THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Over the years, I have met many people who have taken the pains to make cassette dubs of the "Stalker" soundtrack straight from the video. No longer necessary. Dark and heavy orchestrations and vibrations resonating from the claustrophobic cloak of the cold, cold iron curtain. And one folk dance. Very highly recommended. And if you have seen (heard) "Solaris" lately, you know how beautiful and mysterious it is too. Japanese imports, hence the price (nice packaging though.) "Ivanovo" is a little cheaper because it's a little shorter.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Over the years, I have met many people who have taken the pains to make cassette dubs of the "Stalker" soundtrack straight from the video. No longer necessary. Dark and heavy orchestrations and vibrations resonating from the claustrophobic cloak of the cold, cold iron curtain. And one folk dance. Very highly recommended. And if you have seen (heard) "Solaris" lately, you know how beautiful and mysterious it is too. Japanese imports, hence the price (nice packaging though.) "Ivanovo" is a little cheaper because it's a little shorter.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Over the years, I have met many people who have taken the pains to make coldhave seen (heard) "Solaris" lately, you know how beautiful and mysterious it is too. Japanese imports, hence the price (nice packaging though.) "Ivanovo" is a little cheaper because it's a little shorter.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Over the years, I have met many people who have taken the pains to make cassette dubs of the "Stalker" soundtrack straight from the video. No longer necessary. Dark and heavy orchestrations and vibrations resonating from the claustrophobic cloak of the cold, cold iron curtain. And one folk dance. Very highly recommended. And if you have seen (heard) "Solaris" lately, you know how beautiful and mysterious it is too. Japanese imports, hence the price (nice packaging though.) "Ivanovo" is a little cheaper because it's a little shorter.
When I (Andee) visited Finland a couple years ago, I was picked up at the airport by Circle frontman Jussi and former Circle drummer Peltsi. I was hustled into the car and we sped off. Jussi apparently had a surprise for me. Two hours later, with me jetlagged and barely awake, we pulled up to the local community center, where Circle and most of the bands in their town practice, and where they just happen to have a theatre. My surprise was the opening night performance of Circle / Kuusumun Profeetta vocalist Mika Ratto's new play Le Grande Anaale (The Giant Ass), the tale of a man who builds a giant ass, through which all sorts of demons escape into the city. The townsfolk are so mad, that they build a giant cock, place the builder of the ass in the cock and stuff the cock in the giant ass, keeping the demons safely in the ass. Phew. Wow. Hard to say how good it was, as I had just spent 10 hours on a plane, and then 2 hours in a car. But boy was it weird. A HUGE paper mache ass, with cheeks that slid apart like a sliding glass door, all red and evil and lit up from inside, and then a giant paper mache phallus made from what appeared to be a wheelbarrel! And basically everyone I knew in Finland was in the play in fake beards and powdered wigs, wearing wings or false noses, fake moustaches and bizarre costumes. Those who weren't in the play, supplied the music, which was quite cool. Dark and percussive, dramatic and spooky, occasionally goofy and jaunty. So now, a couple years later, we ALL can at least experience the sounds of Le Grande Anaale if not the sights. Omnious and macabre one moment, cacophonous and crazed the next...overall very atmospheric and striking. A good "what the heck are you listening to?" album that unexpecting listeners (your partner, housemates) might end up liking. Imagine a sinister Carl Stalling making music for a cult religious ceremony, or Goblin meets J.A. Caesar in a madhouse. Haunting strings drone, wind howls, bells chime, excited actors declaim in incantory voices. Probably a good thing that it's all in Finnish, too! English speakers will never guess its all about a giant ass. Key players here include not only the Circle singer Mika Ratto, but also two members of Magyar Posse. Presented in the usual lovely Fonal non-jewel case cd packaging.
After watching this movie starring Charles Bronson and Lee Remick, you'll never think of Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening" in the same way. Putting a new twist on a plot device borrowed from the Manchurian Candidate, Telefon (1977) is a unique take on the Cold War spy thriller. Donald Pleasance, playing a mad Russian spy, recites the last stanza of Frost's poem ("The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep.") via telephone as a hypnotic trigger to wake up long dormant sleeper agents embedded in the US to commit violent suicidal sabotage. Charles Bronson is the KGB agent sent to intercept him before all the Telefon agents are activated, sparking the next World War, and Remick is the double agent who loves him but is ordered to betray him once the mission is complete. Don Siegel (Charley Varrick, Dirty Harry, The Beguiled) directs this with enough sharp hard-boiled pulpiness to make it a great b-movie thriller, as we used to see it get played a lot on independent television in the seventies (Those were the days!). Its far-fetched plot, spoofed in the Naked Gun movies, was believable enough for aQ-staffer Scott to fear telephonic hypnosis for a brief time when he was very young.
Lalo Schifrin's brooding score makes great use of the cimbalom, a Hungarian dulcimer used in a lot of Eastern European folk music, and other harp and string based instruments as a means to convey a pensive uncanny dread. Matching the harboring terror lurking beneath seemingly normal American citizens, the music at first exudes a dreamy facade that quickly becomes tense and hair-raising. Since this is one of the first American movies to have a KGB agent protagonist, the music also borrows from Eastern European musical idioms for the more sensitive character based plot lines.
Added onto this release is Leonard Rosenbaum's score for Hide In Plain Sight, the 1980 directorial debut of James Caan. Caan also stars in this film about a man searching to reunite with his kids after his ex-wife and new husband enter a witness protection program. Rosenbaum's score is typical of most Hollywood thrillers of the time, but it is short with only a few cues and a couple of longer pieces that probably wouldn't warrant its own release. Like with all Film Score Monthly releases, the booklet is chock full of information about both film's history and cultural context and the score's particular cinematic power in exemplifying each scene. Hypnotic!
Another awesome new release from UK vinyl horror movie soundtrack reissue label Death Waltz, the soundtrack to 2011's The Devil's Business, which we have yet to see, but the trailer looks pretty incredible. While Death Waltz does generally tend to focus on vintage horror soundtracks, this is not their first foray into modern soundtracks, having recently also released the Let The Right One In.
The man behind the music for the The Devil's Business is Justin Greaves, who many aQ-ers should know as a member ofof sludgelords Iron Monkey, as well as the mainman in atmospheric post rock brooders Crippled Black Phoenix, which makes sense, as the music here is not that far removed from Crippled Black Phoenix. The excellently titled opener "My Enemies I Fear Not, But Protect Me From My Friends", perfectly lays out the sonic template sounding like a haunting, brooding, slow burn post rock, loping and doomy, soaring and darkly majestic, the vocals though a deep croon, the sort of voice to imagine singing old hymns in Latin, which perfectly fits the vibe. There's some Morricone-ish twang too, and swirling strings, tense and moody, building to a seriously intense climax, before slipping back into a droney brood.
And the thing is, unlike a lot of scores and soundtracks, only a handful of these tracks are cues, most are proper songs, hard to say if the whole songs are used in the movie or just parts, but those tracks are pretty great, droney, and dark, psychedelic and smoldering, super atmospheric and cinematic (obviously), laced with synths and strings, buzzing guitars, plodding rhythms, a few tracks have a gypsy vibe to them, sounding almost circusy, others are slow, creepy doom folk drifts, occasionally laced with operatic vocals, or field recordings, but just as often, allowed to creep ominously, and some songs full on rock sounding like Godspeed or Explosions In The Sky or yeah, Crippled Black Phoenix.
A few tracks get reprised at the end of the record, one song is revisited, only spookier (the 'spooky version'), another is an alternate version that recasts the original as sounding more like Goblin or John Carpenter, and one of the shorter jams gets fleshed out as a huge, majestic post rock blow out. The shorter cues are pretty great too, from ghostly high end ambient shimmer, to woozy, sinister synthscapery.
As with all Death Waltz, the packaging is super swank, the lp has a killer spot varnished cover, with new art, that makes the movie seem like it could be from the seventies, a huge poster inside as well as liner notes from Greaves. So cool!!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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German musician and composer Peter Thomas is revered the world over, with bands like Stereolab, Coldcut, St Etienne, Tipsy, and Momus covering his songs and singin' his praises. This disc actually issues some *previously unreleased* music he wrote for '60s crime thrillers. Thomas' range is wide, from film noir jazz to smoky swingin' lounge to intense music for what must have been car chase sequences. Perfect for your next cocktail party.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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With reissues of Peter Thomas' bombastic scores for 60's German sci-fi movies and tv shows appearing almost once a month, a remix album would certainly not be far behind... and here it is! Stereolab, High Llamas, Coldcut, John McEntire (Tortoise), St. Etienne, Mr. Scruff, Stock Hausen & Walkman, Tipsy, Momus, Dauerfisch, Yoshinori Sunahara, Mina, Brezel Goering, The Sons of Silence, Schneider TM, and Ronnie & Clyde all take their turns at mutating Thomas' scores. But that's just disc one... Disc two documents the sounds of Peter Thomas himself.
Finally here! We have been waitin' for this reissue to arrive for eons (well, at least Cup has!), and it's so well worth the wait. This is the original soundtrack to George Lucas' 1971 feature length debut THX-1138, a chilling, near-future dystopic cult fave shot right here in SF. Although Lucas decided to handle this film's restoration for the dvd release in much the same unfortunate way that he did for Star Wars - namely, by adding numerous quite significant (often intrusive and questionably necessary) CGI 'enhancements' and revisions - Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack has aged quite gracefully, and this release even includes some numbers he composed for the film that did not make the final cut. We love Schifrin's work, and this is no exception. It is considerably different from his many other sountracks (Bullitt, Dirty Harry, Enter The Dragon), but then again this film is considerably different. Imaginative, haunting and incredibly effective, his score perfectly complements Walter Murch's innovative ahead-of-the-curve sound design (it would be great to have a cd of that!), and together they play a vital role in each scene and in the film's overall impact. Starkly contrasted with the film's predominantly icily sterile visuals, it's an ever-shifting aural kaleidoscope of grand symphonic strings, menacing drones, blats of brass, imposing choral assemblies, bursts of Latin jazz, early synthesizers and electronic explorations, solitary woodwinds, percussive African rhythms, and avant garde sound collage... topped with a deliriously giddy "Be Happy" sing-song jingle cherry on top. Richly atmospheric, melodious and dissonant, and deceptively unsettling. Highly recommended... and not just for film score buffs! Limited pressing of 3000, but it has been out for a while, so get it while you can!
Last list we highlighted two somewhat unusual "surf music" reissues, by Farm and Peter Martin & Finch, both brought to us by our favorite Japanese reissue label, EM Records, as part of their Summer 2007 "EM Under Water Series"! Those were quite cool, and now we've got the remaining three discs in the series, all of 'em (like those first two) soundtracks to several now-legendary surfing movies from back in the sixties/seventies. With the exception of Farm (from the USA) all the bands in EM's series are Australian, and in all cases the movies they were doing soundtracks for were Australian productions and/or featured Australian surfers. And as before, this isn't your typical SoCal Jan & Dean, Beach Boys style surf music... it's *psychedelic* surf music. Well 2 out of 3 of these anyway (the Tim Gaze Band album being more of a yacht rock outing).
Whoa. Or, "whoa-whoa". 'Cause that's what they're singing. Sunshiney '70s soft rock mellowness abounds here, disco-era goodtimes on a sandy beach Down Under. Surfer-musician Tim Gaze (the guitarist on Tamam Shud's second album, who also played with proggers Kahvas Jute) and his Band recorded this music in 1979 as the soundtrack to a surfing film entitled Band On The Run (nothing to do with Wings by the way). The original soundtrack LP was only released in a limited promotional run in 1982, and also featured several songs by J.J. Cale as well as the eight cuts by the Tim Gaze Band found here on this cd reissue. Such vocal tracks as "Lazy Day Fever", "Brothers And Sisters" and "Beautiful Lady" are full of melodic lushness, some rockin' with a smile, others more laidback and gentle. There's also some more jazzy, "soundtracky" instrumentals, our favorite being the spacey, organ-jammy "Bermuda". All of it conjures up images of sunsets and bikinis -- even if you weren't looking at the movie-poster album cover painting. Kitschy, yes, quite, but hey "yacht rock" is the new big thing isn't it?? This pretty yacht-y.
Includes liner notes both from Aussie "surf music historian" Stephen J. McParland and also Tim Gaze himself, along with lyrics and lots of vintage photos and graphics. Ok, this is probably the weakest entry in the EM Under Water Series as far as our tastes are concerned, but if you get into the spirit of the thing you'll want it, also to complete the collection -- and did we mention "yacht rock"?
Whenever we think about what massively obsessive record nerds we are, we think of the guys who run Trunk Records in the UK (Dawn Of The Dead, multiple Basil Kirchin releases, Desmond Leslie, Psychomania) and we feel just a little bit better. These guys are nuts. But oh how grateful we are for whatever imbalance cause them to obsessively hunt down insanely obscure soundtracks and mysterious long lost recordings. The latest is this disc or rare and previously unreleased incidental music from the UK television show the Tomorrow People. Don't know too much about it, other than the fact that the Tomorrow People are teenagers who can communicate to each other using telepathy and who can transport themselves through time and space. Oh, and they have a talking computer called Tim. Who better to supply the appropriate theme music and musical cues than the BBC Radiophonic Workshop! Several of the Workshop's legends are here strangely performing under pseudonyms, Li De La Russe is none other than Delia Derbyshire and Nikki St. George is in fact Brian Hodgson. Along with Australian Dudley Simpson and American David Vorhaus (Vorhaus, Derbyshire and Hodgson also recorded as White Noise!) created a haunting and psychedelic world of electronic sound and creepy freaked out ambience. There are lots of Dr. Who-isms which makes sense as these are the same folks responsible for that music as well. "The Tomorrow People Theme" is the only proper 'song' here, a jaunty slab of groovy sixties James Bond soundtrack music replete with all manner of unlikely instruments, synths and theremins, tribal drums and all sorts of electronic bloops and bleeps. A killer melody quite a bit reminiscent of the Dr. Who Theme! The rest of the record is a series of musical cues and background music, and as such is more about sound, and texture and atmosphere, but it's all completely weird and wonderful. Plenty of shimmering synthesizer drone, rumbling percussion, creepy crawly ambience, spaced out bleeps and bloops, analog synth weirdness, primitive drum machines, and lots and lots of bizarre sounds and mysterious sonic textures. This stuff is so amazing! We're dying to see the show now (available on DVD from Amazon UK) but for now this disc will for sure tickle your lost soundtrack / strange sound fancy in very much the same way the Psychomania soundtrack or the Desmond Leslie did, both of which are fantastic and still available!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Vinyl soundtrack reissue from a Bruce Lee movie we had never heard of. Must have been a later one, judging from the soundtrack; a cheesy mix of funky jazz fusion and 70's sitcom theme music, with lots of piano and slap bass. Makes us really want to see Tower of Death and see Bruce Lee trying to fight to this stuff!
We've been on a bit of a soundtrack kick here at aQ recently, listing Child's Play and White Dog last time, The Lion In Winter before that, etc. As we've learned, you don't have to have seen a movie to enjoy the soundtrack, in fact, you don't even have to have ever heard of the movie or care if it got thumbs up from the critics or not. Which brings us to to this list's soundtrack selection, a disc featuring scores to two recent indie thriller/horror films we're unfamiliar with by director Ti West, composed by Jeff Grace - whom we hadn't previously heard of either, though upon further research he gets some cred in aQ-land 'cause the Blackest Rainbow label apparently released a 10" of another of his soundtracks, we'll have to look for that now.
Anyone into classic fright flick soundtracks, particularly the stuff Death Waltz has lately been reissuing on vinyl, ought to check this out. The first score, for a film called Trigger Man, is a moody, unsettling creep out, understated and atmospheric, the tracks unified by the composer's brilliant decision to utilize pretty much ONLY solo cello and echo-effects (and some percussion). The suspensefully echoing pulsations of the droning, sawing strings can be strangely lovely and captivating, while clearly leading to, eventually (in the movie) Something Bad Happening. Which, on the soundtrack, remains "off screen", so this is an enjoyable, abstract avant-classical inflected piece of music, suitable for late-night listening, which weirdly reminds us a bit of some of free jazz saxophonist Evan Parker's electronically processed collaborations with Lawrence Casserley, to bring up an obscure and oblique reference. There's plenty of calm yet ominous twilight moments, giving way to more agitated string-scrabble and rhythmically propulsive drives into heart-pounding terror. These eight tracks of this kind-of "chamber-dub" are fantastic enough, but wait, there's more - included here also is Grace's soundtrack to another film, The Roost, another twelve tracks done in explicit homage to the most classic style of B-grade Hollywood horror film soundtracks of decades past, starting off with plenty of spooky oooky theremin and much morbid organ chording in the old school, Carnival Of Souls style! So good. A very well done pastiche, with tremulous strings, urgent orchestral buildups into frenzied crescendos, heartbeat percussion, and eerie drones suddenly silenced, always sounding like some crazy killer with a knife is about to step into the shower with you!! While it starts out deliberately hokey, pretty soon The Roost's score will get under your goosebumped skin and become rather intensely scary indeed, demonstrating why the type of music being so effectively emulated here was used for vintage horror films in the first place. In fact, the string quartet music of The Roost ends up almost in an avant-garde, Zornified territory (of terror) by the end. Now we want to see both Ti West movies to see if they live up to these excellent soundtracks!
So glad we discovered this, and at a bargain price too by the way - we only have a few, not too sure if we can get many more or not.
Last list we highlighted two somewhat unusual "surf music" reissues, by Farm and Peter Martin & Finch, both brought to us by our favorite Japanese reissue label, EM Records, as part of their Summer 2007 "EM Under Water Series"! Those were quite cool, and now we've got the remaining three discs in the series, all of 'em (like those first two) soundtracks to several now-legendary surfing movies from back in the sixties/seventies. With the exception of Farm (from the USA) all the bands in EM's series are Australian, and in all cases the movies they were doing soundtracks for were Australian productions and/or featured Australian surfers. And as before, this isn't your typical SoCal Jan & Dean, Beach Boys style surf music... it's *psychedelic* surf music. Well 2 out of 3 of these anyway (the Tim Gaze Band album being more of a yacht rock outing).
Tully were apparently a pretty successful sixties rock act in their native Australia, despite playing total "head" music, not anything you could boogie to. They were popular enough to do a TV show, and even played with the Sydney Orchestra! They came from the same "alternative surf" scene as Tamam Shud, and were just as musically progressive, having the freedom to develop their material while touring as the backing band for an Australian production of "Hair", getting into poncho-garbed spirituality and electronic experiments (being the first band Down Under to possess a Moog). Somewhere along the way they merged membership with acid folk outfit Extradition, before recording their very freeform second album, this one, the 1971 soundtrack to Sea Of Joy, a surf movie directed by Paul Witzig (same guy who shot Evolution, for which Tamam Shud did the soundtrack).
Angelic female vocals, gentle organ grooves, hippie folk blissfulness, mellow instrumental textures -- it's truly glorious, lovely stuff. Quite exploratory too, with a freeform, organic feel. Tully's Sea Of Joy can be sunshiney (quite literally, on songs like "I Feel The Sun" and "Brother Sun") one moment, almost spooky the next (on such sinisterly electronics-laden tracks as "Follow Me" and "Down To The Sea"). And their interest in Eastern Indian mysticism comes through on the raga-like "Syndrone", for instance. EM says this moody, mesmeric album is the one in the series that's been selling best for them, and we're not surprised.
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo wrote and performed this soundtrack to an Ethan Hawke-directed film about the Chelsea Hotel in NYC. It's mostly echoey, moody soundtrack fare, peppered with twangy numbers performed with some of the members of Wilco and/or
Listed this on vinyl last time, turns out Death Waltz has also done cd folks a favor and released on on that format as well! (Wish they'd do that for all their soundtracks). Here's what we said about the lp version:
It's hard not to get a bit obsessed with perfectly curated labels, and few do it as well as UK horror soundtrack reissue label Death Waltz - every release stunningly packaged, with super interesting liner notes, amazing new artwork from incredible artists, and the soundtracks themselves, running the gamut from must haves like all the classic Carpenter soundtracks (They Live, Halloween III, Escape From New York), to super obscurities (Living Dead At Manchester Morgue) to modern soundtracks (The Devil's Business, Let The Right One In). We find ourselves anxiously awaiting every new Death Waltz release, whether we've seen the movie or not, heck, whether we've even heard of the movie at all. We have actually heard of Twins Of Evil, from 1971, set in nineteenth century Europe and starring Peter Cushing as a witch/vampire hunter, who is tasked with caring for orphaned twin girls, who may or may not be EVIL! A classic Hammer Horror for sure, produced right when the age restriction for British films was relaxed a bit, which means like many movies of the time, Twins Of Evil is more violent and sexually explicit than many Hammer films. We have yet to see the movie, but the stills look pretty amazing, Cushing as the dapper, troubled witchhunter, a gaggle of scantily clad, nubile vampire witches, what's not to like!
The music itself was recorded by Harry Robinson, who had written songs for the Eurovision song contest, the Children's Film Foundation and even Nick Drake! He had some pop chart hits, but for Twins Of Evil, not his only Hammer horror score incidentally, he looked to the spaghetti westerns for inspiration, and it's easy to hear in Robinson's compositions, with some of the tracks sounding like they could have been plucked from some obscure Morricone score (sans twang and whistling of course), the score is bombastic and dramatic, swirling strings, martial snares, booming timpani's, those strings are sawed ominously and almost violently in places, leading to stretches of the soundtrack that dip into a sound more traditionally sinister, with more obvious horror score moments, ominous drones, tense minor key strings, a good balance for the more orchestral movements. Again, it's hard to say how the score matches up to the visuals, but on their own, it's pretty fantastic.
This latest release from unclassifiable Norwegian electronica experimentalists Ulver (y'know, the not-a-black-metal-band-anymore-so-don't-even-ask Ulver) is a soundtrack to some sort of arty werewolf film (we think, check out the trailer at http://www.lyckantropen.com/trailer.php) by Swedish director Steve Ericsson. Following on in the style of their recent, quite nice "improv-glitch" eps (collected on the Teachings In Silence cd reviewed last list), Ulver's music for Ericsson's film is suitably dark and moody -- and glitchily melodic. Loops and crackle and synth drones, almost entirely instrumental, in a very "modern" electronic vein -- not a bit like Ulver's previous werewolf-themed albums (Nattens Madrigal for instance)! You'll hear no distorted metallic Darkthrone worship here (although things get a little frantic on the disc's tenth and final track). This is informed more by the likes of Tarwater and Autechre and downtempo electronica, and they do it well. Scoring soundtracks may indeed be Ulver's new true calling, though we'd still love it if they'd surprise us again in the future with yet another new direction. As good as this is, they've yet to really be as original or unique in their adopted/adapted "electronica" guise as they were in the realm of black metal.
We're still waiting on the upcoming string quartet version of Ulver's black metal masterpiece Nattens Madrigal, but in the meantime they've released something else new, another soundtrack effort (their second, after last year's Lyckantropen Themes). As with that album, Ulver are in their current manifestation as a dark, avant-electronica act, their Nordic metal past a mere shadow cast over the proceedings. With eerie, tinkling piano and far-off, distant screams, Ulver create sonic echoes of crimes that we'll assume appear on celluloid in Svidd Neger. Melancholic horns and downtempo beats make this a creepy yet club-contemporary sounding listen. And after you're lulled into thinking it's all gonna be quiet and mellow, wham some ominous heavy chords come crashing down, Mogwai-style. Mostly though, this is quiet and creepy, and menacingly melodic.
Doubtless many movie (and music) buffs would agree that Italian '70s and '80s "giallo" (horror/thriller) cinema, from directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, had soundtracks usually as evocative and inspirational as any visual aspect of the films, soundtracks which often stand as effective works of art all on their own. The scores by prog band Goblin being perhaps best known, influencing such modern day bands as Zombi and Crime In Choir. Now here's another, utterly blatant and most excellent example of Italian giallo soundtrack worship by a current artist: Umberto!
Umberto is actually a one-man band, that man being Matt Hill, live collaborator / touring member of AQ faves Expo '70! Under his guise of Umberto, he has just released his first album as limited edition cassette and cd-r on the Sonic Mediations label run by Expo '70 mainman Justin Wright. While Expo '70 has proven to be especially adept at channelling the heavy kosmiche bliss of prime '70s krautrock a la Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, Umberto is equally savvy at conjuring the dark, suspenseful soundtrack-y sounds of Goblin and the like. With, some cosmic Klaus-y krauty-ness thrown in as well. This definitely sounds like it could be an actual soundtrack, in fact, someone should MAKE a film just to use this as a soundtrack. You can certainly do so in your imagination, aided perhaps by the cinematically suggestive track titles, which include "Running Blade", "Intermission", "Dream Sequence", "Shower Scene", and "End Credits" (the only track here with vocals, otherwise it's all instrumental... and the vocals on this last track are some sort of hard-to understand, chant-like invocation). Listen with the lights off for best results.
Umberto has a heavily synthesized sound, keyboards buzzing and droning and squelching, crunchily distorted or eerily ethereal, sounding at once like ominous Gothic organ music and also spacey futuristic electronica. Mechanical drumming plods along, propulsive beats adding to the menacing atmosphere. There's also plenty of fat disco synth-bass, and we bet folks into Italians Do It Better 12"s, or Black Devil Disco Club, or even skweee would get a kick out of this too, not just Goblin fanatics... but yeah Goblin fanatics (and John Carpenter and Zombi fans too) REALLY ought to check this out! Very cool, very creepy, and even at times kinda catchy-groovy.
The music of Piero Umilani was always the breeziest and most fun-loving of the Italian soundtrack composers. What more proof do you need than the opening track of this collection, a song made famous by the Muppets, "Mah Na Mah Na". But if you've never heard the rich intonation of the male lead vocalist in the original, you really owe yourself a listen. Furthermore, the fact that the song originally came from a soundtrack for a film called Sweden, Heaven and Hell, just adds to Umilani's zany mystique. This collection of sixties and seventies soundtracks is a good start for those who missed out on the now out of print Easy Tempo reissues from the late nineties. There's plenty of whimsical guitar leads, snaking through festive and enchanting xylophones, trumpets, and all manner of eccentric auxiliary percussion one would associate with the decadence and elegance of '60s and '70s era film. When not baroquely festive, Umiliani assuredly works his way through darker moods with trembling string sections, haunting vocals, and lilting guitar lines. And of course, naturally, for good measure, there is some fucking brilliant whistling, which always makes EVERYTHING better, whether it be a compilation of forgotten soundtrack music, or a stroll home from work. It may not be THE definitive collection for Umilani enthusiasts but it has plenty of Italian cinematic soundtrack gems, from spy themes and Spaghetti Westerns to pensive romance and of course, sunny femme-vocalised pop. Anyone looking to brush up Umiliani, or Italian soundtracks in general will cover some important territory with this one.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Here's the weird Italian label Black Widow's massive double cd tribute to horror cinema (Italian and otherwise) featuring an international array of psych/prog acts: Ars Nova, Claudio Simonetti of Goblin, Humus, Northwinds, the Bevis Frond, Nekropolis, Morte Macabre, Tenebre, Malombra, Standarte, Sundial, and many many more. Some bands cover movie themes, others write songs *about* favorite films... An eerie and atmospheric homage to the likes of The Omen, Psychomania, Suspiria, The Devils, The Exorcist, etc. AND, to really make the mouth water, this comes with an really nice 80 page softcover book with essays about the horror movie genre (directors, films) and details on each band's contribution. It's an Italian import, and we don't have many...
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SORRY.
I don't know if I have ever heard a bad Trojan compilation. Classic ska, rocksteady, and reggae versions of the theme from "Shaft", "Moon River," "The Magnificent Seven," "Summertime," "From Russia with Love," and more.
For those of you out there who somehow "missed punk rock" the first time around (it was pretty cool sez the old guys...) here's a pretty decent companion / compilation / soundtrack to the Steven Blush book-turned film recently released by Sony Pictures. We've yet to see it, but it looks amazing. How could it not be? Interviews with tons of hardcore legends as well as tons of insane and rare live footage.
This is the perfect 'mix-tape' of classic tracks from movie and the golden age of punk rock: Black Flag, Flipper, Bad Brains, Negative Approach, Void, etc.
Makes a great gift for all those young-uns whose punk pedigree doesn't stretch much father back than Good Charlotte or My Chemical Romance. Wouldn't be a Warped tour without these guys and all their blood, sweat and beers...
Anyone for some "mosh" potatoes with your turkey while you skank around the 'ol X-mas tree anyone?
(All blame for that last line goes to mailorder-underling Jason. He has been punished.)
For those who devoured the first delightful volume of Barry 7's Connectors: Rare Italian Library Tracks, here's an entire second volume! A cornucopia of sonic frolics very much in the same spirit as Luke Vibert's Nuggets and many of the Crippled Dick Hot Wax compilations. Unfamiliar with any of those? Well then, strap on your seatbelt 'cause you're in for a treat! Over the top Euro kitsch, melodrama and campiness! So perfect if you're on the lookout for a diverse array of rather flamboyant theatrical music 'cause these tracks - originally catalogued for '60s and '70s television and radio production backing use - are overflowing with bontempi-esque organs, analog synthesizers, choral singers, and flutes! And four of them come from a gent named Ennio Morricone (very much of the delirously wonderful Danger Diabolik period). Curious who this Mr. Barry 7 is who wants you to hear the unheard music? Why, he's one third of that analog synth jammin' UK group Add N To (X) who clearly have drawn much inspiration from these works. Splendid!
For those who devoured the first delightful volume of Barry 7's Connectors: Rare Italian Library Tracks, here's an entire second volume! A cornucopia of sonic frolics very much in the same spirit as Luke Vibert's Nuggets and many of the Crippled Dick Hot Wax compilations. Unfamiliar with any of those? Well then, strap on your seatbelt 'cause you're in for a treat! Over the top Euro kitsch, melodrama and campiness! So perfect if you're on the lookout for a diverse array of rather flamboyant theatrical music 'cause these tracks - originally catalogued for '60s and '70s television and radio production backing use - are overflowing with bontempi-esque organs, analog synthesizers, choral singers, and flutes! And four of them come from a gent named Ennio Morricone (very much of the delirously wonderful Danger Diabolik period). Curious who this Mr. Barry 7 is who wants you to hear the unheard music? Why, he's one third of that analog synth jammin' UK group Add N To (X) who clearly have drawn much inspiration from these works. Splendid!
16 tracks from the soundtracks to the various Shaft movies, some material otherwise not easily available on cd. Isaac Hayes (with his classic theme of course), The Four Tops, Bernard Purdie & Johnny Pate all contribute.
Of the increasing volume of electronic music compilations that continue to flood the markets, the two "Bip Hop" compilations hold the unique distinction of being more than a document of who's hot and who's not in electronica. Instead of cramming 20 tracks into 72 minutes of space, "Bip Hop Generation 2" only features 6 artists -- Bernhard Fleischmann, Arovane, Warmdesk, Kohn, Wang Inc, and Laurent Pernice -- who are each given much longer amounts of time to showcase their wears, often with several smaller contributions which allows the artist to stretch out a bit and flex some musical muscle.
Fleischmann, Pernice, and Warmdesk generate off-kilter techno similar to early Aphex Twin and Plaid, while Arovane continues down the Boards Of Canada path of moody melody. Wang Inc and Kohn offer a handful of wistful and melodic analogue sketches.
Even for those of us who think there should be a moratorium on electronica compilations, this is worth checking out!
The last volume of De Wolfe Library grooves we had went out of print pretty fast, so don't hesitate on this one if you are so inclined. This is actually not the sequel to Jason Willet's DJ-curated Music De Wolfe Vol. 1 we listed a couple of years ago, but the sequel to a comp we didn't carry called Bite Hard, now sadly gone. Only two of the songs on Music De Wolfe vol. 1 appear here. The De Wolfe Studio (aka Music De Wolfe Sound Library) began in 1909 as a studio for music to accompany silent films, but it's heyday was in the seventies as the go-to studio for killer crime funk. Spy chases, criminal action films and tense moody thrillers were De Wolfe's specialty and have since been key source material for many hip-hop samples from Kool G. Rap, High & Mighty and Cam'ron. Compiled by Joel Martin, the record nut behind the Dawn of the Dead unreleased soundtrack music (all of those cues too were from the De Wolfe library) and Warren De Wolfe, this is the first compilation to be released directly from the De Wolfe studio. Let's hope there's plenty more!
We were already sold on this before we even heard it, just based on the title alone, and likely you are too! And having heard it, we're all the more into it. This latest Finders Keepers/B-Music release is not just another Bollywood - or even Lollywood, or Kollywood - compilation, not that there would be anything wrong with that. Their recent Pakistani picture house collection Life Is Dance is still in heavy rotation 'round these parts, as are others of its ilk. But Bollywood Bloodbath is even better, thanks to its specific, scary theme. Cooler 'cause these songs, as you may have guessed, are all taken from the soundtracks to Hindi horror movies! Ghost stories, killer thrillers, zombiethons, that sort of thing... but unlike American slasher flicks and Italian giallo from the same period (the '70s mostly, though this disc ranges as far back as 1949, and up to the '80s), these Indian fright films are, of course, like other Bollywood productions, elaborate musicals. So the bloodbath sounds like it's taking place at the discotheque!! It's a perfect mix of the over-the-top pop groove-a-delica of the best vintage Bollywood stuff, infused with the even weirder, wilder, and wiggier sounds demanded by the horror movie genre, like shocking screams, stabbing cacophonous chords, and impassioned female vocals pleading for mercy.
Yep, it's pretty brilliant the way this collection combines two of our favorite soundtrack genres into one. Gotta give it up to compiler Andy Votel and his diligent research (involving hours and hours of viewing cheap old VHS tapes found at the Indian grocery store, no doubt), as he's dug up a delightful 'best of' from a hybrid cinematic genre we've yet to explore ourselves. And even if these songs were sourced from Z-grade movies, there's for sure some top talent involved on soundtrack side of things, including even the legendary RD Burman.
Although there's a modicum of ominous, atmospheric creepiness to be found in most of these cuts, moments that are mystical and mysterious, truth be told it's not all that frightening, as the spookiest stuff always gives way to urgent uptempo beats and zipp-zapping "seance fiction" synths, lively rock/disco orchestration and spirited singing, i.e. typical Bollywood bombast! If anything, rather than, say, John Carpenter or Goblin (our usual go-to's for suspense/horror soundtracks), some of what's here reminds us more of stuff from far out Spaghetti Westerns.
Since we're making this Record Of The Week, we should pause to state that if you're not already into Bollywood soundtracks, you need to check 'em out! And this, despite its specific slant, would certainly give you a good idea of what you've been missing - total WTF kitchen sink psychedelic percussive song-and-dance Eastern-inflected rock opera funked up madness.
22 tracks, 78+ minutes. Complete with cd booklet of copious, obsessive, expert liner notes from Votel. And lots of cool creepy colorful graphics of course. (In addition to this domestic cd release, there's also import vinyl available, but we're pretty much out, hoping to have some more from overseas next month, FYI.)
Indian film music is some of the craziest, catchiest, downright smile-inducing stuff you're ever going to hear. In recent years we've stocked a number of compilations, some better than others: the not-so-great "Bombay the Hard Way", the pretty great two volumes of "Doob Doob O'Rama", and our all-time favorite "Dance Raja Dance".
And now there's this one, another instant fave a la "Dance" and "Doob". Compiled by the same label which released the acclaimed "Untouchable Outcaste Beats" East-meets-West electronica compilation, "Bollywood Funk" is an excellent collection of Bollywood tracks which received no additional production or remixes. While the similar "Dance Raja Dance" album (again: highly recommended, we always carry it) perfectly encapsulates the late '70s / early '80s film music of India, this compilation goes back to the '60s and early '70s for a more psychedelic and groovier sound. Perfectly weird, often kick ass Indian film music. Highly recommended.
Just from the title alone, we knew that this latest installment in the always-amazing Sublime Frequencies series of unusual and under-documented "world music" recordings was gonna be the bomb! Indeed it is. The 'exotic' and infectious verve of vintage Bollywood film soundtrack music, performed with electric steel guitar as lead instrument for extra awesomeness, is hard to beat! The steel guitar, bringing with it the groovy twang of Western Swing and Hawaiian fret-sliding flavor, as well as a measure of classical Indian music, easily effects an emotive echo of the human voice that ordinarily fronts Bollywood themes. Compiler Stuart Ellis' informative liner notes describe these instrumental pop versions of Hindi film hits as the "elevator music of India" and if that's the case, we'd definitely rather be stuck in an elevator in Mumbai than anywhere else. There's 21 rare tracks by a half dozen masterful Bollywood steel string slingers: Van Shipley, Kazi Aniruddha, S. Hazarasingh, Sunil Ganguly, Charanjit Singh, and Guatam Dasgupta, recorded between 1962 and 1986.
A completely captivating collection, already one of our favorites among the many great Sublime Frequencies releases. And probably it should be no surprise that, for example, Van Shipley's "Jan Pahechan Ho" from the 1966 film Gunaam immediately gives us Sun City Girls flashbacks...
In terms of hip International music trends here in the States, the Bollywood music craze seems to have recently died down in favor of the sounds of Ethiopia (thanks in part to its inclusion on major motion picture soundtracks such as Broken Flowers). Our love for both certainly hasn't waned nor wavered. So we're more than happy to welcome this new compilation of Indian film music. If you're seeking a thorough overview of the genre, this is a great place to start. The first disc dishes out a dozen delirious classics from the '50s, '60s and '70s, while the second disc offers eleven more 'modern' tunes, from the '90s. Of course, tracks by Bollywood deities Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi (check out the intense vocal performance on "Madhuban Mein Radhika"!) are in abundance on both discs. Oh such vibrant, manic, aural opulence! Recommended!
While the first Bombay the Hard Way disc featured funky themes from '70s Bollywood films doctored and augmented by the talents of the Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, this here volume 2 takes on the next generation of films -- stuff from the '80s. A lot of it is
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix, as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to review and list. This is Volume 1 (2 to follow next list) and features tons of kick ass classic Bollywood funk from action thrillers spanning 1977-1984. You know what that means: incredible backbeats, suspense building bridges, and ultra saucy vocals. All the greats are here: R.D. Burman, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to list. Vol 2 features all the golden greats spanning 1959-1972. Songs from all of those amazing nightclub scenes. You know what that means: intoxicating instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and splashes of color that you can practically hear captured in these wild and fantastic songs. All the great Bollywood luminaries are included: R.D. Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!!
First of all: if you haven't seen Bring It On, go see it now. It is amazing. Funny, clever, stupid. If you liked Clueless, and Heathers, and Can't Hardly Wait, then you will love it. And to be honest, I'm not so sure that anyone would love this soundtrack without having seen the movie. That said, this soundtrack is pretty cool. Some seriously kick ass Timbaland-style R&B from Blaque (the big hit, and the ladies from Blaque also star as the girls on the black cheerleading squad!) and 3LW. Plus some crappy high energy cheerleading style music, that you'll end up liking once you see the movie. As well as a few absolutely cringe-worthy songs that are beyond brutal (including a techno remake of Toni Basil's 'Hey Mickey' which unfortunately is featured heavily in the film). Andee bought one. Like you care.
Yes, we can dig it! Soul Jazz hits the jackpot once again with this completely amazing collection of songs from Blaxploitation films during the golden era of 1968-1975. There are a million reasons why this collection is so fucking great. But one critical way, in which this comp has become a defining collection of the sound and culture, is that most collections of Blaxploitation music up to this point only really focused on the camp and kitsch aspects of the movement, when really it was about so much more: true independence, total empowerment, bold political statements, reclamation of culture, off the hook fashion, and music with such real and deep soul, which provided the perfect soundtrack to these revolutionary films.
Can You Dig It? does a great job of mixing many amazing ultra obscure tracks some more well known jams, balancing the joy of discovery with the stone cold fact that no matter how many times you hear something from Curtis Mayfield's Superfly it always sounds so damn good. But of course this being Soul Jazz, they dig WAAAAAAY deeper, giving us truly stunning and burning tracks from the likes of Willie Hutch, Martha Reeves, Dennis Coffey, Solomon Burke & Gene Page, Don Julian, Johnny Pate, as well as tracks that somehow slipped under the radar from bigger name folks like James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes.
The sequencing and variety and richness in sound is so compelling and wonderfully varied. So often when this is playing for a while in the store people will ask "Is this still that comp?" and when we say yes they shake their heads in astonishment and usually have to get one right away. In fact right after the amazing Yo La Tengo instore performance last weekend, we put this on and all three members of the band at different times came up to us needing to know what it was and of course they bought one right away. Finally someone has done justice to the music of this movement and era, and our ears are in total heaven!
The double-cd version comes with an out-of-control informative and visually pleasing 100 page book as well as awesome postcards and stickers. The vinyl versions are split into two volumes and while it's awesome to have these songs on vinyl, the bummer is that the vinyl format doesn't come with the amazing 100 page booklet...
Yes, we can dig it! Soul Jazz hits the jackpot once again with this completely amazing collection of songs from Blaxploitation films during the golden era of 1968-1975. There are a million reasons why this collection is so fucking great. But one critical way, in which this comp has become a defining collection of the sound and culture, is that most collections of Blaxploitation music up to this point only really focused on the camp and kitsch aspects of the movement, when really it was about so much more: true independence, total empowerment, bold political statements, reclamation of culture, off the hook fashion, and music with such real and deep soul, which provided the perfect soundtrack to these revolutionary films.
Can You Dig It? does a great job of mixing many amazing ultra obscure tracks some more well known jams, balancing the joy of discovery with the stone cold fact that no matter how many times you hear something from Curtis Mayfield's Superfly it always sounds so damn good. But of course this being Soul Jazz, they dig WAAAAAAY deeper, giving us truly stunning and burning tracks from the likes of Willie Hutch, Martha Reeves, Dennis Coffey, Solomon Burke & Gene Page, Don Julian, Johnny Pate, as well as tracks that somehow slipped under the radar from bigger name folks like James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Isaac Hayes.
The sequencing and variety and richness in sound is so compelling and wonderfully varied. So often when this is playing for a while in the store people will ask "Is this still that comp?" and when we say yes they shake their heads in astonishment and usually have to get one right away. In fact right after the amazing Yo La Tengo instore performance last weekend, we put this on and all three members of the band at different times came up to us needing to know what it was and of course they bought one right away. Finally someone has done justice to the music of this movement and era, and our ears are in total heaven!
The double-cd version comes with an out-of-control informative and visually pleasing 100 page book as well as awesome postcards and stickers. The vinyl versions are split into two volumes and while it's awesome to have these songs on vinyl, the bummer is that the vinyl format doesn't come with the amazing 100 page booklet...
