Above and Beyond by Audiomachine

To wrap this wonderful week up in one tight ribbon, I have here a track from Audiomachine.

Audiomachine is my favorite trailer music company. Today's track comes from 2013's Tree of Life and was featured in the trailer from Monday's film: Cinderella.

Composed by the talented Paul Dinletir, Above and Beyond

Slow piano begins the track and gives us the theme. A short burst of percussion is the cue for the strings, coming in as spiccato and starting the buildup. The cello invites itself in, playing some high notes and introducing the primary theme.

Everything begins to come together as the percussion maintains a steady beat that forshadows what is to come. The percussion and strings play together shortly before reaching its peak and bringing in the choir, which is perfectly balanced and does not overpower the instruments.

I love how everything is so delicately mixed. This is one of my all-time favorite songs from the trailer genre.

Final Symphony

To go along with the Patrick Doyle's beautiful score from Monday, I thought that some music from the popular video game franchise Final Fantasy would be perfect. The album Final Symphony is a collection of the music and you have to hear it first before saying anything.

I know just about nothing about Final Fantasy, but absolutely love the music in this album. The structure of the tracks and overall sound definitely leans toward the classical side, but only considered a classic in the game industry. The complexity of the themes is astounding, giving this the name of best video game music is history.

Yes, there is some great game music out there, but this transcends it all. Being probably one of the most creative game scores I have listened to (and the most classical sounding), from the soothing piano, to the beautiful strings, and everything playing in perfect harmony, this is not traditional game music.

Final Fantasy tends to rely on the strings for the majority of the themes, but in the Symphonic Poem, there are several instruments that add a fullness and very curious sound. It is in no way serious, as it flies down paths that make you chuckle. The main theme is heard throughout the entire piece, although not frequent. The rest is made up of various other themes and sounds/techniques.

Encore: Final Fantasy X is another beautiful piece that presents some themes that create a state of absolute peace and joy. The epic action and length return with the Symphony in Three Movements which is 41 minutes total of extra music.

Now, I hope that you are ready to listen to this noteworthy compilation.

Cinderella

It feels like a week ago that that I witnessed that teaser trailer of a glass slipper glimmering on a turntable. "Seriously, how is Disney going to re-make Cinderella?" I thought. I am not the only one that is a bit tired of those infinite modern Cinderella stories.

Disney's Cinderella from 2015 was nothing like what I expected. I was quite impressed. Patrick Doyle composed the beautiful score that is rich with exciting and very memorable themes which inherit the traditional, magical Disney sound.

Each track in the score has a unique sound to it that is easily recognized. The main theme is quietly introduced and continued throughout the score and across a range of instruments, but when all the instruments all come together and boldly present the theme to you, is is extraordinary.

The main theme is not heard excessively but is accompanied with other themes that delicately hint at it. This score does express an amount of sorrow, but it is always accompanied or entangled with some form of joyous sound. The main conflict in this film is not just between Cinderella and her new family but with keeping her promise to always stay kind and have courage.

When the resolving end is nearing and finally met, you will find an incredibly satisfying ending. This score is one that can be listened to on repeat, and shuffle if you desire. Whether you need some inspiration or encouragement this week, I hope that this score will help you in that. It lifts my spirit to new heights every time I play it, as I hope it does the same to you.

Re-Scheduling, Epic 1-Hour Playlist

I hope you have been enjoying my daily posts. I have decided to cut back on my daily journey and give you three a week. I want to provide meaningful updates that dig into the topics that I am discussing. To begin, I want to start a pattern in what you will find each week.

On Monday you will find film music, either an album, series, theme focus, etc. My vision is that this will inspire you and help jump start your busy week. Music has a wonderful way of doing that. 

Wednesdays are dedicated to game music. It is half-way through the week and you need energy. Not all game music is all action though, but it will be fine. 

Finally, on Friday, you will find a featured track from my library of trailer music. This will wrap up the week and hopefully inspire you again (maybe for that side project in your closet?).

I hope you enjoy what I have planned for next week, and since it is Friday, I have to give you some trailer music. Below you will find a one hour playlist of some excellent trailer music. 

Let me know what you think, and Enjoy!

Selected Themes From The Battlefield Series

Most of the soundtracks I listen to are from games and films that I have never seen and sometimes have never heard of it, but am willing to listen to the music. No, I have not seen Interstellar, or Inside Out, or The Dark Knight, or The Force Awakens, or... a ton. I guess I don't watch a ton of films or play the games.

I can say that I have played four of the games that I will be talking about today. 

The Battlefield series is a popular military first person shooter. It aims for a more realistic, modern experience (after Battlefield 2), and in my opinion, makes the military shine. There are several releases in the beginning, but the major ones are what I will be focusing on. 

The most interesting thing about the Battlefield series is that the main theme is somewhat carried through the series in some form. The first time I heard that epic theme was in London Philharmonic's The Greatest Video Game Music. This is all the way back to Battlefield 2 from 2005. I am not sure if this theme was first introduced here or with the first installment since the soundtrack is hard if not impossible to come by. 

This theme is exclusively orchestral with no artificial sounds outside of the orchestral. The percussion beat that creates most of the theme is copied by the strings while the brass focuses of the rest of the theme and blending everything. At this point, game scores begin to truly become great. The complexity of this score is astounding for just a game. 

Mikael Karlsson recreates this theme in Battlefield: Bad Company with some variations in percussion, and simplifies it with the cello and viola shaping the theme. This matches the rest of the score which is more new music that gives only two instances where the theme appears. In PMW Battlefield 4, it sounds more like what is to come in Battlefield 4. 

Bad Company 2 gives the theme a break and takes a new turn, only to reappear again in Battlefield  3. While more electronic, is adds a more epic feel and modernizes it while maintaining the basic ideas. Just like the Bad Company series, this game, and the fourth after it, provide a rich storytelling experience that is well written and sets the series apart as not just a shooter, transcending anything that Call of Duty has offered after the Modern Warfare trilogy. This was one of the most exciting campaigns I have ever played. The music is very interesting (remember that thing about "modern art"?) and intriguing, somewhat repetitive, but not bad. 

Now when Battlefield 4 comes around, everything great becomes greater. The theme starts off a bit slow, but when that familiar theme explodes (and it does), you get chills because it is so epic. This theme is heard at the end on the campaign when you and your heroic team reaches the final conclusion and is about to save the world from global conflict by taking down the enemy once and for all. Although the rest of the soundtrack inherits the modern, electronic sound, I find it less distracting and more balanced and enjoyable. 

Battlefield 1 is out now and with more excellent music that I will surely encourage you to listen to, as it goes back to its early roots. More on this later, so stay tuned! 

Prominent Themes: Assassin's Creed Series

The Assassin's Creed series has some incredible themes that I am astounded by. They easily are the best in video game history.

Jesper Kyd composed the music for the first and second as well as Brotherhood. I honestly am not a huge fan of this music, but it does in fact fit the period of the game very well, which take place during the middle ages/Renaissance period.

Jesper Kyd returned for Revelations, which spiked my interest. This music is much better, especially since Lorne Balfe was brought on to work on the multiplayer content. Generally, high expectations are put on film composers, so being a composer mostly for films, Lorne Balfe lived up to my expectations on his work for this score.






He must have done a good job because he returned by himself for the third installment. This is where the music begins to get really good. The theme that Balfe set in the beginning of this score is just amazing.



A small project that came with Assassin's Creed III for handheld gaming systems is Liberation. Winifred Phillips scored this game and met the high quality sound that Lorne Balfe put on the III name in the series.



Brian Tyler scored the fourth major installment named Black Flag. This game takes place around the same time and place of Pirates of the Caribbean when pirates were one of the biggest threats. The score is very calming and does not reach the high intensities that is common with Brian Tyler. It does its job very well, making me think of the ocean and the Caribbean. I enjoyed this entire score from beginning to end.





The next two installments come together: Rogue and Unity. Rogue was scored by Elitsa Alexandrova while Chris Tilton (Volume 1), Sarah Schachner (Volume 2), and Ryan Amon (Bonus Tracks) scored Unity. To start, Rogue has a very well written theme that portrays the frigid temperatures in the new American colonies. Chris Tilton takes on the violent French Revolution with fast spiccato and impressive intensity. The interesting thing about these two is that there are slight hints of the theme from Rogue  hidden inside some of the music to Unity. Chris Tilton's music is by far better than the other music produced in Rogue and Unity.




The latest installment of the series takes place during the Romantic Period in London, titled Syndicate. While I do believe that Austin Wintory's music for this game does fit the setting perfectly, the overpowering violin at times can get a bit obnoxious. Of course, this is probably the style of music that was popular at the time, so I still applaud his work, just not so much outside of the game.

A Look Into Trailer Music: Interstellar by Full Tilt

Trailer music has a unique place in the soundtrack world. It is something that should never be overlooked as much of it is incredibly good. Some of it may not be too appealing to film music enthusiasts due to its tendency to lean towards the louder, epic sound.

Today I am featuring Interstellar by Full Tilt. No, it has nothing to  do with the Christopher Nolan film. This is an excellent representation of what trailer music is capable of. It has a more film-like-soundtrack sound to it, starting out very quiet and gradually fading into the main body.

When the climax is finally reached, you really begin to feel the music. The theme stays with you even while the music fades.

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey

Alan Silvestri is a master of the flying and space films. Much of his music is featured in the Sorain' ride in Walt Disney World. Alan Silvestri's recent work is from a space documentary called Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014), the sequel to 1980's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.

This is probably some of my favorite work from Silvestri. Documentaries can have some impressive music, but this music is just outstanding. These complex themes are so good, there are 55 tracks total across 4 volumes.

Being a documentary about space, this is a very calming and peaceful score. I would highly recommend listening to this during work if you are not a J. S. Bach kind of person. Silvestri has perfected the epic, sweeping themes from previous experience in the film industry and mixed all his techniques.

Revelation of Immensity sounds similar to parts of his Night At The Museum score, but with enough differences that it would not be too similar. The same goes for The Inquisition, which has hints of The Avengers.

Although the focus is on the usual 4 string instruments and brass, I love his occasional inclusion of some magical sounds of twinkling and strokes of the harp. Silvestri provides enough balance by giving us a few instances of electric sounds that really give the score some character, given the whole idea of space requires high-tech instruments. What I really think is interesting is the slight experimentation of sounds that would not usually be used for films like this as heard in Chance Nature of Existence.

Although this is just the first volume, I hope that you will get the chance to listen to the next three, as I will eventually experience them for myself.

8-Tracks

There are several music streaming services that are available, but they are not all for everyone. I tend to not like these services because I like to choose what I want to listen to.

Now, for those who want to listen to something, but have no specific preference outside of a genre, I recommend 8-Tracks. What is really unique about 8-Tracks is that you choose from a variety of user assembled playlists that you can listen to over and over. You can star songs for later, pick playlists based on your mood, socialize, etc.

It is an excellent tool for anyone, either listener, creator, or both. Check out this short playlist that I created some time ago.

The Music Of Disney's EPCOT from Joshuarh97 on 8tracks Radio.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Do you remember the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film? It is so cheesy I'm not sure how it became so popular. I would say the same about Godzilla.

Brian Tyler scored the 2014 film remake with his usual sounds and incredible levels of intensity. Although another great score from one of my favorite composers, this all sounds very familiar. If you pay close attention and with the familiarity with scores for Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, then you will see (or hear) that the sounds and themes from this aren't completely original.



One of the largest incidences of theme recycling such as this is from Hans Zimmer. The Battle from Gladiator has a noticeable theme in a few parts that are impossible to miss. They are nearly identical to 2013's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl main theme which was in fact composed by Hans Zimmer despite the credit going largely to Klaus Badelt.

Brian Tyler did in fact compose the music for Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, so it is not terrible, just slightly disappointing. The music is very similar.

On-the-other-hand, the rest of the music that is original is very good. Brian Tyler used some techniques heard in his score from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and some similar sounds from the the Terra Nova theme in Brotherhood. He may borrow from himself often, but his work is excellent and irreplaceable. I couldn't think of another composer who could have pulled off Brian Tyler's work on the Marvel films better than him (maybe Steve Jablonsky, since he shares a similar sound).

Brian Tyler has a very noticeable sound to his scores. Much of his recent work shares the same sound, not necessarily the same theme. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seems so sum up his works in one package. We will not see him return for this year's sequel, as Steve Jablonsky will be picking it up. Listen to the score below and send me your thoughts.