Corncrake’ captures the rugged beauty of Orkney’s landscape and Rona’s dedication to her work with the RSPB, as she listens intently for the call of the endangered bird. The score fuses local sounds – fiddles, mouth harps, pipes, and flutes performed by Malin Lewis – with an orchestral arrangement, giving the music a documentary-like texture. Originally composed before filming began, the piece was inspired by imagining Rona as a child on her family farm. The final recording session was pared down to just nine string players, resulting in an intimate and authentic sound, as if the music were being performed in a barn rather than a concert hall.” ABOUT THE OUTRUN: A vivid and unflinching adaptation of Amy Liptrot's wrenching personal memoir of addiction, powered by an extraordinary central performance from Saoirse Ronan. Addicted to hedonism, drink and drugs, a young woman must wrestle with recovery in the remote islands of Orkney whilst reckoning with her complex family history. Powered by a pounding soundtrack, a kinetic visual style and intricate narrative structure, this extraordinarily moving film is redemptive, cathartic and utterly riveting.
Lakeshore Records has released PACHINKO Season 2 – the Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack, featuring music by Nico Muhly (THE HUMANS, HOWARDS END). The score reflects the epic drama with dynamic strings, piano, and orchestra that augment the continuation of the grand historical drama that takes place in Korea, Japan and America to tell an unforgettable story of war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning. Says Muhly: “For Season 2, I had the luxury of writing primarily to picture, but also the freedom to write thematic material in long-form, almost like chamber music. Although the final score is 90% written to picture, the suite of thematic material was incredibly useful in order to attach material and instrumentation to each character. Soo Hugh and Suzana Peri? (the music editor) and I trusted one another deeply, so the process was very organic. We were working within the confines of a small chamber ensemble, so I had to be clever about ways to bulk-up the music whilst keeping it intimate.” The series – which is based on the acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel by the same name and is created by Soo Hugh – is playing on Apple TV+. Get the soundtrack here.
Sony Classical will release the official soundtrack album for the Netflix original limited series ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. The album features the show’s original music composed by Academy Award nominee James Newton Howard. The 4-part drama tells the story of a blind French girl taking refuge with her father and reclusive uncle in St. Malo, France and a brilliant teenager enlisted by Hitler’s regime with an expertise in radio repair. The series will premiere on November 2 exclusively on Netflix; the soundtrack will be released digitally November 2 as well, available to stream/download on Amazon and any other major digital music services. – via filmmusic reporter
Sigur Rós vocalist & composer Jónsi shares his score album FIRST LIGHT, via leading health & wellbeing music provider Myndstream, in collaboration with Lakeshore Records. In addition to making an impact with longtime fans and wide coverage in outlets such as Pitchfork, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan and many more, the music is also resonating with the wellness community securing #1 spot across multiple editorial playlists and stations on Amazon and Spotify. “Writing this music at a time of manmade global turmoil and unrest for a video game,” Jónsi reflects, “I imagined First Light as a momentary fantastical red, over-the-top, utopian world where everyone and everything lives together in everlasting peace and harmony. Choosing beauty over disorder, hope over fear, our universal divine angel guardians watching over us and connecting us all as one through love, melody, and music.” Listen/Share
Film composer Maximilien Mathevon has created a new music album, CORSAIRE, which is now streaming on September 27 by The Plaza Mayor Company. Notes the composer: “There are places that touch you with their atmosphere, their architecture, the history they evoke. For me, one of these places is the city of Saint-Malo. It was quite natural that I came to create an album inspired by the corsair city, mixing electronic music and traditional influences. The sounds of bodhran, bombarde and uillean pipes mingle with the medieval sounds of violas da gamba, orchestral colors and synthesizers to create a composite and singular sound universe.” Pre-order available.
Nainita Desai has announced her latest documentary series: James Cameron's OCEANXPLORERS. Produced and narrated by James Cameron in partnership with BBC Studios Natural History Unit and OceanX underwater adventure series premiered Aug. 18 on National Geographic and is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. “A huge thanks to the legends that are Orla Doherty and Kim Butts of Avatar Alliance for bringing me onto this epic production. It’s great to finally see it come out into the world.” The miniseries follows a research vessel exploring 80% of Earth’s uncharted oceans, combining scientific documentary with dramatic footage capturing the thrill of ocean discovery across six high-stakes adventure episodes. Congrats Nainita!
Composer Joel Goodman, via Matt Osborne’s DOCUMENTING THE SCORE site on Facebook, reports that he has scored the music for ON BROADWAY, a documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Oren Jacoby and the producers of RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg doc.), that shows how Broadway led the way in the city’s last great rebirth and provides a model of how it can come back again after a devastating pandemic. Featuring legends of stage and screen, including Hugh Jackman, Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, and Ian McKellen take us behind the scenes of Broadway’s most groundbreaking and beloved shows, from A CHORUS LINE to HAMILTON. Check out the soundtrack on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or YouTube.
Composer Daniel Pemberton is reteaming with directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin (FREE SOLO, NYAD) on the upcoming documentary ENDURANCE. The docu centers on the titular ship that sank near Antarctica in 1915, with explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew miraculously surviving, and was discovered in 2022. Dr. John Shears, who led the expedition that found Shackleton’s lost ship, and filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi discussed how they discovered the ship, in a story for deadline: “Endurance tells the stories of two expeditions. In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set out to traverse Antarctica but his ship got trapped in pack ice and ultimately sank. What followed was an historic tale of survival in the face of adversity. More than a century later the Endurance22 expedition set out on the icebreaker Agulhas II. Led by Dr. Shears, alongside expedition subsea manager Nico Vincent, director of exploration Mensun Bound and historian and broadcaster Dan Snow and an international team of scientists and technologists, their mission was to find the wreck of the Endurance. It had been resting at the bottom of the Weddell Sea for 107 years!” -via www.deadline.com.
Pemberton has previously collaborated with the directing duo on the 2021 documentary THE RESCUE. ENDURANCE will premiere next month at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival before making its debut on National Geographic.
THE MOONWALKERS (Original Soundtrack): The Original Orchestral Score composed by Anne Nikitin for THE MOONWALKERS: A JOURNEY WITH TOM HANKS at Lightroom. The composer’s rousing soundscape to this epic experience which offers a unique perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon, was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the iconic Abbey Road Studios. The show opened at London’s Lightroom on 6th December 2023 and will continue until 13th October 2024. Anne’s rousing soundscape to this epic experience offers a unique perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon. From Lightrooms’ remarkable space, almost identical in size to NASA’s Apollo Mission Control, audiences are transported to the lunar surface by spectacular NASA footage and photography remastered by Andy Saunders. The show is co-written by Tom Hanks and double BAFTA-Nominated Christopher Riley and directed by 59 Productions Lysander Ashton and Nick Corrigan. “I’ve been fascinated by space for as long as I can remember – as a child I’d stare at the night sky in awe and wonder and could proudly name the planets and their moons in order from the sun. So being asked to compose the music for THE MOONWALKERS was a dream come true,” said Nikitin. “I wanted to represent the moon in its various guises: sometimes ethereal and magnificent, at other times dark and mysterious. I also paid homage to popular music of the era, from the blues to prog rock. But mostly I wanted to enhance a show that celebrates human achievement and peace and hope for all mankind. The result was an epic and eclectic score featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Bulgarian Choir recorded at Abbey Road Studios. In addition, I got to work with some of my favorite musicians on harmonica, Hammond organ, guitars, drums and electric cello. The score also features the angelic voice of Grace Davidson and the other-worldly vocals of Dessislava Stefanova, each of them portraying the various incarnations of the moon.” The digital album was released by Silva Screen on March 21, 2024; a CD version will be available on October 18, 2024. See SilvaScreen here,
Gil Talmi’s score for HBO’s WILD WILD SPACE is now available. The series, which premiered on HBO and MAX, with additional music by Cassiel McEvoy and Bryan Garbe, focuses on the intense rivalry between Chris Kemp and Peter Beck, two visionary founders of contesting rocket companies. Their mission transcends mere competition; it’s a strategic bid to outdo each other, disrupt Elon Musk’s cosmic dominance, and claim significant shares in the burgeoning space industry. Amidst triumphs and challenges, Kemp and Beck usher in a new era for space exploration in Lower Earth Orbit and beyond. The stakes rise as they race against time to deploy commercial satellites for prestigious clients, including Planet Labs, led by visionary Will Marshall, encapsulating their shared goal — to redefine space, one satellite launch at a time. The soundtrack is now available here.
The Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency has released the upcoming documentary SPACEWOMAN, about pioneering astronaut Eileen Collins who was the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft, to the resume of Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos (WONDER, REMEMBER ME, THE EQUALIZER 3). The film is directed by Hannah Berryman and produced by Keith Havilland, who has many space-themed documentaries in his filmography. Marcelo Zarvos’ other upcoming films include the Vince Vaughn/Lorraine Bracco comedy NONNAS and horror thriller THE FRONT ROOM by Max and Sam Eggers.
WaterTower Music announces the release of CHIMP CRAZY (Soundtrack from the Series) with music by composer Jonathan Sadoff. The HBO® Original four-part documentary series, produced and directed by filmmaker Eric Goode (TIGER KING), debuted August 18 on HBO and is now available to stream on Max. Synopsis: Former nurse-turned-exotic animal broker Tonia Haddix, spends her days caring for animals in captivity. However, her love for one chimpanzee in particular spins into a wild cat-and-mouse game with authorities and an animal rights group. Flashing back to other dramatic stories of chimps living in captivity, CHIMP CRAZY broaches thorny issues around private primate ownership and the folly of imposing human traits onto captive apes who have no agency over where or how they live. On the score, Sadoff shares, “Within minutes of seeing early footage of Chimp Crazy I was struck by this truly unique, unconventional story that was at once absurd but empathetic, heartbreaking but hilarious, terrifying, and captivating. I eagerly accepted the challenge and set out to write a score that could navigate and hold space for these complex, contradictory feelings, moral ambiguities and grey areas the show explores through the eyes of these chimps and the people who love them. The filmmakers and I put a lot of time, effort and thought into the music, and I am thrilled to release this out into the wild.” The album is out on digital platforms now and is also available to pre-order?now on vinyl, courtesy of?Diggers Factory. This is a?limited edition, hand-numbered 12" black vinyl record with printed inner sleeves and gloss-varnished jacket.
Listen to the album track, “Buckshot,” via WaterTower, from CHIMP CRAZY:
Rob Zombie and Waxwork Records’s latest exclusive, curated line of classic never-before-released film horror movie soundtracks, has released the latest of several soundtracks that were personally selected by the singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. Their latest vinyl release is THE LAST MAN ON EARTH Original Motion Picture Score by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter. The classic film is a 1964 post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film based on the 1954 novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Starring Vincent Price, the plot follows Dr. Robert Morgan (Price) who lives in a world where the human population is infected by a plague that has turned them into undead, vampiric creatures that cannot stand sunlight, fear mirrors, and are repelled by garlic. Every day, Morgan follows a routine where he marks days off the calendar and sets out to hunt the vampires, killing as many as he can and then burning the bodies. Previous titles in the collection have included premiere releases of SPIDER BABY, WHITE ZOMBIE, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. THE LAST MAN ON EARTH vinyl edition includes the complete score by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter, available for the first time on vinyl - 2xLP 180 Gram Neon Green Vinyl with Green & Yellow Splatter, exclusive interview by Rob Zombie with Victoria Price, new artwork by Graham Humphreys, deluxe heavyweight gatefold packaging with matte satin coating. See Waxwork for more details.
Wake up, Neo. Varèse Sarabande is thrilled to announce a 25th anniversary edition of Don Davis’ iconic score for THE MATRIX.? Out November 15th and available for pre-order today on LP, CD, and digital formats, THE MATRIX (Original Motion Picture Score) features an expanded 18-song tracklist curated by Davis himself from key tracks previously only available on the complete edition of the score, and brand-new artwork by acclaimed illustrator Yuko Shimizu. In addition to CD and digital, fans can find the album on several exclusive vinyl colorways including “Cyber Swirl Green”, available exclusively on our website, while a “Blue Pill” pressing will be available via Barnes & Noble. International Matrix fans will be treated to a “Red Pill” edition. Each version features brand-new anime-inspired illustrations by artist Shimizu, depicting two of the iconic bullet-time moments from the film. All formats and variants are available to order/pre-save now via the link here!
Varèse Sarabande also announces the first-ever wide vinyl release for Hans Zimmer’s GRAMMY®-nominated score DRIVING MISS DAISY (the music was released on limited LP by Colosseum in Europe at the time of the film’s release, 1989). ?The score, which helped the film win nine Academy Awards, including for Best Picture, was widely celebrated upon release and continues to be a defining work in the pantheon of modern film scores. Zimmer’s versatile, electronic score was pioneering for the time, relying solely on samples and synthesizers to create the film’s sonic palette. It remains a touchstone for composers everywhere. Set for release on November 15th and available to order now, this new vinyl edition features key tracks from Zimmer’s score, alongside songs by Louis Armstrong and Eartha Kitt, and will arrive on two special color pressings. The “Transparent Violet” vinyl will be available on the Varese website and at retailers around North America, while the limited edition “Pink Daisy” variant will be available exclusively through Barnes & Noble. Order here.
Walt Disney Records has released the STAR WARS™ OUTLAWS Original Video Game Soundtrack, featuring a score by composer Wilbert Roget II, available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Songs from the Underworld Original Music from STAR WARS OUTLAWS with music by Cody Matthew Johnson is also highlighted in-game and available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Both albums are the audio companions to STAR WARS OUTLAWS, a galaxy-spanning open-world game from Ubisoft, developed by Massive Entertainment in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. Commenting on the score, composer Roget said, “It has been an incredible privilege to contribute to the STAR WARS franchise through the years, and I’m honored to finally present the score to STAR WARS OUTLAWS! This has been a dream-come-true collaboration with co-composers Jon Everist and Kazuma Jinnouchi, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Nashville Scoring Orchestra, brilliant soloist musicians from around the world, and our world-class recording, production, and orchestration teams. To score this galaxy-spanning adventure, we blended the classic orchestral sound of John Williams’ original STAR WARS trilogy with world instruments, designed sounds, and modern production. And to support the open-world game design, we also developed a fully interactive music system, dynamically rearranging the score in realtime, based on gameplay. My sincerest thanks to the teams at Massive, Ubisoft, Disney and Lucasfilm Games for bringing me on this journey – and I hope you enjoy this new adventure!” Commenting on the songs, composer and music producer Johnson said, “The songs from the underworld are such an integral part of the world-building and perceived culture of STAR WARS OUTLAWS. With the ambition of not just one but many massive worlds to explore came the challenge of building an authentic in-world culture of which music is the backbeat.” Johnson continues, “These songs needed to not only have originality but had to be the beating heart of each planet’s criminal underworld. Creatively they were written as songs the criminals would not only listen to but songs, they might themselves compose and perform, hence Songs from the Underworld.”
STAR WARS OUTLAWS is the first-ever open-world Star Wars game, set between the events of STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI. This immersive, single-player game features Kay Vess, a scoundrel seeking freedom and the means to start a new life, along with her companion Nix. Players will fight, steal, and outwit their way through the galaxy’s crime syndicates and join the galaxy’s most wanted.
Watch the trailer!:
The tenth expansion of WORLD OF WARCRAFT (2005), THE WAR WITHIN launched on August 26 with a massively epic soundtrack courtesy of a new Worldsoul Saga trilogy led by original "Warcraft" designer Chris Metzen. THE WAR WITHIN delves into a new subterranean realm called Khaz Algar within Azeroth. Voice actors include Aaron Phillips, Amy Walker, Andrew Russell, and others; World of Warcraft: Musical talent includes Leo Kaliski, Jake Lefkowitz, Adam Burgess, Neal Acree, Glenn Stafford, David Arkenstone, & Jason Hayes! Here’s a touch of the WAR WITHIN Main Title Music from Adam Burgess, Jason Hayes:
THE OUTLAST TRIALS is a survival horror game played from a first-person perspective. While the game supports four-player cooperative multiplayer, players can complete the game solo. The player must complete set objectives while evading monstrous enemies. A secondary objective can be completed to obtain a bonus to the player’s grade, received at the end of each trial. The game features five distinct “Rigs;” abilities players can select and utilize during the trial. Abilities include seeing items and enemies through walls, healing other players within an area of effect, placing smoke bomb mines to blind enemies, throwing a device to temporarily stun enemies, or placing reinforced barricades on doors to slow down pursuers. The music is by Tom Salta, who puts together an effective score, it’s a sinewy and visceral sounding work, that works its magic creating an even greater tension for the players, the music is released on digital platforms and includes nearly two hours of music which would spread over three discs, thus entitled vols 1-3. “It’s a spine chilling, soundtrack, with some great moments that convey feelings of dread, claustrophobia, desperation, and chaos. – via Jon Mansell/Soundtrack Supplement
35-track soundtrack available from Spotify; Vol. 1-3 soundtrack (54 tracks) available from Amazon
Daniel Pemberton has scored CONCORD, a PVP multiplayer first person shooter set in a new sci-fi universe. Directed by Ryan Ellis and starring Pamala Tyson, Derek Phillips, Derek Mears. See the soundtrack here:
A vinyl release of MONKEY MAN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack offers a score by Jed Kurzel! Monkey Man is a 2024 action-thriller film directed, co-written, and produced by Dev Patel in his directorial debut. Jed Kurzel is an Australian award winning singer-songwriter-guitarist and film composer. His scoring credits include THE BABADOOK, ALIEN: COVENANT, OVERLORD, ASSASSIN'S CREED, and many more. Waxwork Records proudly presents MONKEY MAN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack as a deluxe double LP featuring Blood Red, Black, and Metallic Gold swirled vinyl, new artwork by Sajan Rai, exclusive director and composer liner notes, heavyweight gatefold packaging, and an 11"x11 insert.
Gunzilla Games, the AAA game studio behind the highly anticipated cyberpunk-style battle royale OFF THE GRID, announces Grammy Award winner Lorne Balfe as composer of the OFF THE GRID soundtrack. Lorne joins a highly experienced team of industry professionals working on OFF THE GRID which includes Gunzilla Games’ Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and producer Neill Blomkamp. Lorne’s compositions set the foundation of OFF THE GRID’S rich audio score, including the game’s main theme “Welcome To The Island.” Speaking on his work on OFF THE GRID, Lorne Balfe said, “Working with Neill is always a great adventure and having him in the gaming industry is a great asset to the gamers. He is visionary and constantly wants to push your musical boundaries. Off The Grid offers an experience you can truly get lost in… a next-gen cyberpunk battle royale!” The Off The Grid Original Soundtrack is available now on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms.
Watch the OFF THE GRID trailer:
Lakeshore Records releases SMITE 2 Official Game Soundtrack digitally on August 20 with music by Grammy-winning composer Stephen Barton (STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR). A thundering orchestra augmented with intense vocalizations provide a striking backdrop to the long-awaited game sequel available now via Titan Forge and Hi-Rez Studios. SMITE 2 is the next generation of the beloved third-person action MOBA, SMITE. Built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, the sequel aims to deliver a truly next-gen experience. Newcomers and veterans will discover reimagined Gods, updated audio, VFX refinements, gameplay changes and overhauled Relic and Item systems for deeper strategy and more impactful combat. Smarturl
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ propulsive, hard-hitting original score to Luca Guadagnino’s CHALLENGERS (released digitally on April 24th) is now available to preorder on vinyl from Milan Records. The deluxe gatefold release features vinyl-exclusive extras alongside the 18-track original score – including fan favorites “Challengers: Match Point,” “Yeah 10,” and original end credits song “Compress/Repress”) co-written with director Luca Guadagnini and performed by Trent Reznor and Mariqueen Maandig Reznor. The vinyltrack includes a deluxe gatefold package with a custom interior gatefold collage of on-set photos, black audiophile 180g vinyl, printed inner sleeves, three collectible trading cards featuring Zendaya, Mike Fast, and Josh O’Connor as Tashi, Art, and Patrick, and an exclusive Phil’s Tire Town bumper sticker. The vinyl soundtrack is set to be released on November 1, 2024 and is now available for pre-order here:
Waxwork Records is proud to present BARBARIAN Original Motion Picture Music by Anna Drubich, as a deluxe vinyl album featuring “Mother's Milk & Blood” splatter colored vinyl, heavyweight gatefold jackets with matte satin coating and UV spot-gloss varnish, new artwork by Steven Reeves, and an 11"x11" art print insert! The 2022 film follows a woman finding out that the rental home she has reserved has been accidentally double-booked by a man, not knowing of a dark secret within the dwelling. Anna Drubich is an award-winning film composer from Moscow. Her diverse body of work includes live action features, animated features, television series, documentaries, and plays and concert halls across the world. The Vinyl album is available here.
Randall D. Larson was for many years publisher of CinemaScore: The Film Music Journal, senior editor for Soundtrack Magazine, and a film music columnist for Cinefantastique magazine. A specialist on horror film music, he is the author of Musique Fantastique: 100+ Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music and Music from the House of Hammer. He currently writes essays on film music and sf/horror cinema, and has written liner notes more than 300 soundtrack CD or digital releases. He can be contacted via https://musiquefantastique.com/ or follow Musique Fantastique on Facebook. Follow Randall on Twitter at https://twitter.com/randalldlarson and https://twitter.com/MusiqueFantast1
