Specialising in Australian Soundtrack Recordings

1M1 Records Newsletter
April, 2003

Contents
 ********************
  - Welcome
  - Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website
  - The 1M1 Records Website
  - New and Upcoming Releases
  - Brian May Scholarship
  - A Selection of Review Excerpts
  - Australasian Sound Recordings Association Conference 2003
  - Awards
 ********************

Welcome

Welcome to 1M1 Records' April 2003 newsletter. This newsletter contains important information about the direction of 1M1 Records for 2003.

1M1 Records' new release is a double film score release. It will be available in late April. The scores are "Tom Sawyer" and "The Last of the Mohicans", both by Simon Walker. Based on classic novels, these two scores fit perfectly into two of the most famous of Hollywood genres: 'Americana' and 'the Western'.

Asked to write something in this vein, in the first of these scores Simon Walker celebrates the style of John Williams' inspiring "The Reivers" score and Jerry Goldsmith's "The Traveling Executioner". In the second score, he uses a familiar, but authentic, American Indian melodic phrase, which itself has been used by Hollywood composers several times over the many decades of scoring films about 'cowboys and indians'. While "Tom Sawyer" is dominated by violins and harmonica, "The Last of the Mohicans" is brass and woodwind based, with strings mostly adding texture to the broad masculine cues and the vigorous action sequences.

1M1 Records' last release was the December 2002 double film score CD of Bruce Smeaton's "Eliza Fraser" and "Summerfield".

Also in the newsletter this month is information about the 'Brian May Scholarship', how to apply, information about Brian May's career, and links to related sites.

1M1 Records projects in the coming months will include, the award-winning "Bliss" (Peter Best), "The Naked Country" and "Grendel Grendel Grendel" (Bruce Smeaton) and the scores from Ruth Park's "Harp in the South" and "Poor Man's Orange" (Peter Best).

Projects in the works for 1M1 Records over the next 18 months, in various stages of production, include several never-before-released Bruce Smeaton scores: "The Last of the Knucklemen", "Maybe This Time", "Departure", "Double Deal", "Five Mile Creek" and "Eureka Stockade".

During this month, we will be adding several scores to the site including, "The Monkey's Mask" (Single Gun Theory with the Sydney Alpha Ensemble) - starring Kelly McGillis and Susie Porter; "Sirens" (Rachel Portman) - starring Hugh Grant and Sam Neill; and "Sample People" (Rafael May) - starring Kylie Minogue.

A number of secondhand soundtrack CDs are being add to the site this month as well. See below for details.

Your feedback is always welcome. Please email me at info@1m1.com.au.

That's it for this month, but we look forward to having you back here for updates in the May 2003 Newsletter.

Philip Powers
info@1m1.com.au

Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website

"The Monkey's Mask" (Single Gun Theory with the Sydney Alpha Ensemble); "Sirens" (Rachel Portman); "Sample People" (Rafael May); "Risk", (Don Miller-Robinson); "Cut" (Guy Gross); the award-winning score by Peter Gabriel for "Rabbit-Proof Fence", (which won the AFI award for Best Score, and was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Music score for a Feature Film); "Bootmen" (Cezary Skubiszewski); "Paradise Beach"; and "Rain" (Neil Finn/Lisa Germano).

We also still have copies of the lyrical orchestral score, "Silhouettes of the Desert" by Nerida Tyson-Chew, and "The Tracker", which was nominated for an AFI for Best Film Score for 2002. Stock is available of Paul Kelly's score for "Lantana", Alan John's score for "The Bank", "The Nugget", "Dirty Deeds", "One Night, the Moon" (the APRA Best Soundtrack of 2002), and "Two Hands".

Some other non-Australian new titles have also been added to the 'More Soundtracks' section and the 'Secondhand' section.

New to the site this month are: "Meet the Parents" (Randy Newman), "Life is Beautiful" (Nicola Piovani) and "Election" (Rolfe Kent).

The 1M1 Records Website

Current Releases; which are still being manufactured.

http://www.1m1.com.au/current.html

More Soundtracks; previously released titles which are still available, including titles previously released by 1M1 Records which are no longer being manufactured, and brand new CDs of other soundtracks which 1M1 has in its stocks. There are still copies available of Australian scores like "Lantana", "The Bank", (winner of the AGSC 2002 award for Best Score), "The Tracker", "Two Hands", and a range of Brian May scores. Other Australian scores are available now, including, "Sirens", "Sample People", "The Monkey's Mask", "Risk", "Cut" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence" (which won the AFI award for Best Score, and was nominated for the 2003 Golden Globe award for Best Music score for a Feature Film). Several scores by film composers such as Georges Delerue, Pino Donaggio, John Williams, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, Leonard Rosenman, Elmer Bernstein and Bruce Broughton are also available here.

http://www.1m1.com.au/more.html

Collectors Items; rare 1M1 CDs priced in the premium range because of the difficulty in sourcing them, containing 1M1 CDs like "Devil in the Flesh / We of the Never Never", "Roadgames / Patrick", "Race for the Yankee Zephyr / The Survivor" and "Harlequin / The Day After Halloween": items which have very few soundtracks left in stock and are quite unlikely to become available again in the foreseeable future.

http://www.1m1.com.au/collectors.html

Secondhand Titles; soundtrack releases from anywhere in the world which 1M1 currently has in stock, containing quite a few bargain-priced excellent condition soundtrack CDs for sale, including several Australian film soundtracks. CDs available include, "eXistenZ" and "The Cell" (Howard Shore), "In Love and War" (George Fenton), "Some Mother's Sons" (Bill Whelan), "Rush" (Eric Clapton), "Apt Pupil" (John Ottman), "Casper" (James Horner), "The Thin Blue Line" (Philip Glass), "Don Juan de Marco" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (Michael Kamen), "Rob Roy" (Carter Burwell), "Treasure Planet" (James Newton Howard) and "Charlotte Gray" (Stephen Warbeck). Other titles new to the site this month are available, eg: "Meet the Parents" (Randy Newman), "Life is Beautiful" (Nicola Piovani) and "Election" (Rolfe Kent).

http://www.1m1.com.au/secondhand.html

New and Upcoming Releases

1M1's last releases were 1M1CD1031, "The Coolangatta Gold" by Bill Conti;
and 1M1CD1032, a double film score pairing of "Eliza Fraser" and "Summerfield" by Bruce Smeaton.

Coming next: "Tom Sawyer" and "The Last of the Mohicans" (Simon Walker).

Coming soon: "Bliss" (Peter Best), "Grendel Grendel Grendel" (Bruce Smeaton), and "The Naked Country" (Bruce Smeaton). Also in production are the scores from Ruth Park's famous "Harp in the South" and "Poor Man's Orange" (Peter Best).

In progress: "The Last of the Knucklemen", "Maybe This Time", "Departure", "Double Deal", "Five Mile Creek" and "Eureka Stockade".

Brian May Scholarship

The Brian May Trust has been set up according to the will of the late Australian film composer, Brian May.

The scholarship is to be awarded to up-and-coming, or promising, Australian film composers to study film-scoring at the University of Southern California. The scholarship will contribute up to $80,000 every 2 years. This goes towards travel and accommodation costs, and also provides tuition for the 'Advanced Studies Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television'.

The Scholarship commences in August 2003 in the United States. The Brian May Scholarship is to be awarded biennially. The home page is: http://www.brianmayscholarship.org/index.htm

Applications are open to composers who normally reside in Australia, also satisfying USC's entrance requirements.

Further information is available from:
Mr Robert Ffrench:
Trustee for the Brian May Trust
Tel: 617 55917 555
Fax: 617 55917 450
Email: rffrench@ffcomlaw.com.au

The Brian May Scholarship website also offers links to other associated websites. One of the links is to a celebratory article published by Film Score Monthly on Brian May, written by Paul Andrew MacLean: http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/1997/07_May---Brian_May__1934-1997.asp

Over the last fifteen years 1M1 Records (and oneMone Records) has been involved in the release of a number of film soundtrack recordings by Brian May, several of which are still available, although a number of them have become quite difficult to obtain in recent years. The following 1M1 Records Brian May soundtracks are listed on the 1M1 Records website:

Sky Pirates (1986)
Thrist (1979)
Bloodmoon (1989)
Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
The Survivor (1981)
Harlequin (1980)
Snapshot (aka. The Day After Halloween) (1979)
Patrick (1978)
Roadgames (1981)
The True Story of Eskimo Nell (1975)

A Selection of Review Excerpts

1M1 Records' Australian Soundtrack Releases

THE COOLANGATTA GOLD (Music by Bill Conti)
http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1031.html

"I was, in short, knocked out... If you love what the composer did for such films as the ROCKY series, THE RIGHT STUFF and ESCAPE TO VICTORY, you're going to lap this score up, as it's full of heroic and exciting music, lead by the triumphant main theme... Unquestionably one of the film music releases of the year."

- Jeff Hall, Film Music Bulletin (London), Issue No .19, January 2003

"The opening cue 'The Coolangatta Gold' is a glorious, stirring march that is an inspirational cross between the composer's fantastic theme for 'The Right Stuff' and Dvorak's 'New World'. This cue is full of pride and triumph, and is one of those cues that is an instant favourite… As the training intensifies and the film moves into the big race finale the music grows more like the big band, heavy beat music used in Rocky, increasing in power until breaking into the glorious orchestral 'Gold' theme once again for the 'Finale'. If that were not enough, most of the best cues receive a reprise, either in their LP versions or as alternative versions, in the eleven extra tracks included at the end of the album.

For fans of Bill Conti's work in the 1970s and 1980s this score is heaven, full of long exciting orchestral cues and dynamic big band exhilaration with every cue an absolute delight. A highly recommended score."

- Andrew Keech, Music From The Movies, January 2003

"(W)henever the composer directs his attention onto what Powers calls "the emotional relationships between the characters in the film, and the tensions involved," he replaces the dance floor hooks with symphonic arrangements that swell, contract, soar and fall gracefully. On "Finale," for instance, he presents an exciting, four-part march with brass, violins and percussion. "Family Competition," perhaps the prettiest track on the album, is a waltz that slides along like water over glass. And in "Kerry and Steve - Love Theme," Conti combines a piano melody with hushed strings to create an emotionally complex sound that pays passing homage to Beethoven's "Sonata Pathetique."

"In addition to the original score, One M One packs this album with alternative and extended versions of the film's main themes, making 40 minutes of previously unreleased music available; and with its clear, clean sound and informative liner notes, this comprehensive collection should delight Conti's devotees."

- Stephen Armstrong, Film Score Monthly, March/April 2003

THE MISSING (Music by Bruce Smeaton)
http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1024.html

"Throughout the album, the main thematic idea provides something to anchor the listener and offers nice contrast with the fascinating aleatoric outbursts in tracks like "Nightmare and Visions." Other highlights include the "Opening Titles," where a theremin teams with an organ, and "A Killing Ground," a truncated orchestral scherzo.

The Missing recalls some of the best orchestral writing of the 1970s while adding contemporary ideas and strange combinations of instruments. It's not often one finds a score that makes fluent use of everything from full orchestra to theremin, and piano to didgeridoo. This album is a fine representation of Smeaton's work, alternating between the slower, sometimes dissonant but often gorgeous thematic materials and the more exciting action cues. The beautiful waltz, "Dancing on the Sand," is a fine take on the form, in the same league as the great waltz from Murder on the Orient Express. In fact, if you are a fan of that score, you're sure to appreciate The Missing."

- Steven A. Kennedy, Film Score Monthly, 2002

THE TRUE STORY OF ESKIMO NELL (Music by Brian May)
http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1030.html

"Up first is the late Brian May's THE TRUE STORY OF ESKIMO NELL, a film about the gold rush in colonial Australia. May's music is all very lighthearted and suitably comical in style, but does boast some catchy pseudo-western tunes; some lush-stringed romance; and even a dash of Arabian for the "Camel Trek" sequence."

- Jeff Hall, Film Music Bulletin (London), Issue No .19, January 2003

THE GREAT MACARTHY (Music by Bruce Smeaton)
http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1030.html

"The standout score on the disc though is Bruce Smeaton's Ennio Morricone-influenced THE GREAT MACARTHY. Any Morricone fan will enjoy this score, which is full of the maestro's trademark touches for thrillers and comedies of the period. The main theme is a splendid honky-tonk piano tune."

- Jeff Hall, Film Music Bulletin (London), Issue No .19, January 2003

ELIZA FRASER / SUMMERFIELD (Music by Bruce Smeaton)
http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1032.html

"'Eliza Frazer' is an adventure romp starring Susannah York and Trevor Howard… Bruce Smeaton's music has a wonderful merry feel and the opening sequence entitled 'The Chase' could easily have come from a Henry Mancini 'Pink Panther' score. This light and airy theme is used as the basis of many of the scores cues.

"'Summerfield' is a mystery [film]... The first eight cues comprise a beautiful suite of music that exhibits the same suspenseful tones that makes the neck hair stand on end in Bernard Herrmann's 'Cape Fear'. However, the delightful images of oriental harmony prevail throughout the score and the additional cues of theme variations and additional music added at the end of the album.

"'Eliza Frazer' is fun and light-hearted and an excellent example of Bruce Smeaton's lyrical style. The music for 'Summerfield' is full of tension and mystery with an oriental feel and a contrast to the frivolity of the first score. These are two interesting examples of Bruce Smeaton's work and ably demonstrate his flexibility."

- Andrew Keech, Music From The Movies, March 2003

Australasian Sound Recordings Association Conference 2003

- The Sound on the Film
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sound/events/con2003.htm

ASRA is holding a conference this year in Australia, on 'The Sound on the Film'. The conference papers will look at all different aspects of film sound.

At this stage, papers will look at the entire process of sound on film in Australia, including papers by sound engineers and sound mixers, composers, sound technicians, archival sound experts, and record companies.

More information about the details of the papers will be given in subsequent newsletters.

Awards

In the recent Academy Awards, Elliot Goldenthal won Best Music score for "Frida" (his 4th nomination), adding to his Golden Globe Award for Best Music score.

Others were:
John Williams' 42nd music nomination, for "Catch Me If You Can";
Thomas Newman's 5th nomination, for "Road to Perdition";
Philip Glass's 2nd nomination, for "The Hours";
and Elmer Bernstein's 14th nomination for "Far From Heaven".

At the British Academy Awards (BAFTA), Philip Glass won for "The Hours" (also nominated for an Oscar).

At the Australian Film Institute Awards for 2002, Best Original Score was awarded to Peter Gabriel for "Rabbit-Proof Fence". "Rabbit-Proof Fence" also won the Best Film award. Young Ivan Sen won Best Director for his first feature film, "Beneath Clouds".

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