This week’s selection comes from the feature documentary Touché: A Blind Fencer’s Story, whose subject matter is as inspiring as it is surprising. (If you’ve never heard of sight-impaired fencing, you’re not alone!) The film also documents the struggles of day-to-day living for those who have lost their sight in adulthood.

This cue for nylon string guitar develops the film’s fencing theme (presented earlier on cello), which here reflects the optimism and never-say-die attitude of the film’s primary subject, blind fencing champion Catherine Bolton. Guitar performance courtesy of Tom Strahle.

This week’s music selection is an uptempo 40s-esque big band number, originally written for a poker video game. We recorded with a dynamite horn and rhythm section, including some longtime musical collaborators.

The march of music technology has frequently left the live studio drummer by the wayside. Recordings like these remind me that there is no substitute for the real thing!

This week’s selection was written for the crime-thriller feature Maximum Justice, which in original release went by the perhaps more elegant name The Waterfront. Its story concerns an ex-Viet Nam vet who is betrayed by the mob and takes justice into his own hands, along with a variety of firearms.

I scored this film years ago, and have to admit that I have no memory of what was going on in this particular scene. Judging from the music, it was something foreboding.

This week’s selection is a rhythmically-driven piano and orchestra texture that gradually builds to a crescendo. (Disclaimer: the conveyed mood may be more optimistic than experiences on actual highways.)

This week’s cue is loud and percussive battle music with a historical/mythological mood. Readers of this blog know that I’m a big proponent of finding excuses to use anvils; if you feel likewise, keep your ears open during the climactic ending!

This piece was written for Syrinscape, whose app provides music and sound effects for tabletop games such as Pathfinder. It’s a lot easier than humming or doing your own foley when you’re the GM! Check them out here.

(Related trivia: the dramatic mid-cue vocal was provided by Syrinscape’s CEO, Ben Loomes.)