Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Sound Radius - Oceans Of Freedom

Hear The Track Here

Sound Radius has the dubious distinction of being the one and only artist working in the whole ickky sticky Film Music genre - a musical genre I have banged on about in these reviews way too many times - to have recieved a Must Have recommendation from me. The Power Within (December 2006) does exactly what it says on the tin and then some. A superlative peice of music that is emotional, stirring and as musically rich as you could desire. It is taking its ease on my hard drive as I type this and there it is likely to stay; for once a peice of film music that did deliver the visuals too. Only yer'll have to close your eyes, relax and float downstream for a while to truly get the picture, so make sure you devote the right amount of attention to it. It is so worth it.

I can't say I was that bowled over by the second SR track I heard but it comes back through Oceans Of Freedom, as majestic and fiery a peice as Power Within, although you'll have to get past the understated intro to really get it. The absolute basic requirement for me when listening to this kind of music is that it provides somewhere for the mind to wonder while the ears are gently rubbed with aural splendour, and Oceans Of Freedom has - well - oceans to explore I guess. This is a seriously dense orchestral extravaganza, but one I found myself responding to from the opening note. Now that maybe is reflecting my admiration for this artist anyway, but when all is said and done - it's the actual impact of the track that really does the job.

It isn't the golden wonder that The Power Within is, but truth to tell it isn't far off it either; emotionally and musically. There are a couple of sections where I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the sheer allness of the sound, but I suspect that will wear in over time. It's emotional tug at me was pretty much instant, but I have liked what this artist does from the get go and this is way up there with the best of them. What kind of movies would they (both tracks that is) belong to? Well, I'm buggered if I know but I'm pretty sure they'd be dark Tim Burton type thingies with a great story and wonderfully drawn characters. Class, you know what I mean? And so is this music...

Film music that does exactly what it is supposed to. Highly Recommended.

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