Gestazione/Totem Secondo - Ennio Morricone

Well, What can i say about this....Although this is not a Score per se..It is composed by one of, if not 'The Greatest' Composers of all time 'Ennio Morricone'

Gestazione/Totem Secondo - 1982

The First side of this LP 'Gestazione' gives us a dark interpretation of Life itself, The Mark for such great scores like The Thing/L'uminoide To name a few..

From the start to Finish you do not know what to expect.. The dark ambient tension lulls us into the sense of deprevation we are all too familier with...Then we are met with Piano Strings and Bass plucks, intertwined in sononimous tones and infrequent unjust motion, giving us again the sense that this is how Life begins..

Then natures cry, Female 'Oohs and Aahs intervene with lighter, yest still dark string melodies which to me interprets the next phase in life.

The last 5 minute build and crescendo is still a frightening experience to adhere and listen to, bt at the same time fulfils the ears to a pleasing disarray of Morricone nubiance

This for me is a very surreal piece of composition....Nothing that you would expect Morricone to do, but pulls it off with such panache you can do nothing but sit and listen, Entranced by every aspect of the track. Its pull over the listener has quite an effect...

The second sice of this LP 'Totem Secondo'...Starts with erratic bursts of Oboe and Bassoon again sustaining that fear of what is happening, nothing to ordinary here. The stabbing Woodwind is son juxstaposed with Dark, Melodic Clarinet which makes the sense feel uneasy.
4 minutes and 20 seconds into the track we are greeted with an all too familier burst of a track from 'The Thing' before we are met with jumping Bassoon and playful Oboe. Clarinet comes in again trying to even things out a bit before Being succumb to elongated notation that slowly weaves into disharmony, creating a background for War & Death

The Roost - Jeff Grace

Jeff Grace is another pretty unknown Composer in the realms of the 'Daddy' of composers.
But like Those before him, he has such great potential and im sure he will use it to his own advantage in his compositions...

The Roost - 2005

A great score from beginning to end. Just like with Gillioz, he uses all those resonant sounds and errie sounds to great effect. Each track is unique and portays event to the niche. Again we have that etchy violin which reminds me onve more of the all time classic 'Evil Dead!' Which, I have to say at this point, i love as well. Such a great score to a unique, remarkable film...But i digress..!

From what i have read about this movie (again not having the pleasure of seeing it as yet) the score is truly outstanding work which again, encompasses the imagination to speculate what is going to happen and what is happening which, ultimately, tempts you into a world of horror and dark spiritual malevolence...

The solo Violin tune will get you humming to it before the scores end which is carried along by tempestuous percussion which is one of those classic horror scores of the 50's/60's....Which this scores has...It has all the elements of Evil Dead and reigning the 'Video Nasty' Cult to boot....The Erratic Strings & percussion will keep you gripped onto your lovers arm in suspence whilst hiding your eyes from what is happening. This score also has a very 'Macabre' feel to it which i love, but also has elements of humor (especially the intro track 'Our Host.')
But above all else, we have another classic horror score in the making here. Its hard sometimes to say in words how to best explain this score...But in short laymens terms, it is a fast paced horror rollercoaster of a ride that leeds you into an unknown region of your soul and mind with the fear that you may not come back...

Why other composers shy away from the Glissandro style Strings and erratic nature of Instruments in horror scores in beyond me, when it is that very nature, that puts the fear of God into us....Its a shame in some respect, but also a good thing that Jeff Grace has not passed the buck in using that very feel in this score...The last composer to use this style to perfection (in my opinion) was Herrmann in 'Psycho'

Horror scores have been so fragile with composition and trying to ebb away from that 'Scary/Horroresque' Feel. Im glad to say that is not the case here, Grace is quite amazing how he uses the erratic to portray horror.

This is Directors 'Ti West' & Composer 'Jeff Grace's' First collaboration. The pair are working on 'The Trigger Man' To Be Released Soon..

The movie is in the genre of the 'Scare-Flix' Sect & The score is certainly in the vein of the classic genres of yesteryear...I urge you to hear it, you will not be dissapointed, but a little scared perhaps lol ;-)

The trailer can be viewed here:- http://www.theroostmovie.com/trailerpage.html

Pray For Morning - Vincent Gillioz

Vincent Gillioz to me is one of the most prolific non mainstream composers i have had the pleasure to Chat with...
His Score genre i guess is aimed more towards your Horror genre, A Genre that is also close to my heart where composition is concerned.

Prey For Morning - 2006...

I have yet to see the movie, but the plot from www.imdb.com is as follows:-
'A group of high schoolers break into an abandoned resort hotel, unaware that it is haunted'

This is Cartney Wearn's first movie and has, in my opinion, chosen the best Composer to do the ascore...

What Vincent Gillioz does here musically, is gives us the edge we all need in a classic haunting/ghost movie...
We need to feel scared out of our wits, we need to feel passion for the characters, we need to feel on the edge of our seats...Our emotions need a good scaring when we watch a horror movie. And thats what we get here, a musical journey in film not too disimilar to Saint Saens 'Dance Macabre'
We have all the elements we need from Dark String's playing with the hairs on the back of your head. Oboe & Clarinet giving us some form of hope & jolity..resounding persussion at the right moment when you are too involved in the music to realise what is coming next...then BANG...Fear strikes and you jump of your seat with fright..

The darkness of this score is totally amazing....subtle heartbeats are heard in several tracks, which is always good in music that is trying to scare you and it works here. Driving the pace of your listening pleasure but also making you unnerved at what is happening. Truly remarkable.
The melodic tunes are done to perfection...Melodies of Joy, Melodies of Fear, Melodies of the spiritual realm......
That fearful string like scratching that i can only assossiate with Spiders is heard throughout the score giving the music another edge of fear to it.
Each track has emotion attached to it be it from Fear, Joy....And did i say Fear!?
I love this kind of score and it appears to me that only a handful of composers can pull it off, Gillioz being one of them.
The Playful Piano, Deep Strings, Harmonious Oboe & Clarinet, racing percussion....All the elements of old and new Ghost/horror movies...

If you are a horror buff and enjoy a good scare im sure you will love the movie but i urge you to listen to the score (i will post some clips on the Composers OK) as you are truly missing out on one of the best Horror Composers i have heard in many a year...

I cannot wait for the movie to get to the UK as it is one film i am anxious now to watch...And if the music does that for me and you then it just goes to show how talented Gillioz is....Creating images in your mind without watching moving pictures is what music is all about. This score gives you that, It paints its own pictures for you in every track.

As i already stated, i have not seen the movie, but if the music is anything to go by, the movie will scare you and shock you...

Vincent Gillioz, in my opinion, is extremely underated. I have mentioned his name to many a film score guru and they answer with a 'Who is he, Never heard of him..' This is WRONG PEOPLE...Gillioz is one of those composers that you will either love or hate his style...I personally love his style and every score i have had the leasure to listen to has always left me with 1 though and 1 thought alone....this guy is amazing, Along with other composers of his genre...Will Richter, John Dickson to name a few, really ought to be up there in the realms of your Tyler's, Beltrami's, Zimmer's et al...

A composer to look out for in the future for sure & if i have anything to do with it, it will be a sooner future than a distant one...

The Trailer Can Be Viewed Here:- http://video.download.com/3800-11264_53-20989.html

A Welcome From Him

Hi One & Hi All...

A Little Bit About Me (yeah, so i am an egotist) and my Blog

First Off: I Live in the UK (Yes, I'm A Limey,) But I'm Not Really That Boring..!
Well: I have been collecting Soundtracks (Scores mainly) for over 23 Years now...
I have got Quite a Colletion (Around 10,000...or so)

My aim on this blog is to provide you with information in way of Reviews, Artwork From 'Unreleased' as well as Vinyl, In-Print, Out of Print, Promos, Complete Scores etc etc and perhaps Interviews with Composers.

This will, I hope, Give a more in depth look at unknown composers. That in my opinion have made an outstanding mark on the movie industry and should be recognised in their own right, well as the old time favourites...

This is my first Blog, Be gentle withe me, Be sure to visit regularly as i will attempt to update as regulary as i can and may, if i get lucky, host the occasion competition where you can win signed Scores and Merchandise (this is what i am aiming for anyway)

Thanks for reading and hope to hear from & see you soon!

CS