NEWS FROM COSTA COMMUNICATIONS


From Costa Communications:-

AWARD WINNING COMPOSER JOHN SWIHART

BRINGS HIS YOUTHFUL ANGST TO YOUTH IN REVOLT

Soundtrack album available on Lakeshore Records

Award-winning composer JOHN SWIHART whose career is on a stellar trajectory since scoring “Napolean Dynamite” five years ago scores “Youth in Revolt.” He has successfully traversed the musical landscape from performer with the Blue Man Group to scoring numerous films and TV series. Swihart’s signature “indie” musical style to Napolean Dynamite is still mimicked today by numerous composers. The film is distributed by The Weinstein Company and will be released January 8, 2010. Soundtrack available January 5 on Lakeshore Records.

Youth in Revolt stars Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno) and is directed by Miguel Arteta. The coming-of-age comedy puts a fresh stamp on a tale of adolescent obsession and rebellion. Based on the acclaimed novel by C.D. Payne, YOUTH IN REVOLT is the story of Nick Twisp (Cera) —an affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life, who falls hopelessly in love with the beautiful, free-spirited Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while on a family vacation. Nick abandons his dull, predictable life and develops a rebellious alter ego: Francois.

John Swihart began his musical training at the age of four studying piano; by eight, he added the saxophone, followed by guitar studies at Indiana University --- while still in high school. He then continued his formal musical training of composition, production and engineering at Boston’s prestigious’ Berklee College of Music.

After college, Swihart toured with a variety of bands and performed in musical theater in Boston, New York and Los Angeles; simultaneously, he composed for Boston advertising clients and scored student films for Emerson undergrads. When Blue Man Group opened a Vegas show, Swihart was recruited to be a musician in the Grammy nominated ensemble. A year later, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue film composing. His fifth film score as a composer was Napoleon Dynamite and he has since scored over 40 films. John Swihart’s other film & TV credits include “New in Town,” “Employee of the Month,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Greek.”

CD REVIEW - THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL/I CAN SEE YOU


The House of the Devil/I Can See You
Music by Jeff Grace
MovieScore Media MMS-09026
26 Tracks 64:31 mins

The latest from MovieScore Media favourite Jeff Grace features two recent scores, the first for The Roost's director Ti West's horror The House of the Devil; the second for Graham Reznick's thriller I Can See You. Reznick also contributed two tracks of his own composition to the score.
The former sports an eerie, unsettling theme for detuned piano and strings, first heard in "Opening," and both feature prominently throughout this largely mysterious and largely low key score, though it does have its dissonant, menacing moments, particularly in its later stages, with some powerful writing in the likes of "Mother," "Chalice," "On the Run," and "He's Calling."
The piano theme returns in much lighter, more conventional mode at the start of the penultimate title track.
I Can See You is a more varied score, opening with the beat-driven electronics of "Today in New York City" (the first of Reznick's tracks, the other being the similarly electronic, drifting "Where Are You Now?). As for the bulk of the score, Grace features detuned piano again in "Pitch Meeting and the concluding "Passing Trees;" mixes synths and live strings in the dreamy ""Summer Day;" employs dissonance in abundance; provides jungle-like percussion in "Doug Escapes;" and, by further contrast, features solo strummed guitar to provide a rural feel to "Swimming Hole."
Go to www.moviescoremedia.com/housofthedevil.html for samples, a trailer for The House of the Devil, and for details as to how to obtain the release, on CD, or as a digital download.

NEWS FROM TOP DOLLAR PR


From Top Dollar PR:



LICENSE TO THRILL MUSIC SIGNS AWARD-WINNING "ASSASSIN'S CREED" COMPOSER JESPER KYD
Independent Music Publishing Company Partners with Acclaimed Composer of "Assassin's
Creed II," "Assassin's Creed," and "Hitman" Series
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License To Thrill Music LLC (www.licensetothrillmusic.com,
an independent music publisher providing one-stop music synchronization and licensing
for advertising, films, television, radio, movie trailers, video games and new media,
today announced a music publishing partnership with BAFTA award-winning composer
Jesper Kyd. License To Thrill Music represents original music composed by Jesper
Kyd available for use in advertising, film, TV and other media productions.

Jesper Kyd's music for blockbuster franchises such as ASSASSIN'S CREED and the HITMAN
series has received awards and nominations from the British Academy of Film and
Television Arts (BAFTA), Canadian ELAN Awards, Hollywood Music Awards and MTV Video
Music Awards. His original score for ASSASSIN'S CREED II was recently awarded Best
Original Score at The Hollywood Music In Media Awards and is nominated for Best
Original Score at the Spike TV Video Game Awards and for Best Original Soundtrack
by G4TV.

"We're proud to announce our partnership with illustrious composer Jesper Kyd,"
said Valerie Vickers, A&R/Licensing Manager for License To Thrill Music. "Renowned
for creating stylish and inspirational original soundtracks which help capture the
attention and imagination of millions worldwide, Jesper Kyd's music enhances epic
cinematic productions with emotional depth and immersion."

License License To Thrill Music features a boutique roster of imaginative-thinking
artists and uniquely identifiable music that inspires and transcends a company or
brand's messaging. The team behind License To Thrill Music has worked on platinum
selling records, films, #1 hit singles and critically acclaimed album releases by
some of the biggest names in music, spanning a period of over 25 years in the music
business with innovative artists such as Bjork, The Cure, Kraftwerk and Happy Mondays,
and a decade of interactive entertainment marketing for global markets promoting
soundtracks from the world's top video game companies including Microsoft, Sony
and Ubisoft. For more information please visit www.licensetothrillmusic.com.

All names of companies and products mentioned herein are the trademarks of their
respective owners.

NEWS FROM COSTA COMMUNICATIONS


From Costa Communications:-

REPRISE RECORDS TO RELEASE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK TO FEATURE FILM BOOK OF ELI ON JANUARY 12^th, 2010 Soundtrack to Post-Apocalyptic Drama Features Original Score by Nine Inch Nails Collaborator Atticus Ross

Reprise Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack to the Hughes Brothers-directed feature film Book Of Eli on January 12^th, 2010 — three days before the film hits theaters nationwide on January 15^th, 2010.

The Book of Eli Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features an original score by composer/musician/producer Atticus Ross, marking his third collaboration with the Hughes Brothers and his first feature film score. Ross’ music is a unique hybrid score of electronic and organic elements; writing with his wife (Claudia Sarne) and brother (Leopold Ross), the basic tracks were recorded at his studio in Los Angeles before departing to London where it was finished in Abbey Road Studios with a full 80 piece orchestra.Ross’ other film credits include co-writing and producing “Go All the Way (Into the Twilight),” the Perry Ferrell single for the hit film Twilight, the score for the Allen Hughes’ vignette for the film New York, I Love You, as well as the music to the Hughes Brothers TV show 'Touching Evil" . Ross has also incorporated his musical style into collaborations and productions of such major artists as NIN (the albums With Teeth, Year Zero, The Slip, and the Grammy-nominated Ghosts), Jane's Addiction, and Korn.

The Book of Eli stars Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, and Gary Oldman in a post-apocalyptic tale in which a lone man, Eli (Washington), fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. The soundtrack will be released in four configurations: standard CD, a digital version available through all digital service providers, and a special exclusive iTunes edition that will feature a remixed track by Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio). A vinyl version will be released in February. Book of Eli is being distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The track-listing for The Book of Eli Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is as follows: Panoramic
Outland
The Journey
AmenThe ConvoySolara ViolatedSafeHumanMeant to be SharedThe PassengerDen of ViceGattlingBlind FaithConvoy DestructMovementCarnegie's DemiseThe Purpose

http://thebookofeli.warnerbros.com/www.repriserecords.com

CD REVIEW - I.Q./SECONDS


I.Q./Seconds
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
La-La Land Records LLLCD 1109 (US)
33 Tracks 69:13 mins

This limited edition release of 3000 units pairs two very different scores from different time periods by the late, great Jerry Goldsmith. Both scores clock in at under 40 minutes, so La-La Land Records has done us all a big favour by pairing them on one disc, rather than releasing them separately.
By the '90s, Goldsmith was tiring of writing music for serious subjects, often in the sci-fi/fantasy genre and so he and his agent, Richard Kraft set about trying to find more interesting movies to try for. The many varied projects that followed produced arguably some of his weakest work and often disappointed his loyal fans. 1994's I.Q., an inoffensive piece of fluff, starring Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins and Walter Matthau (as Einstein no less), as so many of his projects of the time, failed to make much impact and, though his score for the film is never likely to be held in such esteem as his more serious works of the '60s, '70s and '80s, it is nevertheless entertaining enough, sporting a recurring solo violin variation on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," a '50s "doo-wop, doo-wop" motif, sung by female vocal group, and some lyrical, romantic string writing. All these elements play nicely off one another. Goldsmith, as was his practice throughout the preceding decade, incorporates electronics within his score, giving the music an ethereal, otherworldly element. Overall, it's a fun ride and well worth having in your Goldsmith collection, if only to demonstrate his versatility.
1966's Seconds, a sci-fi movie starring Rock Hudson is from perhaps the composer's most experimental and interesting period, before he found regular mainstream success in the following decade. His score for the film is a very different beast than the lightweight I.Q. There are no catchy motifs and melodies here. This is music more akin to his work on the much earlier Twilight Zone episodes, Freud and other assignments of the time, like The Illustrated Man and The Mephisto Waltz; challenging, but always compelling. Indeed, fans of his work will notice familiar elements like demonic fiddle playing, inventive string writing, both electric and pipe organs, spare harp playing and even a tender, though lonely, piano love theme - all very reminiscent of the composer's work of the time.
Unfortunately, the only source available for the Seconds score was the film's mono music stems, which means that some tracks contain "dialogue bleed," which fortunately is not too distracting, but unavoidable if the label was to present this much-requested score in its entirety.
Accompanying the disc is the usual splendid booklet, which features Jeff Bond's detailed notes on the films and their scores, accompanied by plenty of stills.
With already only 100 left, if you want one, I should get straight along to www.lalalandrecords.com/IQ-Seconds.html and order your copy before it's too late.

NEWS FROM TOP DOLLAR PR


From Top Dollar PR:-



SUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF FORZA MOTORSPORT® 3 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
Ambient Electronica Score Composed and Produced by
Lance Hayes aka DJ Drunken Master

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New York - December 7th, 2009 -Sumthing Else Music Works, through its licensing
relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Forza Motorsport® 3 Original
Soundtrack featuring the original music from the critically acclaimed racing game
developed exclusively for Xbox 360. Created by the veteran team at Turn 10 Studios
of Microsoft Game Studios, Forza Motorsport 3 unites the racing game genre, making
it possible for everyone to experience the thrill of the world's most exotic and
exquisite cars. Forza Motorsport 3 Original Soundtrack will release on Dec. 8 to
retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com,
and will be available for digital download on Sumthing Digital www.sumthingdigital.com and iTunes®.

Forza Motorsport 3 Original Soundtrack includes 90 minutes of ambient electronica
music created by award-winning composer and producer Lance Hayes aka DJ Drunken
Master. The soundtrack features a broad range of music styles and overall chill
demeanor encompassing primarily electronica, ambient and downtempo with forays
into ambient breaks, illbient and acid jazz.

Composer Lance Hayes said, "This was truly a rare and amazing project to work on.
I knew it had to be perfect because this was Forza but we also agreed that it had
to be music that could stand on its own. We were looking for the right balance
of listen-ability and edge."

With breathtaking high-definition graphics and the most advanced vehicle performance
modeling in a video game, Forza Motorsport 3 includes a host of driving assists
and adjustable skill levels to make the game a gripping pick-up-and-play experience
for audiences of all ages and skill levels. For more information on Forza Motorsport
3, please visit www.forzamotorsport.net.

For more information on Sumthing Else Music Works and its complete catalog of video
game soundtracks, please visit www.sumthing.com and www.sumthingdigital.com.

CD REVIEW - THE MAGIC OF DISNEY


The Magic of Disney
Various Artists
Walt Disney Records VTDCD 969 (EU)
Disc 1 - 23 Tracks 71:34 mins
Disc 2 - 24 Tracks 71:55 mins

Released in good time for Christmas is this generous double-disc compilation, which is aimed squarely at the younger audience, largely featuring numbers from more recent Disney films, though there is a fair sprinkling of memorable songs from the studio's golden age, just to keep the older listeners, like myself, interested. Having said that, it is a shame that so many classic numbers are excluded in favour of modern fare; though some of it is worth checking out if you are unfamiliar with it, with Alan Menken and co-writers responsible for some pretty enjoyable tunes in their own right, and of course no collection of modern Disney music would be complete without Randy Newman's contributions. Surprisingly, there is also an instrumental from the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.
The colourful accompanying booklet details each selection and its performer, along with character sketches from each featured film.
Disc One is enhanced, so if you pop it in your PC you can take a peek at the forthcoming The Princess And The Frog, the soundtrack to which (by Randy Newman) I shall be reviewing in due course.
Recommended (with reservations) as a great Christmas gift for the young 'uns.

CD REVIEW - CLINT EASTWOOD PRESENTS - THE DREAM'S ON ME (A CELEBRATION OF JOHNNY MERCER'S MUSIC)


Clint Eastwood Presents - The Dream's On Me (A Celebration of Johnny Mercer's Music)
Various Performers
Silva Screen Records SILCD1302 (UK)
18 Tracks

Marking the 100th anniversary of the great American songwriter Johnny Mercer's death, Turner Classic Movies presents the documentary Johnny Mercer "The Dream's On Me," which is presented by Clint Eastwood.
The soundtrack album, released by Silva Screen Records, features performances from the film, together with interpretations of his songs by the many varied talents of such as Queen Latifah, Jamie Cullum, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Chet Baker, Dr. John and even Eastwood's only 13-year-old daughter Morgan. On top of all this, there is the premiere of a previously unreleased Bing Crosby recording of "Something's Gotta Give."
Of course, one album is insufficient to cover Mercer's long and distinguished output of more than 1,700 songs and seven Broadway shows. The great lyricist picked up no less than four Oscars for his songs, contributing to dozens of classic movies, and working with many top composers.
If you want to check out American songwriting at its best, pick up a copy of this fine album, which features familiar titles such as "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," "Trave'lin' Light," "That Old Black Magic," "Blues in the Night," "Laura," "Dream," and "Skylark."
Order your copy, either on CD, or as a download, by going to www.silvascreenmusic.com.

CD REVIEW - ME & ORSON WELLES


Me & Orson Welles
Music by Various Artists
DECCA 5323762 (EU)
17 Tracks 56:54 mins

The new film from Richard Linklater recounts the meeting of 17-year-old Richard Samuels (played by High School Musical's Zac Efron) and the young director Orson Welles (played remarkably by Christian McKay) in 1937, when the former applies for the role of Lucius in Broadway's first Shakespearan production, Julius Caesar.
The soundtrack album, released today, is a collection of numbers featured in the movie, with originals, featuring the likes of Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, County Basie, Ginger Rogers, The Mills Brothers, Fred Astaire and Tommy Dorsey; and new songs by Jools Holland, featuring vocals by Eddi Reader (incidentally, both make cameo appearances in the film).
The film's composer, Michael J. McEvoy, also has a couple of tracks on the album (not underscore, but new source cues, written in the style of the period); and there are a couple of bonus tracks by James Langton & his Solid Senders.
A nice collection of nostalgia, if that's your bag.

CD REVIEW - THE RED CANVAS/MOVING IMAGES SUITE


The Red Canvas/Moving Images Suite
Music by James Peterson
MovieScore Media MMS09025
26 Tracks 65:27 mins

MovieScore Media have the nice habit of introducing me to new composers, the latest being James Peterson, whose score for the new fight movie from directors Kenneth Chamitoff and Adam Boster, The Red Canvas, has already won the award for "Best Feature Soundtrack" at the Action on Film International Film Festival, and I'm pleased to say that here we have a large orchestral score for a change, in the finest Hollywood film noir traditions.
The Red Canvas score features on the first 18 tracks of the album, the remaining 8 being given over to the same composer's Moving Images Suite, which is described as an "ode to film music."
But first, The Red Canvas, and, after a brooding opening the music of "Out of the Darkness builds into a huge dramatic piece of great power. The 60-piece string section really comes into its own in the emotional "Awaiting the News," followed by the initially powerful "Death and Resurrection I," before the strings re-enter, once more with emotion, continuing into "A Great Fighter," with a reprise of the emotional main theme from "Awaiting the News." "Jazz Cafe" introduces an urban interlude, complete with solo jazz trumpet, and string accompaniment, whilst "Grease Monkey Prelude" opens with flute over hushed strings, before taking a bigger, darker turn. This is followed by "Grease Monkey Brawl," an exciting and powerful piece of action writing, then another reprise of the main theme again in "Maria Cries; which continues in an epic Rozsa-like treatment in "Calling All Gladiators," and more noirish in "The Meeting."
"Death and Resurrection II" offers more noirish dramatics, before taking a sympathetic turn, with a mournful variation of the main theme playing out in "Bills and Tears." "Jungle Rumble" follows powerfully, all brass and percussion. "Prayer" sees the main theme rising to almost spiritual heights, continuing in increasingly dramatic mode in "A Not-So-Conjugal Visit." The final cue, "Ballet for Brawlers," is a tour-de-force of powerful action scoring, based largely on the opening theme, worth the price of the album alone.
I know some of my acquaintances are pretty unmoved by much of today's film scoring, considering it sub-standard to the music of so many Hollywood greats of yesteryear. Well, I would say to them, check this one out. They may well like what they hear.
The composer's Moving Images Suite begins with a flourish with the "Moving Images Fanfare," which is followed by the breezy "The Sorcerer," which reminds somewhat of the great Jerry Goldsmith's theme from "The First Great Train Robbery." "Americana" offers traditional brassy nobility, whilst the largely minor-keyed "A Quirky Machine" reminds a little of John Williams' "March of the Ewoks." "Moonlit Desert Chase" flows busily, but is rather a restrained affair for a chase, though it does have its moments. After all this business, it's nice to take a step back with "Pastorale," the lengthiest and loveliest track of the suite, which is followed by "Transylvania: 1955" which, after a low-key, eerie opening, erupts into menacing, Gothic-styled, action.
The suite concludes with the "Epilogue," which reprises the "Americana" theme, before ending in a flurry, with a variation on the opening fanfare.
An enjoyable concert piece then, much lighter fare than the score that accompanies it on this album, but which makes for a nice contrast. If his work is able to remain grounded in the past like this, I really look forward to hearing more from this composer in the future.
Got to www.moviescoremedia.com/redcanvas.html for samples and details as to where to obtain the album on CD, or as a download, if you prefer. You can also find a trailer for The Red Canvas there.