Juno Recommends Soundtracks March 2021

Review: This is the second edition of a four part series by Detroit icon Omar S called Record Packer - a new video game score as part of his pop-up exhibition in the Motor City, in collaboration with Red Bull Arts. On the A side, we have the dusty dub techno explorations of 'Storm', followed by the raw percussive funk of 'No One Can Stop Me'. On the flip, enjoy the deep and mesmerizing groove of 'Trac 45' followed by a lovely late night boogie-down vibe on 'Mystery Man'. Originally conceived as a physical exhibition, Omar S: Conant Gardens Party Store now lives online as an interactive web environment.

Review: The widely regarded king of soundtrack composition that is Enzo Morricone is enjoying a run of reissues right now by Music on Vinyl. The latest is his haunting score to Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange? from 1972. The film was directed by Massimo Dallamano and tells the tale of a series of violent murders that happened at a Catholic girls' school in England where a young student has gone missing. The soundtrack is suitably taught and tense throughout, with grand moments of drama and theatre in his usual unique fashion.

Review: Since first emerging earlier in the decade, French threesome Domenique Dumont (Arturs Liepins, Anete Stuce, and an 'enigmatic', yet-to-be-named producer) has delivered two picture-perfect albums of atmospheric, occasionally Balearic, underground synth-pop for the Antinote label. People on Sunday, their first album for two years, started life as a synthesizer-based score for celebrated 1930 German silent movie Menschen am Sonntag, which they performed live at a festival in December 2019. Musically, it's arguably even more atmospheric than the trio's previous work, but is still rooted in their now trademark sound. What we get is a succession of melodious, huggable, sun-kissed and occasionally spacey instrumental tracks that sound like the missing link between Tangerine Dream, Air, 1980s Greek new age composers, Jean-Michel Jarre and little-known electro-jazz pioneers.

Review: Since first emerging earlier in the decade, French threesome Domenique Dumont (Arturs Liepins, Anete Stuce, and an 'enigmatic', yet-to-be-named producer) has delivered two picture-perfect albums of atmospheric, occasionally Balearic, underground synth-pop for the Antinote label. People on Sunday, their first album for two years, started life as a synthesizer-based score for celebrated 1930 German silent movie Menschen am Sonntag, which they performed live at a festival in December 2019. Musically, it's arguably even more atmospheric than the trio's previous work, but is still rooted in their now trademark sound. What we get is a succession of melodious, huggable, sun-kissed and occasionally spacey instrumental tracks that sound like the missing link between Tangerine Dream, Air, 1980s Greek new age composers, Jean-Michel Jarre and little-known electro-jazz pioneers.

Review: There is a glut of Ennio Morricone soundtracks being released at the moment and each one needs to be heard. Following the likes of Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange? and Theme V: Passion comes Istruttoria E Chiusa: Dimentichi from this renowned composer. The film was a 1971 Italian crime drama directed by Damiano Damiani and for it Morricone crafted an obscure score to the thriller which went on to be globally admired by fans and critics alike. A couple of tunes here were not used in the final film having been recorded in the original session and they are the B2 and B3, which both need hearing.

Review: This release marks the first offical vinyl outing for Gustavo Santaolalla and Mac Quayle's soundtrack. It is the highly anticipated 2020 sequel, The Last Of Us Part II and features stunning new artwork by Tula Lotay and liner notes by Co-Writer and Director Neil Druckmann. Musically it is a striking and emotive listen that takes in moments of bass heavy impending doom next to gentler tracks of acoustic guitar that soundtrack tearful moments. The dual narratives of revenge and differing perspectives of the game all shine through in beautiful fashion.

Review: Eyes Wide Shut is of course the 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama by Stanley Kubrick and one of its many standout features was the soundtrack. It was his final soundtrack and might well be his most subtle and consistently surprising. It evokes the rare mood and psychosexual undercurrent of the film with firm Kubrick favourite Liget, a Shostakovich waltz and Chris Isaak's edgy 'Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing. There are also schmaltzy ballroom sop tunes like 'When I Fall in Love' and a handful of compelling cuts from English composer Jocelyn Pook.

Review: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is the official soundtrack to the 2020 Netflix original of the same name. The film depicts 1920s Chicago and has been praised by critics and fans alike, and the music really plays a huge part in that. It's scored by Branford Marsalis, a critically-acclaimed saxophonist, instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and educator who is also a multi-Grammy Award winner and brings real cross genre magic to this. With undertones of jazz there are big band moments, quieter rag time style tunes and moving instrumentals galore.

Review: Camden Town's Silva Screen Records serves up another fine soundtrack here, this time all the way from Mumbai. Gully Boy is inspired by the lives of local rappers Naezy and Divine, who express real dissent at the political system and triumph as a result. Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh is the titular Gulyl Boy character and he raps alongside a heavyweight selection of writers such as Divine, Naezy, Spitfire, Rishi Rich, Raghu Dixit and many more. No matter that the words might no mean anything to you, they still convey plenty in their delivery and tone alone.