Attack the Block... PLEASE!!!

Finally, an electronic score that is both, original in its scope and refreshing to boot...

Today sees the digital U.S. release of Attack the Block (Amazon.com). A soundtrack/score that is a combination of Steven Price's score work mixed with Basement Jaxx's (Felix Burton & Simon Ratcliffe) electronic work.

The film won't be released until Friday, but already, this is turning into one of my favorite scores for this year.

Obviously, it doesn't follow the mainstream (haha) orchestral score sound, but is in the score genre that seems to be burgeoning in the industry.

Recently, there have been quite a few popular films with similar type scores, Tron: Legacy (Daft Punk), The Social Network (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross), Hanna (The Chemical Brothers), etc...

To me, this score is the one that features elements from both traditional orchestra and the techno sound worlds, but blends them better than the others that came before. There are times that it seems the orchestra has been sampled that even lends itself to the techno sound and making the blend seem more authentic.

Immediately with the opening track "The Block" you can't help but bob the head to the fat beat that's laid out. All the elements that are contained in the cue make for a very interesting conglomeration, not least of which is something I've already mentioned... the sampled (or at least that's the way it sounds) orchestra.

One of the things that I love about this score is the amount of different instruments that the composers have at their fingertips, and actually use. In the track "Round Two Bruv" it begins right away with some awesome sounding synth stuff including a Theramin emulation. But the piece goes through transformations and eventually, the main melody is played by the orchestra with bits of the electronic thrown in.

The album does a great job of mixing the different elements while keeping it fresh and listenable. But it wasn't until "Rooftops" that my blood really got pumping. The thumping and arpeggiator race along in what I imagine is a rooftop race across some random part of South London.

This soundtrack is very exciting, and doesn't disappoint. From the bit crushing to the full orchestral barrage, it has a little something for everyone. And the vintage electronic sounds combined with kitsch sic-fi music cliches, I LOVE listening to this (and have many times already).

To round out the album, Basement Jaxx has included a song by them that I imagine will bring the house down at the film's conclusion in "The Ends". From what I've read elsewhere Basement Jaxx's style is house... or dub step... or some other sub-genre of techno that I am not quite familiar with. Either way this track really makes my head bob! So please, if you like electronics and orchestral fare in your ears, don't hesitate to pick this up!

I can't wait until one of my friends asks me to score one of their projects in this style!

And now I leave you at the Ends...

Limpwings - My most recent project

I've been incommunicado for a while now, and I'd just like to apologize and say, "... but I was working really hard. I swear!"

I really was. I have just recently completed scoring an independent dramatic comedy called Limpwings.

It was produced by Two Jackets Productions, which is made up of Adrew Neill, Marcus Mann, and Eric Carlson. Andrew directed the screenplay written by Marcus.

They were kind enough to ask me to be a part of the project when I was only part of the way through my work on Curtain Call. Much like Curtain Call, this was a project of love with a budget that was a pittance, and only existed at all because of Kickstarter.com.

Overall, the project took me a little more than five weeks. In that time I was able to compose all the music necessary for the feature length film. And with over sixty minutes of score, that's not too bad.

So that's what I have for you right now... an apology and explanation.

I'll let you know where to send the check to get the DVD, and if there's a soundtrack release, well... you'll be the first to know!

Where I am

Well, I've actually been right here all along, but I've been a busy beaver.

I'm working on the score for an independent film called Limpwings.

Recently Ben and I released the soundtrack for Curtain Call. So far it's been reviewed by Herr Vogler, it's featured on ScoreNotes.com, and is available for request on streamingsoundtracks.com.

Perhaps the craziest thing right now is that I'll be moving to Minnesota in about a month. Alright, I'll leave you with that for now.

Review for Curtain Call Score

My friend Brad, has written a review for Curtain Call, which just had its release on iTunes.

So check out the review, and then go and get the album!

Curtain Call on iTunes

The Curtain Call soundtrack by Ben and myself is released today on iTunes. If you haven't yet checked it out, go there and get it!

The Curtain Call Soundtrack

Today sees the final episode of Stromenger's 17 episode murder mystery web series Curtain Call.

Ben Larson and I are proud to announce the release of the Curtain Call Original Soundtrack. Not only does it include the single from the series sung by Haley Anne Boyd's character Cassie, but it also includes 20 tracks made up from the score.

We are initially releasing the OST today on our own store, and will be rolling it out to CDBaby, Amazon, and iTunes in the coming weeks.
For a little more info on the OST and to hear a few samples, go here.

So check it out, and then purchase it. You'd be supporting the arts!

John Scalzi - SF man signed my book

John Scalzi was recently in Portland... well, technically Beaverton, to promote his newest release, Fuzzy Nation.
So I made the trek with my wife, and my friends Amelia Bierly, and Matthew Steele.


He read from his April Fool's book, The Shadow War of the Night Dragons - Book One - The Dead City, and he also read from his unreleased project... which was pretty cool (but can't say anything more, as I was sworn to secrecy).

So please, if you like great sci-fi, and great stories, get yourself some Scalzi. In fact, if you want to read the book that got him into the business of authorship, you can read his novel, Agent to the Stars absolutely free!

Technical Difficulties

The server is going through some crazy problems right now, so hang tight as we figure this puppy out!

UPDATE:

Eventually all the old posts will arrive, once I can make it work.

Pirates On Stranger Tides: The Score

iTunes
Amazon
Today sees the release of Hans Zimmer's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Score. The fourth installment of Disney's series, and the third album attributed to Zimmer. Technically, it's his fourth as he wrote and contributed on the first movie's score, but due to contractual obligations wasn't allowed to put his name on the project, instead giving credit to Klaus Badelt.
From what I've read, the scripts for Pirates 5 and 6 have already been written to complete this newest trilogy.
When I first saw the trailer for 4, I really wasn't super impressed. I mean, yeah it had Penelope Cruz, and Ian McShane, but it was hard to not feel like the series was played out. The score for the 3rd movie was so epic and had so many themes, how could you keep putting fireworks on top of explosions.
After hearing the score for 4, my worry was unfounded.
Instead of chasing the epicness of it all, Zimmer decided to pull back and create a more subdued vibe. Truly, with the addition of guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela, the score, at times, takes on some very intimate tones.
The soundtrack has quite a few tracks, but only 11 of those are score, the rest filling out the album are remixes. However, the 45 minutes of score we do get is chock full of awesome.
The album starts with a track called "Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow." A very light opening with Jack's theme coming in solo string, and repeated in the violins. Soon the percussion and brass show up to elevate the intensity, but they don't push it to 11, they keep it nice and relatively calm.

The next track, "Angelica", begins with a very crunchy cello playing a tango rhythm. Soon joined by our Spanish guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela, the tango becomes more complicated and filled out. Portions of the orchestra accompany the guitars and solo cello to complete the track. This cue works very well for how Penelope's character will be portrayed in the film, and the addition of the guitarists creates a nearly unassailable authenticity. The instrumentation that Zimmer uses, and the genre (tango) really remind me a little of Zimmer's score for Sherlock Holmes, except, without the flair.
The first track to truly feature Rodrigo y Gabriela is "The Pirate That Should Not Be."

Yeah. These guitarists are amazing! And I love that they are on this score. When they start rocking out on their classical axes, I can't help but be reminded a little of Apocalyptica, the group of four cellos that play covers of heavy metal songs.
The track immediately following is called "Mermaids." Immediately, high, ethereal voices are present, with some interesting orchestral colours. Not sure what the female voices represent though... kidding. But seriously, the quality of the choir and the space they are in sounds amazing. I would venture to guess that this is the track that Eric Whitacre worked on for the score, as reported in his blog back in January. There are some great vocal things happening with voices fading in and out with (almost) creepy feelings... siren-esque. Probably one of my favorite representations of the mermaids alluring voices.
On the score, Rodrigo y Gabriela have three tracks that feature them almost exclusively, "The Pirate That Should Not Be", "South of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids", and "Angry and Dead Again". I have a very difficult time deciding which one is my favorite because they are really great. They did a great job of working in the old pirates and Jack Sparrow themes within their pieces. I'm going to be very interested to see how these pieces are worked into the film itself.

Another new theme for the score comes in the form of "Blackbeard", Ian McShane's character. The theme is very plodding, but it includes a little bit of distorted electric guitar. The way Zimmer wrote and had it orchestrated fits in really well with the Pirates idiom. At times the theme even almost sounds like a variation of the pirate themes that came before. I daresay that this track is potentially the biggest, breadth-wise, of any other on the score. Full orchestra and choir combine to make it quite huge, and the descending theme moving higher and higher doesn't hurt very much either.
I definitely love this score. I may be biased here, but the fact that Rodrigo y Gabriela are major contributions to this score, not to mention the little bit of Whitacre that I can hear, this score has quickly become my favorite Pirates score. If Pirates 5 ever does get made, I'll be very interested to see where Zimmer takes it next.

Wesley - A short film

Last week I went to Portland's showing of some entries for the 24 hour short film competition. Ben wrote the music for one of the entries, so that was pretty awesome!
But one of the films they showed was from the 2010 Grand Prix Film Race called Wesley. It was pretty awesome and had won some awards from the competition last year including Best Writing and Best Actor.
I emailed Ken Korpi, the Writer/Director/Actor to let him know how much I enjoyed the film, and he emailed back letting me know about the Web Series they created out of the footage they had shot.
Wesley Short Film
So if you're all caught up on Curtain Call, you should definitely watch the Wesley series!

All these cool shows and their main titles

I watch a lot of TV. I know I probably shouldn't, but I justify it by saying its research for when I'll eventually be hired to make music for TV shows. One thing that I'm loving about shows on now are the intros... not only the graphics, but the music as well. So I just wanted to share with you a couple of my favorites from this years shows.
First, we have the opener for Showtime's The Borgias.

The music is by Trevor Morris and is pretty awesome. Not only does he use a choir singing some Latin to represent the church, but also a classical guitar slinging some great licks to represent the "Spanishness" of the Borgia family. Although, with the amount that they have sex, you'd think they'd be French... ba dum.
Next up we have one of my favorite graphic intros for HBO's Game of Thrones.

Ramin Djawadi came late into the game to replace Stephen Warbeck, for whatever reason. Not much of the music from the show has struck me as anything spectacular, but I do like the intro. But the graphics get me... I mean, combining castles and steampunk... I'm all over that!
This show isn't on anymore, but I dearly miss it, and it's great opening sequence. HBO's Deadwood.

David Schartz is the composer responsible for the awesomeness that is the Deadwood music.
Other honorable mentions:

• Trevor Morris' Pillars of the Earth
• Trevor Morris' The Tudors
• Jeff Beal's Rome
• The Danna brother's Camelot

The Book of Mormon

iTunes
Amazon
If you want to smile today, head on over to NPR to listen to Robert Lopez, Matt Stone and Trey Parker's 'The Book of Mormon' in its entirety! Beware, some of these lyrics are definitely not safe for work. It's the original Broadway cast recording.
Since I'm not going to NYC anytime soon, I sure hope this starts traveling soon! I may just have most of the lyrics memorized by then.
The official soundtrack doesn't get released until next week, but this recording should hold you over.
Please enjoy this hilarious musical about our favorite church of Latter-day Saints.
Watch the video below to hear Matt Stone and Trey Parker talk about their journey to making this most awesome musical.
!!!!

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New Harry Potter Trailer

The new trailer is out, and it is pretty awesome! JS Hanson is the composer for this recent trailer
I particularly like the disjointed theme at the beginning of the trailer. It really matches the dark flow of how the trailer was edited.
I really wish it was a sign that Alexadre Desplat was going to use some more of the themes from earlier in the series to tie it all back together, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
The only thing I didn't necessarily like was the orchestral rock theme that starts at 1:13... it was okay, but too Zimmery. Aside from that, I can't wait to see it, and this trailer makes that wait just a little harder. Pretty sweet!

Curtain Call Composer's Wrap

Benand I received notice that all music for the series has been approved.
In my opinion, the music has definitely improved with time, with some of our best cues still to come in the episodes that haven't yet aired.
In fact... my favorite cue that I wrote is in the finale, episode 17.
I'll fill you in on the details soon as Ben and I get everything cleaned up for posterity.
If you haven't yet, now's the time... go and watch Curtain Call!
Here's a cue from the most recently released episode...
Audio Sample

Music of a different flavor

I've spent the last few days in Louisiana taking contractor license tests, but I can say without a doubt that one of the coolest things I did while there was witness this impromptu concert on a random sidewalk adjacent to Bourbon Street.
As we were walking around the French Quarter, I commented that it'd be great to hear some New Orleans Polyphony... lo and behold, these guys broke out with some great music.
It's not something I listen to very often, but you've got to love this kind of jazz!!!

The cat is away

I'm traveling right now, so my post isn't going to be long, but I just wanted to show you what I'm listening to... jealous?
If you want one, go to La La Land might have one or two left.

Episode 9 - behind the curtain of the music

Todays Curtain Call release is the midpoint of the series. There were eight episodes before this one, and there will be eight more to come.
Right now, Ben and I are pretty much at a point where we can breath now. When the series began, we only had 3-4 days to compose the music based on how quickly the editor was able to finish and get us the material. Since then, we've had an opportunity (to catch up). Stromenger and the other editors have been busy getting more done in a quicker time allowing Ben and I to get ahead.
So now, we've also finished episodes 10, 11, 13, 14, and part of 15. On our end, we only have 3 and a half episodes left to go before our contribution to this project ends.
I wanted to take this post and talk a little bit about what we use to do our job. You may or may not know it... but there is no budget for music. One of the major drawbacks to this is not having the ability to hire musicians to perform the music. I can guarantee you that if Ben and I were able to play the instruments we use, we'd be recording ourselves. As it is, we do record live Piano, Guitar, and some drums/percussion.
For the instruments that we do not play, we are lucky enough to have some great samples in our library. One major company's products we use is East West. This is where a bulk of our orchestral samples and ethnic sounds comes from. For many other things we use Native Instruments synth instruments, or synths and samples that came with our DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
Our DAW of choice is Logic Studio, Apple's proprietary DAW.
Another piece of software we used for "Cassie's Song" was Melodyne, which is a pro level tuning program. This software is pretty brilliant! Not only does it fix tuning on notes, but you can manipulate vibrato, timing and many other things that seem like magic!
Here is a cue from episode nine where we were able to use an actual acoustic instrument... I know, right? First time being recorded, it's my baby, my Taylor classical acoustic guitar, combined with some French horn samples:
[audio:http://www.reedreimer.com/resources/Ep9_3.mp3]
So now that we have officially reached the halfway point... do you have a favorite cue? Of have you been too busy trying to figure out who did it to give much thought to the music?

Curtain Call Midway Point - almost

Episode 8 of Stromenger's Curtain Call was released today. Go and check it out here. If you haven't seen any of them yet, go here and start with episode 1. All creators would welcome and enjoy any comments you may have.
So now we're basically at the midpoint of the series. with 9 episodes left to be released, we've got a decent look at most of the suspects now.
Today, I felt like looking at a couple of the current stats for the show.
According to Stromenger, the series website has received 3,500 hits. Also, there has been over 2,700 individual episode views. Not bad.
As for Ben and myself, we have written music for all those episodes. We have also finished music for episodes 9, 10, and 13. When we combine all of that music together, we have composed over 60 minutes of music for the series so far.
To celebrate the (almost) midway point, I thought I'd share a cue from episode 8 with you. It is from the beginning of the episode, and so far the only cue that makes use of a quartet of strings.
[audio:http://www.reedreimer.com/resources/Ep8.mp3]
This cue was to underscore the detective's trip inward, working through some of the information he has in his mind. The direction for the cue was to represent anxiety and surrealism. So do you think it worked, or not?
Also, tune in and check out the awesome little montage scene and cue at the end of the episode!

An unexpected score surprise (sword & sworcery)

iTunes, BandCamp
This week saw the release of Jim Guthrie's Score for the retro styled iPad game Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. The album is titled Sword & Sworcery EP: The Ballad of the Space Babies.
I don't know very much about Guthrie, but I do know that he is a musician who resides in Toronto Canada.
However, I do know that over the past couple of weeks, this game and soundtrack were getting lots of press about being so awesomely cool and retro. I can't speak to the game, but I can say that I was delightfully surprised at the soundtrack. I honestly wasn't expecting too much based on my jealousy (I could do that... just give me the opportunity) factor. So when I listened to the samples on iTunes, I heard some very interesting stuff... not really at all what I was expecting.
The sound is more like an indie band messing with retro synths and sounds including chip tunes of some variety.
The first track "Dark Flute" which I can only presume is the game opener, hearkens back to the late 80's early 90's synth fantasy sounds, in an epic soundscape setting the stage for the vastness that is S&S:EP gameplay.
It's in the next track, "Lone Star" that the variety of sounds truly begins to show itself. Using his sequencer to great effect he creates some very interesting sounding loops that begin our musical journey.
A lot of this music, for me, is pretty haunting, and tells a great story. "The Maelstrom" is an example of this. It's simplicity is part of its epicness. The vibe the music provides is pretty strong. It's almost comparable to a huge emo song in its emotional content, but it keeps it simple.
It's funny to me when I look at the style of the game animation, the music is actually a step beyond. Yes, it does make use of retro sounding synths, but the live drum sounds, other live instruments and use of other effects really step up the quality of the music to something beyond just music in the game. If Guthrie had done a straight retro score, it wouldn't be this good.
Overall, I think Guthrie's creativity for this project should be lauded. To me, this is a better soundtrack than The Social Network... and that won an Oscar. This is what TSN could have been, especially when you combine the talents of Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor...
For 8.99 from iTunes or 7.99 from BandCamp, you definitely won't be disappointed for the 27 tracks you get!

Steve Jablonsky ruins MV/RC music for the future with Your Highness

A bit dramatic, I know... but when you listen to the score for Your Highness and if you know the music that Zimmer's studio (Media Ventures/Remote Control) has produced through the years, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Amazon
Jablonsky, an acolyte of Zimmer's, has had quite a few scores up to now. A couple of my favorites include Transformers, and The Island. Something that kindof comes with the territory of being one of Zimmer's pupil is a shared sound, whether it's the orchestrations, instrumentation, or the musical progressions this group uses, the scores all seem to have a very similar flavor. Sometimes they can break away from that stigma, and sometimes they can't. Either way, it doesn't really matter if they're doing what they're getting paid for. But I digest.
This newest score from Jablonsky definitely falls within the realm of the Zimmer School sound, and the score is better for it! Who knew that 20+ years of musical development (some might say stagnation, but that's kindof harsh) would culminate in the most perfect score? I'll try not to spend my time comparing this to other MV/RC scores, but instead talk about this one.
Your Highness, from what I can gather and infer of the trailers, is a very funny looking movie about two brothers from a time of sword and sorcery on a quest to find a kidnapped princess (or maiden, but does that detail matter?). So what kind of music should it have? Well, if you said epic orchestral with some dulcimer, solo violin, big brass, familiar rhythmic motives (a la Kamen's Robin Hood Prince of Thieves), some choral and vocal work, including a very appropriate, poorly sung love song... oh yeah, and some sweet synth work that sounds like its straight out of an early 90's cutting edge score... these things are ingredients that make up the score to Your Highness.
The score opens with the cue "Let Us Quest!" combining the orchestra with synth worthy of Doldinger and Moroder, then enters the heroic brass theme, and then the sweet solo violin plays, along with the chorus, taking us through to the rousing acoustic guitar and the buildup to the action, quicker moving strings and brass stabs with a Pirate's of the Caribbean vibe, and one of my favorites (and Stromenger's too) ascending brass stingers.

The next cue "Isabel the Strong" makes great use of the woodwinds by playing a lovely melody over the orchestra, which is then taken up by a solo female voice. Quite lovely as one pictures the butterfly's and little birdies fluttering around the maiden or some other heroine as the sunlight shines through her hair. Very quickly the tongue goes further into the cheek as the voice becomes a little stronger and the orchestra turns the saccharin up to 11.
The score is very effective in my opinion because it seems to play everything straight, mostly. Until we get to "The Greatest Most Beautifullest Love Song In All The Land" sung by Zooey Deschanel and James Franco. Zooey, a noted singer in various incarnations including an actual band is very able to accomplish the sweet maiden's part. Only when Franco's character enters does the beauty of this beautifully ridiculous song shine. I don't know whether or not Franco can actually sing, but for sure on this recording he makes a valiant attempt, or rather his character does, giving this song the wink it needs to help me stomach the panpipes.
The score continues with the epicness and the sweetness throughout the rest of the cues. Another great cue is "Mean Knights and Horsies O' My!" which contains the action music we've come to love, combining some very fast sounding strings and brass, with percussion-y pads, and Inception-like synths, all combining and morphing within the cue eventually bringing back the heroes theme in variation.
I'd love to have this score playing during a night of D & D, but I won't say anymore about that in fear of letting my nerd show more than it already has.

In the cue "Here Come the Marteetee" Jablonsky does what any good Zimmer alumn should be able to do... combine an orchestral cue with some heavily distorted rock guitars, transforming the cue to a rock song. At about 1:10 in the track, he does it. The drums and guitar rock out with an orchestral accompaniment, with a face melting lick over the top.
I am in love with this score right now, and it's making me excited to see the movie when it comes out... of course, I would have seen it anyway. I mean, come on... it's got Danny McBride and James Franco together again in a comedic sword and sorcery, not to mention Natalie Portman as a bad-ass ranger type. Yes please, thank you! But back to the score... in using the things that came before, Jablonsky takes the epic sound and applies it to this movie in a very serious fashion, highlighting and making melodrama where there wasn't any. I'm not sure a mickey mousing approach would have worked as well for me... but in saying so, it's going to be hard to listen to future MV/RC scores that use this material in a serious film.