Continuing our month of nonstop happy music series, this cue prominently features the guitar-playin’ of the inimitably talented Tom Strahle. Not to mention mandolin-playin’ and whatever other overdubs I forced out of him that day. (This recording is of only two musicians, but I made them earn their keep.)
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Field Work | |
It was recently remarked to me that this blog tends to feature a lot of music of dark/aliens-invading/yearning-for-eternal-truths sort of character. In response to this, mikemusicradio.com will proudly feature a month of happy music.
This week’s selection is for guitar, piano, and the least lachrymose of all instruments, the accordion. Enjoy!
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Audrey and Einstein | |
An ominously-building musical prelude combining orchestral colors with chorus, drums, and electronic timbres. If this blog were written by a publicist, the words “relentless pulsation” would probably be dropped in somewhere. (Fortunately, I would never do such a thing myself.)
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Trouble’s Overture | |
An offbeat tune featuring bari sax, drums, and marimba. The mood is something halfway between African wildlife documentary and slightly unhinged 1960s spy movie.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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Unlikely Heroes | |
Circa fourteen years ago the University of Southern California, I wrote music for a short thesis film called High Adventure. It was decidedly unlike any student film I’d ever seen: it featured firearms, stuntmen from Universal, and an aerial chase sequence with actual biplanes. The film’s creator, Russ Matthews, wanted similarly ambitious production values for the music, so we rounded up a union orchestra and recorded an eleven minute microcosm of an action-adventure score.
The music definitely pays homage to John Williams and some of the other composers stuck in my head during my student days, but I also was careful to give the film its own musical voice. Though I’ve had the subsequent pleasure of working with Russ on professional projects, the results of this collaboration have a special place in my heart. Here’s the end title music, which is a medley of the score’s principal themes.
(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)
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High Adventure | |
