Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: We've been served a good banquet of dance reissues from classic Italian film soundtracks of late, and Gianni Ferrio's 'La Poliziotta' is one of the best of the bunch. Combining two choice cuts from mysterious film director Stefano Vanzina's aka. Steno's sexy detective film 'La Poliziotta', this 7" reissue is a finger-clicking, jazz-swinging foray through instrumental funk.

Review: An iconic soundtrack to a classic blaxploitation flick, JJ Johnson and Martha Reeves & The Sweet Things turned a collective head when they simultaneously composed their core themes for Willie Dynamite, directed by obscure director Gilbert Moses. This ineluctable screen treat stars Roscoe Orman and Diana Sands in a quintessential portrayal of early '70s New York pimping, with the central character's foibles giving rise to a latent conscience when he comes into contact with a young social worker. As is often the case with the blaxploitation genre, Willie Dynamite begins with the lead character cruising down the streets of New York in some kind of fancy car, and 'tracked by the central theme: the theme of Reeves' 'Willie D' is clear as day, lyrically portraying D's hustle as 'magic', "never treating two girls the same", "it's no different from any other industry". 'Keep On Movin' On' contrasts this with a note of modesty, signaling the movie's inevitable tonal shift; nor should you miss the B-side instrumentals 'Willie Chase' and 'Parade Strut'.

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: Four Flies present another masterpiece from one of the all-time greats of Italian soundtrack and library music, Piero Umiliani. His work on the 1974 film Il Corpo ranks amongst his most famous work, and now two pieces have been selected from the soundtrack and presented on this exclusive single. 'Chaser' on the A side appears in an exclusive extended form which has never been released before, while 'Hard Times' on the flip remains the archetype of Italian jazz-funk perfection. This is a limited edition so don't hang around as these are sure to fly out.

Review: Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning sensation Bluey is one of those shows you are only made aware of if you have kids. And then it pretty much takes over your life for a while as kids love it. Dance Mode is the follow up to the number one album Bluey already put out and it is another collection of 17 brand new recordings from series two and three of the hit animation, originally composed by Joff Bush. The heartfelt, funny portrait of family life is always brought alive by the colour sounds and has plenty of upbeat EDM tracks that bring the good times to any family disco.

Review: Expanding on the ever-present fervour for classic industrial music, CTI's Elemental 7 lands in our laps, a reissue of the soundtrack to their 1982 film of the same name. Devastating and brutal sound effects are paired with haunting vocal performances on this two-suite clanker for the ages, while the accompanying video features cut-up video clips and dancing ghosts, while nods in the titles refer to seances and exorcisms. Don't pass on this one, as it's not just any old soundtrack; underwater worlds and vaporeal explosions make up its more unusual sonics.

Review: The aural aesthetics of Flying Lotus go hand-in-hand with film scores. There was the original music contributed to the Blade Runner 2049 anime prequel, tunes for Carole & Tuesday, and the small matter of his label Brainfeeder's new film division. Now we have Yasuke, his first full score.

If you're unaware, Yasuke is the Japanese animated series that's been a hit among fans of Far Eastern cartoons since arriving on Netflix. So far so factual, what about the actual tracks themselves? Well, this collection of arrangements is at once very FlyLo, and then not that FlyLo at all. Yes, there's plenty of deep genre diving going on, nodding to freewheeling jazz, prog rock, trap and more. But here it's much more minimalistic than many might be used to - resulting in a thoroughly original approach to soundtracking a samurai story, void of stereotypes, while never fully breaking from tradition.

Review: The ominous clangs and thuds grow louder and louder, louder and louder, atmosphere of increasing tension turning into borderline panic as timbre's brooding menace threatens to erupt into snarling aggression. Suffice to say, like a good chunk of Diabel, 'Wedding Dance Macabre' is disinterested in niceties and would likely run anyone through who is looking for background music. The fact this is one of Andrzej Korzy?ski's scores for one of Andrzej ?u?awski's movies only makes that feat more phenomenal, given the role soundtracks often play in cinema.

Of course, it's not all so foreboding and intimidating. Tracks like 'Through the Door - Theodor' are in fact downright playful, tune comprising high pitched 'boing' noises, like springs recoiling in harmony, while 'Your Father Is Dead Young Lord' is a masterclass in emotionally captivating piano. Nevertheless, the point remains - these were never meant to accompany a visual piece, but instead play leading parts in the narrative of Diabel.

Review: You might be more familiar with Bobby Krlic's long-established moniker, The Haxan Cloak, with two critically acclaimed studio albums already out under that name. Here, he steps out from behind the veil (ahem) for the latest example of just how far video game soundtracks are going these days. Returnal is a third-person shooter set in space, wherein players land on a distant planet in search of the White Shadow, a mysterious signal that has been emanating from the region.

Sadly, things don't go too well, as we wind up trapped in a time loop, really just wanting to go home and make some sense of what's happening. Krlic's score does that surreal and unnerving plot proud, moving between these huge, epic, Blade Runner-esque moments of stretched synth refrains to collages of eerie chimes and whispered abstract noises.

Review: The original soundtrack for King Creole is one of the best the Memphis magician Elvis Presley ever worked on. It was his fourth Hollywood movie and the story is based loosely on Harold Robbins' novel A Stone For Danny Fisher which tells the tale of a struggling Boxer. In the movie, that boxer becomes a singer played by Presley who also plays all the music, of course. It features r&b, Dixieland rock, jailhouse rock and plenty more gems which is why Presley himself said it was one of his favourites. It was also his last real dramatic role on screen.

Review: This is the unreleased soundtrack from Bartleby, the British drama film from 1970 directed by Anthony Friedman. It was an adaptation of the short story Bartleby, the Scrivener; A Story of Wall-street by Herman Melville. The plot revolved around the young audit clerk Bartleby, who as a result of being overwhelmed by the pressures of modern life withdraws into his own world. 31 years later, there was another remake directed by Jonathan Parker, with Crispin Glover in the lead role. Sound wise, it is a' blissful mix of British pastoral jazz and serious drum, double bass and string action'.