Well I think you all know by now how much I like these drama comps. This one much more focused than Beautiful Music 101. The theme is sad and nostalgic with strings in each track. There are a few that place more emphasis on keys. This is almost a guilty pleasure of mine. Seemingly normal people don't listen to this music in their spare time. Many of these tracks seem fitting for a funeral, but actually these overly dramatic styles make me appreciate that I'm alive. I also draw inspiration and creativity from them.
What is this cover about? I thought the original image was beautifully creepy. The mask is stoic, but the woman under the mask looks like she could be in a great deal of pain. Sometimes that's how it is. Music is therapeutic in that helps us release emotions that we may not show otherwise. Happily Atrophied is the title... from the day we're born... every day that follows we come closer to dying. For us stoics, our faces die much sooner than the rest of our bodies. I'm happiest behind my mask.
Happily Atrophied...
01. Norihiro Tsuru - Eternal Breath
02. Keith Mansfield - Wonderlust
03. Arthur Verocai - Sylvia
04. Noriyuki Asakura - Departure (Director's Mix)
05. John Ottman - Usual Suspects Theme
06. Johnny Pearson - Habitat
07. Satoshi Kudokura - Theme of Druid
08. Shigeaki Saegusa - Red Passing Rain
09. Roger Webb - Smile of Fate
10. Keiki Kobayashi - Ephemeral Dream
11. Matsuura Akihisa - A Great Duel in the Southern Ocean IV
12. Maurice Jarre - Samourai
13. Richard Rodney Bennett - Bennett's Brain Theme
14. Carlo Rustichelli - Probabilita 0
15. Lonnie Liston Smith - Garden of Peace
16. Noriyuki Asakura - Frozen Flare
17. Taku Iwasaki - Day After Day
18. Satoshi Kudokura - Windaria
19. Masashi Hamauzu - Wandering Flame
20. Yoshimasa Mine - Lady Meat Slave
21. Akira Ifukube - Death of the Golden Sun
22. Riz Ortolani - The Captain's Death
23. Noriyuki Asakura - Kaoru to Misao (III)
24. Taro Iwashiro - Troubled Memories
25. Samuel Barber - Adagio For Strings
26. Clint Mansell - Tree of Life
27. Hrangue - Farewell Link
As you can see, this comp has a heavy Japanese influence. I believe the Japanese have mastered this sound, but don't take my word for it. I even borrowed a couple from Japanese soundtrack expert and connoisseur, H2O!, of Asian Cinema Scores... kudos to you. The strings are so consistent I had a hard time choosing favorites which is always a good thing. Most of the tracks sound like you just died and you're on your way to heaven, but there is one exception. Tree of Life sounds quite evil, but it's a beautiful use of the strings. There are some neutral "earthy" sounding tracks too like Habitat and Sylvia.
Surprisingly enough, I want to do a new instrumental mix and Gems From the Slums No2 is on my agenda also. I warn you this music is quite touching. Enjoy!
8 comments:
"I believe the Japanese have mastered this sound." They have an affinity for absorbing Western influences and putting their spin on things.
I've heard that Keith Mansfield track 'Wonderlust' before (as it was part of the KPM library). It's truly a magnificent track. But I'm surprised you didn't include any Ennio Morricone. He's a genius with strings.
P.S. Never heard back from you about the music. Have you been real busy?
Wonderlust was an instant hit with me. It reminded me of the daytime soaps my grandmom watched when I was a kid. It's a shame that level of quality music is gone from TV and has been for a long time.
I have so much Morricone it's hard to keep up with. I had particular sounds in my head. Overall, when I think Morricone I think spaghetti western. Some of these tracks I've been looking for FOREVER and I just found them this year... tunes I've had stuck in my head since I was 10.
Yup, love those songs. And you're right -- they don't make songs like those anymore.
Samourai is from Red Sun, the Western with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune. An excellent film. Bennett's Brain Theme is awesome! Too bad about the sound quality though. A lot of winners here, but I didn't cry. Something like Clair de Lune or Pavane for a Dead Princess might make me feel that way.
All in all an excellent mix. Thanks for this. BTW, you've made several tracks before, including on here. Are you doing it by yourself on a synth or something?
Eh, I wish I had musical talent. Who knows... maybe I do, but I've never tried. I change the name if I only use a snippet or if I chop something and make a "pseudo" beat. Also, I might rename if the origin is just unknown. That's one thing I really like about the library genre even though most of this isn't library. The tracks have very interesting names or they have functional names (tag, link, sting, extended end, a, b, c, iv, etc.)
As for Red Sun, it was a random OST I had. It's rare for me to have actually seen the movie to he OSTs I have. And yeah I'll be looking forward to a reissue of Bennett's Brain if they ever make one.
I was thinking of using Clair De Lune or this other Debussy track that I have, but I thought it was a bit too mainstream. Anyway here's the origin of the Farewell Link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLBjp5XKKVk
Now THAT was unexpected. Marc Anthony? I had no clue. There's a song of his, 'Amor, Amor, Amor', which Luis Miguel does an excellent cover of (better than the original IMO). You should check it out.
Nice comp.!! Thanks
Bennett's Brain has actually been recently re-released.
epic!
thnx
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