1M1 Records Newsletter
March/April, 2004

Contents
 ********************
  - Welcome
  - Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website
  - The 1M1 Records Website
  - New Release - "Grendel Grendel Grendel"
  - Upcoming Releases
  - AOL Users' Technical Issues
 ********************

Welcome

Welcome to 1M1 Records' March/April 2004 newsletter.

"Grendel Grendel Grendel" is 1M1 Records' first release for 2004. It was released at the beginning of March to a tremendous response. "The Naked Country", also by Bruce Smeaton, will follow soon. More news of this will be in the newsletter closer to release time.

Many new or recent Australian soundtracks will be added over the next few months as well, including "After the Deluge" (with Hugo Weaving and David Wenham and scored by Cezary Skubiszewski), "Black and White" (Cezary Skubiszewski), "Australian Rules" (Mick Harvey) and "Diana & Me", starring Toni Collette.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to seeing you back here for May/June's 2004 newsletter.

Your feedback is always welcome.

Philip Powers
info@1m1.com.au

Recent Soundtrack Additions to the Website

This month we are adding "After the Deluge" (Cezary Skubiszewski), "Black and White" (Cezary Skubiszewski), "Australian Rules" (Mick Harvey) and "Diana & Me".

"Australian Rules" (2003) is a story set in South Australia about two communities in conflict - the blacks and the whites. The only place where the rivalry and racism in the community is put on hold, is on the football field. Three teenagers, one white and the other two Aboriginal, are caught in the middle of the conflict. The music is a mixture of contemporary musical sounds and ideas with standard dramatic scoring effects. The score features lap steel guitar, drums, violins and cello and synthesisers, occasionally with some heavy driving music. Most of the music is by Mick Harvey, although additional music is composed by Matt Walker and Ashley Davies.

"Diana & Me"(1997) is about a woman who is fanatical about Princess Diana. The Australian woman also happens to be named Diana Spencer and jumps at the chance to meet the Princess when she wins an overseas trip. The film captures an era through the use of pop songs.

"Black and White" (2002) is based on a true incident in the 1950s when a young Aboriginal man was charged with raping and murdering a young girl in South Australia. This dramatic score features orchestra and percussion, cello and bass flute, and solo piano (performed by the composer). Modern and synthesised sounds are also mixed in with the more classical sounds, giving this a forceful, brooding quality.

"After the Deluge" (2003) is a miniseries about 4 men - a father and his three sons. The father is in a nursing home suffering Alzheimer's, often living in his past. The memories of the war, a love affair, and his relationships with his sons, are connected by music. In some instances it is the only way the three children can connect with the father, who was also a classical violinist. The score is mostly classically orchestral, often featuring the violin. Some tracks have classical references or are of classical pieces, and a couple of tracks are more contemporary, featuring pop sounds. When the father and his eldest son connect, the classical violin and electric guitar come together in an intriguingly eclectic manner, representing the old and the new.

Last month several other Australian scores were added to the website, including "The Slim Dusty Movie" (Slim Dusty), "Travelling Light" (Richard Vella), "Marking Time" (Martin Armiger), "Getting' Square" (Machine Gun Fellatio), "The Wannabes" (2-CD set - Various) and "The Night We Called it a Day" (Rupert Gregson-Williams).

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 Alan John's "The Bank", "The Monkey's Mask", "The Hard Word", "Dirty Deeds", 'Marking Time", "Travelling Light", "The Slim Dusty Movie", to name a few, as well as a range of Brian May scores. Several scores by Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone, Georges Delerue 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", "Robbery Under Arms": 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.

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

New Release - "Grendel Grendel Grendel"

http://www.1m1.com.au/1M1CD1033.html

"Grendel Grendel Grendel" by Bruce Smeaton became available at the beginning of March.

It is our first new release for 2004. Alexander Stitt's animated film "Grendel Grendel Grendel" is based on the 1971 novel by John Gardner who adapted and expanded the classic, century-old poem, "Beowulf".

Along with composer Bruce Smeaton, and a group of actors including Peter Ustinov, Julie McKenna, Keith Michell and Arthur Dignam, they have breathed life into this classic tale. As Alexander Stitt himself wrote about Grendel, we didn't know much about him in the original poem, except that he "lives beneath a lake with his Mum and eats people."

The story begins on Tuesday morning, 515 AD, in Scandanavia. Big, green and spotty, Grendel is the kind of son that only a mother could love.

This film has received a cult-like following over the years, and Bruce Smeaton says that it has been his most requested score that has remained unreleased. The music ranges from scoring for medieval battle sequences and hunts; for the huge Dragon that sometimes haunts Grendel's dreams; for the love between King Hrothgar and his Queen; for the jealousy of the great warrior Unferth who had hoped to inherit Hrothgar's kingdom one day; for the monster-conquering hero Beowulf, and for the love of Grendel's mother to her son, known far and wide as the fearsome Great Boogy. Along the way a Shaper (singer) comes to Hrothgar's kingdom to provide entertainment. A choir is used in scoring the sacrifices to appease the gods who have allowed a terrible monster to ravage the kingdom and kill their people.

Peter Ustinov plays Grendel. His (voice) portrayal adds enormous sensitivity to Grendel's character. Amongst the songs is a beautiful, self-pitying ballad called "Poor Me". It illustrates how Grendel doesn't understand why everyone hates him and is trying to kill him. He is just doing what comes naturally to a monster.

Upcoming Releases

"The Naked Country" by Bruce Smeaton.

AOL Users' Technical Issues

Increasingly AOL users have encountered various technical issues in submitting their requests online using our site's order forms.

Most of the issues have involved AOL restricting access/use of the form/s due to perceived privacy concerns, as our pages request personal information such as your name and pass that information to the payment page.

We have removed this procedure from our site. As such, your contact details will not be confirmed on the payment page.

This appears to have solved the problem amongst the users with which we are in direct contact. I'd like to ask all AOL users to try our site again and let us know of any issues which you encounter.

Your patience is very much appreciated. Hopefully we have now resolved this for all concerned.

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