Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: If you're unfamiliar with Yugoslavia-era Croatian animated children's entertainment than where have you been? And, please, allow us some introductions. Produced for 11 years, between 1967 and 1978, Professor Balthazar was a kids show about a benevolent genius scientist (the titular star) who helps those around him overcome various problems, often through the use of invention, using a magical machine to come up with innovative designs to solve any issue. While there is certainly subtext to read into - TV has always been a bastion of propaganda, not least behind the Iron Curtain of yore - trying to pinpoint the location or origin here isn't easy, if you don't already know. No character speaks a discernible language, making this resolutely universal storytelling. Similarly, the soundtrack, by Balkan master Tomislav Simovic, is relentlessly shapeshifting and expressive, and impossible not to fall in love with, no matter where you grew up.

Review: Tomislav Simovic was among the most significant musical masters to emerge in post-World War II Yugoslavia. The Croatian artist was a member of several jazz bands over the years, is considered a pioneer of southern European electronic music, a highly respected musical theorist, commentator, and all-round visionary. During his lifetime, he would score 300 films, many of which are lost to the sands of time, and those that did survived, or were recreated by new artists, are considered examples of soundtrack as art. Few answer that call better than this previously unreleased collection of 18 short animated films from the Zagreb school, which positioned itself as an artistic institution concerned with presenting philosophical world views and changing the course of animated history. Simovic's work, even without the visuals, conveys this brilliantly, with a mixture of whimsy, comedy, contemporary songwriting, and grand arrangements.