AMALGAMA – Felipe Pérez Santiago

Four dentists attending a conference in a Mexican resort decide to escape the cerebral environment to spend the weekend on a tiny island paradise. This is the premise of the 2021 Mexican-Dominican Republic comedy-drama, Amalgama, written, produced and directed by Carlos Cuarón (brother of Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También (co-written with Carlos), Gravity, Roma)). Stars include Tony Dalton (Better Call Saul, Hawkeye) and Miguel Rodarte (Narcos: Mexico). All four dentists know each other, and the single female of the group is the subject of various advances from the three men. However, as events unfold, tensions surface and everyone’s personal issues become apparent.

The score for Amalgama is written by Mexican composer, Felipe Pérez Santiago, who has (according to his website) scored several feature films and been involved with numerous commissions worldwide. One of recent his credits is his involvement as ‘Artist in Residence’ (at time of writing, December 2021) with the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) ‘where he is leading “The Earthling Project”…collecting voices from all over the world, to make online global compositions and send them into space as a representation of the sounds of humanity.’ This interest in the uniqueness of the human voice is reflected in his score for Amalgama, where he uses five human voices a cappella – apparently a nod to the paradise island location – in a variety of combinations, and asks challenging requirements of sopranos Jenny Beaujean and Sarmen Almond, alto Leika Mochán, tenor Juan Pablo Villa (also Vocal Director), and bass Gustavo Rangel. “Camino a la isla de Eusebio” highlights the extent to which the composer (and vocalists!) creates various sounds with the five voices. Perhaps not a ‘main theme’ as such, the melodic creation of this track opens with back-and-forth, confrontation-like input from both female and males singers and, as the cue progresses these two opposing components join in unison to create a single harmonious ‘voice’. The musical ideas presented in “Camino a la isla de Eusebio” reappear towards the end of the score in tracks “De vuelta a la realidad” and “Amalgama”. It’s interesting to note that in this latter cue all the vocalists are singing ‘Amalgama’ in various guises. This early musical soundscape is a sound that’s quite arresting to hear, beautifully expressive and wonderfully recorded.

Within the score as a whole, the soprano and alto voices dominate the melodic lines of tracks such as “Camino a la isla de Eusebio”, “Camino a la Isla del Cielo”, “Elena enloquece”, and “Confesión de Hugo”. It’s interesting that the apparent dominance of the female voice in the score appears to mirror the central part the female character (Elena, played by Stephanie Cayo) takes in the film’s storyline. The versatility of the human voice is highlighted once more in tracks such as “Dum” and “Elena enloquece” where staccato and vibrato effects give a harsh and unsettling quality to the music. Whispering/breathy effects then gives the score a delicate, fragile feel (“Nel” and “El beso”). The vocalisations even manage to recreate a sound that’s very much like a theremin (“Hagamos olas”, “Elena llora”)!

The 21-track score as presented on the Besos Cósmicos soundtrack runs to a little over 18 minutes but in that time we hear the human voice being put through its paces: singers must have been exhausted and their vocal chords must have been taken to breaking point! But what they have created is a wonderfully expressive, organic and inventive score that’s a welcome change from the predominant focus on orchestral scoring that most film genres use in their soundtracks. The remainder of the album is filled with a variety of songs (including a couple credited to Mateo Cuarón) and these are interspersed throughout the release. I would suggest programming these to the end of the soundtrack so as to not detract from the effort taken to create a score with such a vivid and memorable atmosphere.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

1. Créditos iniciales (0:49)
2. Camino a la isla de Eusebio (1:26)
3. INLAND (Mateo Cuarón) (5:15)
4. Isla de Eusebio (0:38)
5. Camino a la Isla del Cielo (1:00)
6. Ritmo Dentro (Rosaly Rubio) (2:53)
7. Dum (1:17)
8. A la deriva (0:49)
9. Elena enloquece (0:53)
10. Saúl mon héros (1:06)
11. Goomba Boomba (Yma Sumac) (4:13)
12. Nel (1:06)
13. El beso (0:25)
14. Confesión de Saúl (0:34)
15. Confesión de Hugo (1:53)
16. Oui, oui! (0:22)
17. Delirando (Mexican Institute of Sound) (4:34)
18. Post coitum (0:15)
19. ¿Qué pachó? (0:28)
20. Hagamos olas (0:49)
21. Elena llora (0:46)
22. Ricky (0:43)
23. Nana (0:40)
24. A Ponernos De Buenas (Pasarla Sabrosón) (Mateo Cuarón) (2:26)
25. De vuelta a la realidad (0:43)
26. Amalgama (1:49)

Running Time: 37:52 (score: 18:31)

Besos Cósmicos (2021)

ОТРЯД ТАГАНОК (OTRYAD TAGANOK/TAGANOK SQUAD) – Kamil Abdullin

Отряд Таганок (Otryad Taganok), translated as Taganok Squad, is a Russian family adventure film (based upon a story written by Bashkir poet, Mustai Karim) produced by the Bashkortostan Film Studio. Directed by Ainur Askarov, the film was originally shot back in 2018 but the pandemic delayed its release until early 2021. The film tells the story of three boys who spend the long summer days finding their own things to do in the surrounding countryside, using their imagination to fill their time. Inspired by a local legend which says that a mountain overlooking their homes will destroy their village unless they repopulate a mountain lake with fish, they begin their self-appointed quest. As well as the group trying to achieve their physical goal, the film shows them growing and developing as individuals (and as a team).

LAID TO WASTE – Jacob McNatt

Laid to Waste is an audio drama written, produced, directed, and edited by Brett Schlagel. The production is set in Kansas in the 1870s and focuses on a pair of private detectives (PIs)/bounty hunters who are following up leads on several missing persons. Their investigations have led them to a general store where travellers can overnight and the investigators hatch a plan to uncover the true identity of the family who runs the establishment. They hope to get to the bottom of what’s been happening to those people who have been going missing.

The score for Laid to Waste is by composer (and voice actor) Jacob McNatt whose previous works includes music for podcasts (Stolen Moments, Casual Magics) and video games (Forgetful Dictator). After the opening track (“Laid to Waste Main Theme”), which sets out a summary of the musical ideas heard in the 30-minute score, the album takes on a sombre tone that’s present throughout most of the remainder of the score. Dark moody string chords sets up this muted feel to the music and these chords are accompanied by sustained high strings that creates an strong, uneasy tension (“The Home on the Range”).Agitated string motifs and combinations of staccato and pizzicato strings builds further psychological pressure to scenes that are predominantly dialogue (“And What is it That We Do?”, “Get Diggin’”). McNatt’s uses all of these elements to create an aural soundscape provides an effective setting for the vocal actors’ conversations, supporting the scenes but not detracting from the focus on what’s being said. It’s a tricky balance to achieve but the composer succeeds in getting the balance right. Added to use of the string ensemble are woodwinds (several of which are heard at extremely low register) and timpani which provide additional colour and offers even more opportunity to add to the overall oppressive mood.

LA OCTAVA DIMENSIÓN – Javier Bayon

La Octava Dimensión is a film from 2018 that was commissioned by Audi as part of an advertising campaign to promote their Q8 model. Directed by Kike Maillo (Eva, A Perfect Enemy), and starring Najwa Nimri (Abre Los Ojos, Lucía y el Sexo) as thriller writer Olga Calderón, the short film ends up being more than just a big, long advert for the car and this is in no small part to the contribution made by composer, Javier Bayon (Dorien, Te Quiero, Imbécil). The writer is giving a masterclass to a group of students and illustrates the various elements needed to create an effective story (the ‘eight dimensions’ of the title). She uses a fictitious example (featuring an alter ego of herself) to highlight each of the story elements and the director nimbly moves between the dramatic example – which centres around a 2-vehicle accident – and the seminar-room masterclass setting. Each element of the story is added and, bit by bit, the story is fleshed out and the motives of the principal characters are revealed. The short film ends up being an interesting exploration of the preconceived ideas and biases as the narrative of the story is built up and we learn more about various aspects of the drama.

THE PINK CLOUD – Caio Amon

The Pink Cloud (A Nuvem Rosa) is a Brazilian sci-fi drama that shows the day-to-day lives of two people who are forced to share a life after only just having met. Iuli Gerbase’s directorial debut has a mysterious cloud descending on the earth and which quickly kills everyone exposed to it. This forces everyone to stay indoors. After a casual one-night stand Giovana and Yago must adapt to the prospect of spending an unknown period of time together. Written in 2017 and shot in 2019 real-world events have overtaken the film’s story such that the parallels with COVID-19 are unmistakable. The origins of the cloud and the science behind the cloud’s existence and effects are never explained and the movie becomes a character study on how the main protagonists cope with their enforced quarantine.

EAGLE WINGS – Chuck Okudo

A Nigerian action thriller, Eagle Wings tells the story of an air force fighter pilot whose jet crashes in a region controlled by insurgents and the movie then follows the subsequent efforts to rescue him. Noteworthy because of being the first collaboration between a Nollywood production company and the military (Nigerian Air Force), the movie benefits from this partnership with access to military expertise and training, and hardware. Eagle Wings received mixed reviews on release, with one of the major criticisms being that movie acts as one big advert for the military. However, the appearance of the movie and the action sequences have come in for some praise.

VIOLATION – Andrea Boccadoro

Madeleine Sims-Fewer stars in and co-directs Violation, a brutal examination of the trauma inflicted on women by male violence. Miriam (Sims-Fewer) travels with her husband to visit here sister (and her husband, Dylan) in an isolated Canadian forest location. Miriam unburdens the frustrations of her marriage to Dylan but events soon deteriorate. The film’s narrative intercuts a couple of timelines, revealing what happened between Miriam and Dylan with the repercussions of that evening. The film follows Miriam’s descent into the violent consequences. Reviews of Violation have focused in large part on the claustrophobic feel of the film and on the brutal violence featured but has been praised for being a fresh take on the rape-revenge genre.

2020 Reel Music Awards – 2020 scores for consideration

Another bumper year of music from movies, TV shows, and games (and other interactive media) provides solace for a difficult year for everyone.

Music written for the various media areas has always had an appeal because of the way it can instil a whole gamut of emotions in the listener over a relatively short period of time (unless it’s a 2+ hour, 3 CD complete score release). And these soundtracks/scores have been needed in a big way in 2020. Usually “awards” such as those announce annually by Reel Music have really had little bearing in the grand scheme of things but this time, although they may still mean very little to most people, hopefully highlighting some of the most enjoyable albums will help point some in the direction of music that helps brighten the day.

WILD AND WONDERFUL DENMARK – Peter Due, Anthony Lledo & Rasmus Zwicki

Wild and Wonderful Denmark (Vilde vidunderlige Danmark) is a 5-part documentary from 2020 about the varied wildlife of Denmark. Each episode is devoted to one of five different habitats – the forest, the sea and coastline, the open land (heathland), the lake and river, and the city – and each habitat features its own specific ecological communities. Natural history documentaries have been a fruitful area for composers over the years: I remember being thrilled by Edward William’s opening theme for Life On Earth and his sometimes-quirky series music back in the late 1970s and being impressed by the recent efforts of Steven Price (The Hunt), Edmund Butt (Yellowstone), Panu Aaltio (Metsän Tarina & Tales of A Lake), Benjamin Wallfisch (Hostile Planet) and many others. The music for nature documentaries cannot be discussed without mentioning George Fenton, whose run of breathtaking and groundbreaking scores for BBC documentaries – e.g., The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet – became the benchmark for natural world documentary scoring. The music for Wild and Wonderful Denmark is composed by the trio of Danish composers Anthony Lledo, Rasmus Zwicki and Peter Due and their music can be added to the long list of exceptional scores written for wildlife documentaries. Ranging from full orchestra and choir down to smaller-scale ensemble pieces for select sections of the orchestra, the composers’ music captures the grand majesty and variety of the Danish landscape, and the often one-on-one encounters between predator and prey.

THE GOOD BOOK – Heather Fenoughty

The Good Book (dir. Brett Chapman), a 2020 short film produced by the Slung Low/Leeds People’s Theatre, is a dystopian story set in the near future. Britain is divided and on the cusp of civil war. Revolution has led to a society based around Arthurian legend where the new head of state’s (Queen Bear/King Arthur) authority is challenged by the followers of Galahad. Protagonist Avalon (Riana Duce), caught in the middle of this conflict, embarks on a mission to save a special book from the book-burning followers of Galahad.

The Good Book’s score is by Sheffield-based composer Heather Fenoughty, whose filmography includes short films, documentaries and several feature films including, most recently, the animated feature StarDog & TurboCat (2019). Fenoughty, a keen supporter of nurturing grassroots talent, has had a long association with Slung Low, writing music and sound design for many of their productions. For The Good Book, the composer’s music provides strong support to the film’s atmosphere of tension and unease as the movie’s narrative focuses early on with establishing the setting and the various machinations of the main characters. A dramatic finale gives an opportunity for Fenoughty to create an animated and emotion-charged climax.