Continuing with our catch-up of weekly recommended scores, here’s a round-up of scores that caught my attention over the week ending, 15th March 2024.
The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024) – Michael Abels (Back Lot Music)
In The American Society of Magical Negroes (dir. Kobi Libii), a satirical comedy-drama feature, a young man is recruited into a Harry Potter-style secret society. The society is tasked with calming the anxieties of white angst, preventing them from directing their frustrations towards African Americans. After an excellent orchestral main titles opening, which establishes the score’s main theme and a magical setting for both the movie and score, composer Michael Abels does a good job of creating a strong dramatic narrative. It’s a fun score – meaning the music is not overly dramatic rather than being comedic – with echoes of Thomas Newman with the use of percussion. There are moments where the music does turn more dramatic but, overall, it’s a solid listen.
El Maddah 4: Ostoret El Awda (2024) – Kareem Abdelwahab (O2music)
El Maddah 4: Ostoret El Awda (aka Al Maddah 4: Ostorat Al Awda, dir. Ahmed Samir Farag) is season 4 of an Egyptian TV series, El Maddah. This season follows Saber Al Maddah as he battles supernatural forces when he responds to a plea for help in Upper Egypt. The score is written by Egyptian composer produced Kareem Abd El-Wahab (the surname is quoted above as it is found on online stores and streaming platforms). Western orchestrations mix with ethnic instruments and vocals for a varied album that’s probably far too long (90 minutes). The choice to organise the album in alphabetical track title order does little to provide any sense of score development. However, there’s still much to reward those who invest the time. The music itself moves from reflective and tender piano passages with lovely wordless vocals through to pounding and energetic rhythms alongside ethnic orchestrations (and more vocals) – and much in between. Note that low brooding strings and rumbling percussion are the prominent feel in a 20-minute Vol. 2 album released in April 2024. The aforementioned brooding soundscape is supplemented with ethnic vocals as well as church organ, and offers a perhaps easier “bite-sized” summary of this current album.
Reel Music 