Erik Truffaz Ever since his appearance on the contemporary jazz scene in the early 1990s, and all the more since Dawn (1998), his breakthrough recording for the Blue Note label, Swiss born Erik Truffaz (b. 1960) has never ceased to explore new sounds with various formations, experimenting and fusing his music with rock, hip-hop, drum’n’bass or […]
ambient
Max Richter: The haunted ocean
Waltz with Bashir (2008) is a groundbreaking animated documentary by Israeli film maker Ari Folman. One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli […]
Max Richter: Shadow journal
The Blue Notebooks “Shadow journal” was originally released in The Blue Notebooks (2004), the second solo album by German born British composer Max Richter. While classically trained, the musician is also influenced by Rock and Electronic music or by modern minimalists such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich or Arvo Pärt. Max Richter scores for classical formations […]
Andrey Dergatchev: The return
I must have watched The Return three or four times now, several years apart, and each time I am left with a very strong impression. Set against the backdrop of the desolate wilderness of Northern Russia, The Return is an arresting film by first-time director Andrey Zvyagintsev. On its release, the film took most critics by surprise and […]
Nils Petter Molvaer: Presence
Presence is a beautiful track from Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer’s 2002 recording NP3. While the video clip was superbly crafted, I can’t dissociate the track from the album’s cover featuring life-size figures on a beach staring at the horizon. The cover is a photograph of an existing installation called “Another Place” by British sculptor […]
Jon Hopkins: Monsters theme
Monsters is a 2010 British independent science fiction film written and directed by Gareth Edwards with a wonderful soundtrack by Jon Hopkins. Monsters chronicles the journey of an American journalist and her fellow citizen from alien-infected and quarantined Mexico to the American border. Filmed on a shoestring budget with only two professional actors, Monsters was entirely […]
