An occasional blog by a jobbing composer, reflecting on both completed and ongoing projects.
I’m pleased to announce that AUK has released my soundtrack for Agaton Sax the Movie!
Available now from Amazon.
This project was a pleasure and an honour. After all, how many composers get to realise a brand new score for a 50 year old animation that was also Sweden’s first feature-length animation!
The film is available here.
The music relishes the best mickey-mousing style of classic cartoons, with a big heart and lots of action.
There are two main problems in film composition today:
People know what they like and it has already been written, but they would like something that sounds similar without infringing copyright
People want something completely new and forget that a composition doesn’t gain the imprint of association until it has been used with a film!
Between these two, composition can become an exercise in making clever forgeries. If there is no audible association between what someone knows they like and your piece, then there needs to be a clue in the title to help the client understand what “kind” of piece it is straight away. In either case, we borrow the approval of existing music by hanging onto the coat-tails of what is already known and approved.
In my free time I sometimes compose such loving pastiches and here are three:
50 tracks, available to hear, download and licence. Enjoy!
I’m pleased to announce the release of the soundtrack “Rhuddlan Castle: Gateway to Wales”.
New from Lost in Castles:
This is my fourth Lost in Castles score. We started with Middleham Castle in Wensleydale, when I was a new music graduate. Next came Sandal Castle & the Battle of Wakefield, which featured the popular song Edward's Lament. Some years later, work completed on the mammoth documentary "Conwy Castle: Medieval Masterpiece", requiring a 90 minute score. Rhuddlan Castle: Gateway to Wales is the follow-up to Conwy, the second in the series Castles of the Conquest.
These scores are always very special to me. The films require more music than a drama, because the combination of real on-site footage and animated reconstructions requires "bedding in". Also, the historical aspect is always present but often has to be subordinated to focus on the castle, so the music serves to invigorate the pleasure that can be found in touring a castle site, even remotely. All the Lost in Castles scores are available to hear and buy online.
Find out more about the DVD here: http://www.lostincastles.com/rhuddlan-castle/
The special feature from Rhuddlan Castle: Gateway to Wales. Music by Abigail J. Fox.
This has proved to be one of my most requested soundtracks so I am very pleased to make it available. It includes the nominated song, Edward's Lament, from Lost in Castles' feature-documentary: Sandal Castle and the Battle of Wakefield.
Now available to download, the full soundtrack to the Lost in Castles feature-documentary Middleham: A Castle Made for Kings. Includes the bonus track "The Last Plantagenet".
