Browsing Tag

OST

Discover your new metaphysical playlist staple with Basil Babychan’s ambient composition. Phantasm

Posted on 29 October 2021

Hans Zimmer fans will want to delve into the latest composition by Indo-Dutch artist Basil Babychan which extends his mission to create music from the soul for the soul; the concept behind the neo-classic ambient composition, Phantasm, is a lesson in philosophy. In his own words;

“Coping mechanisms are often subject to debate and scrutiny. They improve mental and emotional well-being by addressing anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns, derived from painful real-life events. In many cases, one makes conscious or unconscious choices that enhances control over behaviour or gives psychological comfort by creating an alternate reality. Fantasy and Reality often overlap. We need Fantasy to survive our Reality.”

Phantasm unravels as the perfect soundscape to embrace our true reality, in all of its infinite metaphysical possibility and beauty. In the prelude, the intricate keys start tentatively ascending, as more layers amass in the meditatively textured single; Phantasm becomes a transcendental experience that reminds you, we’re all just energy constrained by our vision of a 4D reality.

Phantasm is due for official release on October 29th; you can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The award-winning orchestral rock composer Aldo has released his latest cinematic score, Stem the Tide.

Posted on 9 October 2021

There has been an influx of ambient and easy listening music on the airwaves in 2021; it took the talent of pianist, composer and songwriter, Aldo to prove what difference a prodigal touch to a soundscape can make.

His latest progressively orchestral, rock-tinged single, Stem the Tide, starts around ambient piano melodies and flourishes of Celtic culture; even when the momentum starts to build, the sublime tonal bliss goes untarnished. The Emmy award-winners scores have been on countless TV shows and documentaries. He has still found the time to release six albums, all of them containing the same panoramic flair that he is accoladed for in the film and TV music industry. If any artist has the ability to redefine your perception of talent, it is Aldo.

Stem the Tide is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

OSLU sets a sophisticated cinematic score in Goodbye Old Friend.

Posted on 1 October 2021

Jazz fusionist and soundtrack composer OSLU released their latest album, Explaudere, on October 1st. By taking modern film scores and classical music as inspiration, the neo-blues pioneer orchestrates accessible soundscapes that tenderly bind you into the ease of the progressions and the cinematic flair.

The instrumental single, Goodbye Old Friend, uses clean-cut blues guitars, shimmering crescendos and nuanced rock elements to testify to OSLU’s ingenuity when it comes to creating orchestral catharsis. It would be no surprise to see OSLU’s name on a Blockbuster’s roll of end credits. The sheer talent is enough to allow you to question everything you heard on the radio today.

Listen to OSLU’s latest album on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Sonophonix have released their alternative orchestral bond theme, No Time To Die.

Posted on 30 September 2021

To correspond with the new 2021 Bond film, the breaking classical duo Sonophonix have release their ethereal spin on Billie Eilish’s theme song, No Time to Die.

With Eilish’s rendition becoming the most haunting Bond theme to have ever existed, it was hard to see how more intrinsic beauty could be pulled from the minimalist score. Yet, Sonophonix discernibly succeeded by amplifying the intensity of the soundtrack with far more prominent orchestral strings and a more cinematically sinister edge. I wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow if I was told the composition was Ramin Djawadi’s work.

You can stream No Time to Die for yourselves on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Revel in the petrichor with Lian Kyla’s standout piano composition, After Rain

Posted on 24 September 2021
Lian Kyla

Revel in the petrichor with After Rain, the standout single from producer and composer Lian Kyla’s debut EP, Dream Maker. Each soundscape is an expression of creativity and emotion from the Philippines-based singer-songwriter, producer and author whose work resounds as much on the airwaves as it does onscreen.

The captivating progressions blossom in the tranquil release that introduces you to the artist’s unique neo-classical flair which she carves out through minimalist minor-key notes and delicate orchestral swells. The score brings you closer to nature without you ever having to leave your living room. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it has the feel of a modern masterpiece.

Dream Maker is now available to stream in full via SoundCloud. Connect with the artist via Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Janae Genna takes us ‘Down the Creek’ with her artful folk single featuring Alex Johnston.

Posted on 14 August 2021
Janae Genna

Down the Creek is the latest single to be released by the conceptually expressive singer-songwriter Janae Genna, featuring vocals from Alex Johnston. It was co-written by Janae Genna and Justin Brittain as part of the score for the film, Here Now. The accordant lullaby starts archetypally before the folksy single takes on an eerier tone, progressing almost in the same way as the cult-hit folk film Midsommar – before all the gore.`

Janae Genna’s and Alex Johnston’s layered harmonies give the otherwise minimalist soundscape a panoramically dynamic feel but as the single gears towards the outro, an uneasiness nestles into the release. The sense of anticipation it leaves you with could only be described as immense. You come to expect an ending akin to Nick Cave’s Where the Wild Roses Grow, you’re left with a foreboding unknown.

Check out Janae Genna on Instagram and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andi Reisner – dark espionage with ‘Die Zwei Brüder’

Posted on 26 June 2021
Soundtrax by Andi Reisner

Composer Andi Reisner was born in Köln in Germany in 1960, and currently has over forty television and movie soundtrack pieces to his name, alongside his founding-membership of new music ensemble Ugly Culture.

With ‘Die Zwei Brüder’, he’s delivered a powerful, disturbing instrumental neo-classical work which evokes images of film noir, monochrome spy thrillers, all rain-soaked streets and cold-war double-dealings. Dark, brooding, Bauhaus-inspired, and filled with impending-doom, echoing and sparse then fierce, distorted and upfront, Die Zwei Brüder – from Reisner’s ‘Soundtrax’ album – is potent, unsettling, challenging, and totally captivating. Inspired, disconcerting, stimulating, and provocative, ‘Die Zwei Brüder’ is quite simply an epic piece of instrumental noir.

You can hear Andi Reisner’s ‘Soundtrax’ album on BandCamp; check out Andi Reisner’s website here.

Review by Alex Holmes

 

Nizar Bredan starts a ‘Journey’ with his latest neo-classic composition.

Posted on 21 June 2021

Libya-born, Brussels-based self-taught neoclassical composer and pianist Nizar Breden has released his latest composition, Journey; through the gentle melodic crescendos, Bredan’s diverse cultural heritage emerges through the delicate score that is provoking and profound in equal measure.

By switching between dramatic, uplifting and tentative cadences, Journey is a score that will leave you hooked by its multifaceted nature, expressive textures, and Bredan’s ability to melodically flit between melancholy and an almost Machiavellian style of playfulness.

After finding influence in the wandering tones of Chopin, the circulating melodies of Tiersen and the evocative works Ólafur Arnalds, Ludovico Einaudi and Nils Frahm, Bredan discernibly found his signature style that will easily enamour any fans of the aforementioned.

Journey is the first of the singles to come from his new series of original compositions; the rest are due to follow throughout 2021 and 2022.

Journey is now available to stream via Spotify.

Billy Moffat has released his symphonic masterpiece, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett.

Posted on 19 June 2021

Scottish-born composer Billy Moffat brought plenty of his experience touring the globe with the show, One Night of Queen, to his latest release, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett on guitar.

Starting with dramatic neo-classic keys, there are no hints in the production to warn that the stunning crescendos will soon give way to over-driven scuzzed-up guitar solos that easily match the furore in an Apocalyptica track. Davie Brockett’s searing solos blazon the professional instrumental score with even more virtuosic stripes.

Though the Eyes of God is, quite literally, a jaw-droppingly symphonic masterpiece that will easily leave you ensnared by the sheer nuance and Moffat’s ability to compose a score that will put your rhythmic pulses under instant command.

The orchestral release is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia

Lee Olivier-Hall – This is Only the Beginning: A Conceptually Profound Neo-Classic Account of Lockdown-Melancholy

Posted on 4 June 2021

Artist and composer Lee Olivier-Hall is set to release his most candid work to date. His EP ‘Moments in Sound’ was written during the pandemic as the film composer captured the emotional impact of uncertainty, fear and isolation.

The conceptual duplicity of the lead single, This is Only the Beginning, plays with our newly found pessimism and fear of beginnings as the tender ambient neo-classic keys reflect the fragility of our optimism. The use of spatial effect and instrumental minimalism is devastatingly profound as it mimics the hollow, vacuous nature of our new world.

Since graduating from BIMM London, the artist has primarily focused on composing for film, his experience scoring for film reflects in the visual nature of the four-track EP which is easily one of the most stunning accounts of lockdown melancholy.

This is Only the Beginning will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from June 4th. In the meantime, you can check out Lee Olivier-Hall via his website, Instagram or Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast