Globus releases premiere album, Epicon

Taking what might be called the next official step in music is GLOBUS' new release, EPICON.

Fans of the immensely popular E.S. POSTHUMUS and their release UNEARTHED, will find a lot to like on GLOBUS' first release. Check their official press release below...



CINEMATIC ROCK – A NEW GENRE IN MUSIC IS LAUNCHED!

Immediate Music, the leader in one of Hollywood’s biggest industries - creators and suppliers of movie ‘trailer’ music - have launched their first commercial album in the UK on 7 August 2006.

Composer and producer Yoav Goren has brought a diverse mix of musicians, vocalists and writers to create the album “EPICON”, under the commercial band name of GLOBUS. The resulting musicfeatures the rousing, propulsive style usually only heard in the cinema, but fused with contemporary and world music rhythms and styles. The CD is first being released exclusively in the UK, while online the album has attained a top 20 slot on the iTunes pop chart. Within 4 weeks, the band’s myspace page has attracted over 50,000 plays.

Ever since director John Boorman had the brilliant idea to track Carl Orff’s rousing ‘O Fortuna’ piece from ‘Carmen Burana’ into his 1981 film ‘Excalibur’, the sound of movie trailer music has never been the same. “Back-end music”, as it’s often called, follows a formula that any moviegoer will instantly recognise: a eclectic mix of orchestral music underscores an often dizzying array of moods steadily building to an overpowering sonic explosion that stirs audiences into a near-euphoric state of anticipatory frenzy.

Yoav Goren, co-founder of Los Angeles-based Immediate Music, has supplied ‘trailer’ scores for ‘Spiderman 2’, ‘X-Men III’, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘War of the Worlds’, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and this summer’s UK blockbuster ‘Stormbreaker’ (starring Ewan McGregor and Mickey Rourke) amongst many others. Goren says “Every time we’re involved with a new trailer, we are inundated by movie fans wanting to know how to get their hands on our trailer music CDs. There is definitely a pentup demand out there to own this music which until now has been unavailable commercially.”

On 26 July, GLOBUS performed their debut album “EPICON” live at the Wembley Conference Centre. The band included Mark Richardson from UK rock band FEEDER, Nick Nesmith from MANIC STREET PREACHERS and film soundtrack vocal artist Lisbeth Scott. The lineup on stage also featured a 60 piece orchestra and a 50 member choir. The concert was recorded for a subsequent TV special and DVD release.


Check out GLOBUS' Myspace page here.


Also, look for a full Tracksounds review of GLOBUS' premiere release, EPICOSN, in the near future!

Kingdom of Heaven by Harry Gregson Williams

Gregson-Williams’ Hidden “Kingdom”Review
by Steve Townsley

In the early summer of 2005, the truth is that most moviegoers (myself included) were chomping at the bit for galaxies far, far away and cities of sin than to have an overwhelming response to Ridley Scott’s medieval/middle-east epic, “Kingdom of Heaven”. Sure, we’d had our fill of Orlando Bloom swinging swords, and huge scale battle sequences—“Lord of the Rings” saw to that. Sure, having reached a saturation point with news of the day, most of us felt that we didn’t need to go sit through a history lesson about war in Israel. Though when the summer craziness died down, and the realm of DVD got around to presenting the film, perhaps more than a few viewers realized that this one got under their cinematic radar.

Read the full review here...

Hard to find soundtracks and movies from Asia!

In a new partnership with YESASIA.COM, Tracksounds launches its new store featuring: Anime soundtracks, video game soundtracks, and Asian movies and movie soundtracks!

I have received a number of emails asking about this new online retalier YESASIA.COM and wanted to take a moment to share a bit about my own experience with the company.

I have personally purchased a number of items from YESASIA over the last year and each purchase has gone flawlessly. YESASIA.COM has a great selection of music and movies that is not easy to find (if available at all) in the West.

I have been watching Jet Li's FEARLESS in my cozy little home theater for months...while the film has only just made its theatrical release in the USA. I have been enjoying BASIL POLEDOURIS' score for THE TOUCH for a number weeks as well...and in wonderful 5.1 Dolby Digital. I also recently purchased SOUL OF THE ULTIMATE NATION and BRAVE STORY.
Seeing the need that YESASIA.COM has met for me personally, it seemed natural to present their unique products here at Tracksounds, so people like you could enjoy the same benefits. . .


Check out the new store here! and check out the rest of my testimony.

Windows Media Player 11 (Beta) - Part 2

Part II - Test Track!:
Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11

Well after using WMP 11 beta for a few more days....ok more like a week and a half...it has still yet to crash on me...even once.

System Resources

Now, when it comes to this, I generally make a big deal. WMP has never been the best when it comes to how much memory it uses up. MusicMatch has generally done a better job at keeping it light and lean as has WinAmp. Of course, the more features we get...the more memory these puppies use up.

Now Windows Media Player 11b uses its fair share. On average, it uses about 17 mb of RAM when just playing a saved playlist and showing the now playing list, and library entries (see screenie). It you switch to Now Playing mode...with a visualization turned on...yes...the memory usage takes a nice jump. For me, using the Windows Media Player 10 visualization (see screenie from part I), it jumps up to 26 mb of memory usage. And the larger you make the player...the more memory it uses up - not surprisingly.

Impressions 2 weeks in? For a beta? Doggone good. I've ripped a few more CDs to my library...all at 192kb and it does so a just a hair-slower-rate than my old MusicMatch. I'll talk more about the ripping experience and library management in Part 3.

Snakes on Refrain! An Inteview with Trevor Rabin

The day after the world premiere of SNAKES ON A PLANE, TREVOR RABIN takes a short break from finishing up yet another upcoming-score, THE GUARDIAN. He shares about some of his most recent projects: SNAKES ON A PLANE and FLYBOYS, about how he handles scoring multiple projects, and his involvement in the film NATIONAL TREASURE 2.

Check out the interview here!

Splinter Cell 4: Double Agent Soundclip and Press Release

SPLINTER CELL 4: DOUBLE AGENT looks as though it will be released on October 19, 2006. But for those of you who can't wait . . . a soundclip from the games soundtrack and press release was made public today.

For those of you who didn't know AMON TOBIN is NOT the score's composer this time around. The duo "Sasha and Cris" have taken the mantle and judging by the clip below...seem to have a good handle on things.

To hear the main theme for "Splinter Cell 4: Double Agent," please click on: http://www.sonicmayhem.com/sc4/sc4theme.mp3


For Immediate Release

COMPOSERS SASCHA DIKICIYAN & CRIS VELASCO CREATE DYNAMIC MAIN THEME FOR TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL 4: DOUBLE AGENT

Los Angeles, CA - (August 17, 2006) -

Ubisoft Paris has unveiled the latest signature sound for their Splinter Cell franchise: the distinctive orchestra/electronica-hybrid style of veteran game composers Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco will be used for the official main theme for "Splinter Cell 4: Double Agent." The two also scored all of the cinematics for the game. "Sascha and Cris' unique style was the perfect match for what we were looking for," says Sylvain Brunet, Sound Producer for Ubisoft. "The latest episode of the 'Splinter Cell' franchise is more emotional than the previous installments. We needed music that would reflect the new dramatic storyline, and this is exactly what Sascha and Cris delivered with their main theme." "Ubisoft asked us to provide a score that would match the narrative in the game," explains Sascha Dikiciyan. "We created a gritty electronica feel with cinematic orchestra to push the emotional side of the game to a new level." With 12 game scores scheduled for release in 2006 alone, Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco have garnered critical acclaim for their versatility and fearlessness of pushing the boundaries of music - whether it's composing an elegant string arrangement, dramatic orchestral score, hard-hitting rock tracks, or raw electronic beats. In addition to Splinter Cell 4, the two have collaborated on such titles as "Dark Messiah," "Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run," and "Hellgate: London" since they joined forces in 2005. Their music was recently released on the Associated Production Music (APM) Endgame Music Library, a collection of original music cues created by many of the most successful video game music composers in the industry. Beyond gaming, the scope of their music reaches into the advertising and feature film arenas.

For more on the game, please go to http://splintercell.us.ubi.com/

Lennie Niehaus to score Flags of Our Fathers

Looks like director Clint Eastwood's long-time collaborator, LENNIE NIEHAUS will be scoring the upcoming world war II film, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS.

Lennie Niehaus has previously scored several movies of Eastwood's including:

TRUE CRIME
UNFORGIVEN
SPACE COWBOYS
BLOOD WORK
ABSOLUTE POWER
BIRD
HEARTBREAK RIDGE
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

Can't say this will get too many excited, but let's wait and hear what he comes up with. Given the subject matter, there's plenty of opportunity to do something memorable.

The Wild (Soundtrack) by Alan Silvestri

Wild 'N Out!
Review by Christopher Coleman

With well over 50 scores through the 1990s, composer Alan Silvestri was one of the busiest of Hollywood composers. Within those "glory years" of film music, Silvestri delivered some of the decades best film music in: FORREST GUMP, CONTACT, BACK TO THE FUTURE III, JUDGE DREAD, and CASTAWAY. Comparatively speaking, his production has slowed down to a crawl since 2001, with his most popular score in that time frame arguably being THE MUMMY RETURNS. Surely, the family vineyard and "family" itself has taken a priority in the prolific and talented composers life.

Keeping with the theme of "family," Alan Silvestri's only feature film project of 2006 is Walt Disney Pictures' THE WILD. This rated-G, 3-D animated film (not of Pixar's doing) features a story that is oddly similar to Dreamworks' miserable MADAGASCAR. Why anyone would want to make a film that resembled MADAGASCAR in any way shape or form is a true mystery beyond pondering...and most critics and moviegoers seemed to agree.

Read the full review here

Ice Age: The Meltdown by John Powell

Powell’s “Ice” is nice…but nothing more?
Review by Steve Townsley

There is a seemingly inexhaustible legion of Hans Zimmer acolytes that are composing today, and there’s a good chance that if an high-profile animated movie is released, someone previously associated with Hans Zimmer in the past will be scoring it. Usually, this is a good thing—the melodies are charming, the action music is tense, and for an animated film, it’s usually just what the picture needs.

Read the full review here

World Trade Center - Film Review

by Cap Stewart

Oliver Stone is nothing if not controversial. This time around, though, the controversy surrounding World Trade Center is based on the fact that the award-winning director has jettisoned his usual trademarks in favor of telling a simple and straightforward story.

Reverent, heartfelt, restrained, spiritual, patriotic—the film is all these things and much more. There is no need for extravagant effects and Stone thankfully avoids sensationalism. Most of the horror the movie portrays isn’t visual—it’s aural. Rather than being forced to watch what we have already seen a hundred times, we simply hear the first plane’s impact. When the policemen run into the elevator shafts for safety, we don’t see much; instead, we endure the seemingly-endless and gratuitous sounds of the towers collapsing. What we hear is more than enough to make the movie real.

World Trade Center may not affect the emotional palate as strongly as United 93 did, but it is easier to swallow. In fact, some have complained that the approach Stone takes is too soft, turning the story into a generic search-and-rescue effort that could just as easily have taken place in a mining shaft or burning building. I’m not sure if these people saw the same movie I did. Elements of 9/11 permeate the narrative, continually reminding us that this was no mere accident. The movie may not be as intense or heart wrenching as United 93 was, but it doesn’t need to be.

Given the simplicity of the plot, it’s hard to believe how quickly the two hours pass. Once the Port Authority officers are trapped under the rubble of the towers, the story alternates between their conversations as they fight to stay alive and the interactions of their family members as they wait for any news from Ground Zero. The dialogue isn’t polished, which actually serves the film well. In the midst of great tragedy, victims don’t automatically wax eloquent. These were real, normal people engaging in real, normal relationships. Life is filled with these “little moments,” the consequences of which are seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things. And yet, as we see in the movie, the mundane aspects of life can have a greater impact on us than we might imagine.

Like the movie, Craig Armstrong’s music is simple and restrained. It’s nothing that grabs your attention—but then, that was probably the point. Dominated by a melancholy piano theme (heard in the trailers) and string-heavy underscore, the music doesn’t really rise to any prominence until the climax. Much of the film’s music contributes little more than ethereal subtext. In fact, the most intense scenes are completely music-free—a nice touch that helps the film avoid accusations of shameless manipulation.

This year has brought us two motion pictures about September 11 2001, both of which have treated their subject matter with dignity and respect. Oliver Stone and Paul Greengrass deserve our admiration for their efforts. And let’s hope that future cinematic treatments of this topic rise to the standard these two men have set.

Blog Troubles

Well folks...you might notice some weirdness around the Tracksounds Blog. No...I mean weirder than normal.

Seems there are some issues with some of the images showing properly. After a couple hours of testing...I have come to the conclusion that I don't know what the hey is going on here.

In any event, the all-important content is showing up, so enjoy that. Look for some all-new stuff in the next few days...with or without images. :)

Windows Media Player 11 (Beta) - Part I

Part I - Test Track!:
Microsoft's Windows Media Player 11.

As some of you know, my faithful PC tanked after nearly 3 years of continual running and forced-labor.

As a side note: I got my new Dell in a record 5 days! Dell is truly an amazing company. I ordered a new soundtrack CD from an online vendor (who shall remain nameless...for now) a day BEFORE I ordered my new PC and I have my new PC running for four days...and no still no sign of the CD. Let's see. Popping a CD into a jiffy bag and mailing it off versus building a PC from scratch and shipping it. Which do you think should take longer???

As I was saying...in setting up my new PC, I found that ol' Microsoft had released a public Beta of the upcoming WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER (v. 11). So I decided to try it out. WMP has been my choice for listening to my music collection for some time...although I have used MUSICMATCH for ripping.

Over the next few days (or so) I'll be posting my thoughts on the new player. You ask, "Why?" Well, inevitably you are using WMP, Musichmatch, WinAmp, or some other media player to listen to your favorite LEGAL mp3s, so I'm hoping you'll find these little postings relevant.

For my first official entry... I'll simply post a screenie and say that I'm very impressed with this BETA. It has yet to crash after to putting it to the test of organizing my library and several CD rips. The new interface takes some getting used to, but it certainly has taken a couple steps forward in its design esthetic.

You can download the BETA here

Next up...more detail on the new layout...

Interview with composer Christopher Lennertz

Tracksounds speaks with composer CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ after the announcement of his Emmy nomination for his score to the pilot episode of the hit television series, SUPERNATURAL, and just a few weeks before his wedding! The composer shares about his experience on the show, his upcoming score for the 3D-animated film SHARK BAIT, upcoming release of his score for the video game GUN and two upcoming projects for two SONY PLAYSTATION 3 titles!

Check out the full interview here!

Enter to Win Lady in the Water by James Newton Howard

You can win LADY IN THE WATER - Music from the Motion Picture by James Newton Howard!
Simply write a caption the picture featured from the film in our special contest forum. The TOP 3 entries, as voted on by the official contest judges, will each receive one copy of the original soundtrack as released by Decca Records. Please read the Contest Rules for this contest before entering.
One soundtrack CD will be awarded to the TOP 3 entries!

(USA RESIDENTS ONLY!)

Enter the Contest Here