CHASING LEGENDS – Haik Naltchayan

Original Review by Alan Rogers

The Tour de France is a gruelling bicycle race held in France and neighbouring countries, covering more than 3,500 kilometres over 3 weeks during the summer. Jason Berry’s documentary, Chasing Legends, follows the progress of professional cycling team Columbia-HTC through their successful participation in the 2009 race. Comprising of race footage, live race TV commentary, interviews from competing cyclists, etc., it is a film aimed more at the non-cyclist and focusing on the personal dramas within the race rather than being a retelling of the race itself. Watching the theatrical trailer, the film is full of soaring helicopter shots, beautiful scenery, speed (cyclists can average speeds of 25-30 mph during a race) and crashes, all the elements that shouts out for an over-the-top score.

American-born newcomer composer Haik Naltchayan seems to be director Jason Berry’s go-to composer for cycling documentaries, having scored his previous films Off Road To Athens (2005) and 24 Solo (2007). For this 2010 film, Naltchayan delivers the required over-the-top score, so much so that the music sounds like a collection pieces you would expect to hear in film trailers. Although it’s inclusion of the music does heighten the excitement of the film, some reviews of the film have complained that it is a bit overbearing. But listening to the music away from the images, it’s a very enjoyable experience. Although there are quieter tracks such as “Malloit Vert” (featuring a delicate piano line that still manages to retain the sense of movement contained in the other, more powerful tracks) and “A Darker Day” (again with piano but this time the rhythm is maintained by bass guitar), Chasing Legends is a score that is track after track filled with meaty percussion rhythms, bold synth ostinatos and strong piano chords. A listen to any of the clips that are available online will lay out exactly what to expect in the score as a whole – if you like these clips then you’ll love the album. 

ARMADILLO – Uno Helmersson

Original Review by Alan Rogers

Janus Metz’s Danish language documentary film Armadillo was met with critical acclaim when released in 2010. This “fly-on-the-wall” documentary follows a group of Danish soldiers during their tour in the Helmand Province region of Afghanistan. Swedish-born composer Uno Helmersson (who has worked on numerous projects with Johan Söderqvist) has composed music for a number of short films and documentaries and with his score for Armadillo he chooses to give the dramatic images a minimal, dark and ambient score that is full of tension but which is, in the final analysis, of limited interest as a stand-alone listening experience.

Composers who write music for documentaries have a difficult job as the music serves a different purpose compared with a dramatic, narrative film of fiction. And the day-to-day life of a soldier tends to be one of extended periods of the mundane and inactivity, interspersed with tension-filled patrols and the prospect that, at any moment, a situation can (literally) explode in front of them. Unfortunately, Helmersson’s score mimics these soldiers’ experiences in that the music for the film is full of ambient music and soundscapes that I find not particularly interesting after a while. Strings (the score is played by members of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra) feature heavily in this score, with long lines heightening the tension. Part of this string-based ambience is a repeating, meandering string motif that reminds me of Philip Glass (“Camp Armadillo” and “Home To Denmark”). This ostinato pattern immediately sets up a sense of tension and uncertainty. Partnering the orchestral music (in equal measure) is processed sounds (including processing of recorded instruments). This soundscape must play an effective role in supporting the tension on-screen, but tends to make the album drag on a bit. The soundscape heard in “The Watchtower” is reminiscent of Elliot Goldenthal’s Alien³ but, unlike Goldenthal’s excellent score, there’s not much respite from this ambience and this means that interest in the score does begin to wane.