ANGELO BADALAMENTI Vinyl & CDs

Review: Before Twin Peaks and all that followed, director David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti had worked together just once: on the former's 1986 mystery noir movie Blue Velvet. Lynch asked Badalamenti to create an original score inspired by both the works of Shostakovich and the smoky, clandestine atmosphere found at blues and jazz clubs. These two musical threads are explored on side A and B respectively. So, while the first side contains numerous sweeping, dark and moody orchestral compositions, turn the record over and you'll find classics from Roy Orbison and Bill Doggett, as well as Badalamenti's spine-tingling interpretation of pop standard "Blue Velvet". Featuring a mixture of simmering strings, breathy female vocals and atmospheric field recordings, it's as creepy a version of the much-covered song as you'll hear.

Review: Angelo Badalamenti is to noir thrillers what Ennio Morricone is to the spaghetti Western scene. The Italo-American composer has been a pivotal part of the Hollywood soundtrack scene since the 70s and, among many cult-like figures, he's collaborated extensively with the great David Lynch on projects such as Blue Velvet and, of course, the present Twin Peaks, a film which has reached a God-like status over the last two decades. The music from the motion picture is as vivid and dream-like as the film itself; Badalalementi immerses you in a world of Neo-gothic trance and bizarre, fairy-like dances that instantly recall the movie's infamous dance scene concerning two horses. What is most notable about it is his use of subtle jazz nuances and the man's pioneering downtempo style. NB: this particular release, Fire Walk With Me, features additional music and acts as a companion to the official soundtrack as heard in the movie. What a soundtrack. Totally essential.

Review: Since its release in 1997, David Lynch's neo-noir-horror, Lost Highway, has become something of a cult classic. The accompanying soundtrack album, here reissued on weighty double vinyl, is similarly revered in some circles. Put together by Nine Inch Nails' frontman Trent Reznor, composer Angelo Badalamenti, and punk-turned-producer Barry Adamson, it's a mish-mash of darkly intense songs (Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins, Lou Reed and Rammstein all contribute), and the kind of creepy, other-worldly soundscapes that have always been a feature of Lynch's work. It's arguably the latter tracks, composed by Badalementi and Adamson, which remain creepily potent all these years on.