of Horse,” a poignant sequence for Ondes Martenot performed by Motoko Oya (2015; Milan 36761, $12.79 CD, $35.00 vinyl, $10.49 digital, 23 tracks, 70m 43s). In fairness to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which de- clared the score ineligible for an Oscar, Iñárritu layered THE REVENANT with far more than these original cues, including excerpts from Sakamoto’s HARA-KIRI and Gohatto (2009; US: TABOO); Messiaen’s “Oraison” from Fêtes des Belles Eaux (1937; a major classical piece for Ondes Martenot); and compositions from John Luther Adams and Hildur Guònadóttir.
Darkness shades the music by Ben Salisbury and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow for Alex Garland’s claustrophobic Turing Test-meets-Terminator thinkpiece EX MACHINA (Invada INN144CD, £9.99 CD, £21.99 vinyl, $9.90 digital, 20 tracks, 78m 41s). The two-disc/LP set, which includes demo versions of select cues, plays like a through-the-glass-darkly reinvention of Tanger- ine Dream’s seminal PHAEDRA (1974), with shout-outs to Brian Eno and John Murphy, and grows more intricate and powerful with each new listen. The film’s alien life form predecessor, Jonathan Glazer’s UNDER THE SKIN (2014), fea- tured the first score by Mica Lev—stage name Micachu, of Micachu and the Shapes, now Good Sad Happy Bad (Milan M2-36678, $11.99 CD, $25.00 vinyl, $9.49 digital, 12 tracks, 46m 53s). Propelled by Levi’s relentlessly churning viola, these twitchy and unnerving atmospheres, which are as likely to shriek as shudder, claim (and deservedly so) sources as diverse as John Cage and strip club music.
A new CD and vinyl release of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s music for THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973), unavailable on its own until 2007, offers an opportunity to experience a quintessential anti- soundtrack (2015; ABKCO/Real Gone, $13.98 CD, $34.98 vinyl, $7.99 digital, 24 tracks, 72m 41s). These daffy, if not deranged, musical sequences run a gamut of musical styles, from pop and rock to barroom jazz to classical romanticism (and even evoke primal therapy)—all courtesy of Jodorowsky’s antic inclinations and two collaborators: studio musician/arranger Ron Frangipane and jazz trum- peter Don Cherry. Frangipane, a one-time mem- ber of the animated “band” The Archies, mutated Jodorowsky’s melodic concepts into a jumble of genres, including an apparent homage to the peplum. Cherry recorded a massive group im- provisation session to a screening of the film, with Jodorowsky later layering tracks with pre- pared piano and Eastern music. The result, like most things Jodorowsky, is at once grand and mad—and that, of course, is what makes this album so delightful.
Randall D. Larson’s BSX Records has expanded its impressive series of re-recordings with DOCTOR WHO: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE THROUGH SPACE AND TIME—VOLUME 1 (BSXCD9108, $15.95, 25 tracks, 78m 20s). This limited edition finds Dominik Hauser transcribing and recording major themes and songs from the first eight series of Russell T. Davies’ twenty-first century reboot of DOCTOR WHO, composed by Murray Gold. The disc, in- tended as a celebratory “best of,” includes Gold’s arrangement of Ron Grainer’s “Doctor Who Theme” and four tracks from the TV-movie DOC- TOR WHO (1996), composed by John Debney with John Sponsler and Louis Febre.
For additional information about the compos-
ers, performers, and the discs, visit
portishead.co.uk,
sitesakamoto.com,
doncherry.us,
invada.co.uk,
facebook.com/pages/Micachu,
facebook.com/ alejandrojodorowsky,
bensalisbury.co.uk,
realgonemusic.com,
dominikhauser.com,
milanrecords.com,
ronfrangipane.com, and
buysoundtrax.com.
You can contact the Audio Watchdog on- line at
OnEyeDog@aol.com or by visiting
douglasewinter.com. Review materials should be sent c/o Vale House, 2495 Oakton Hills Drive, Oakton VA 22124.
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