Killing Small Animals Soundtrack out now!

Oscar Fogelström - Killing Small Animals (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Out now!
https://bit.ly/37fIEtc

Horror short ”Killing Small Animals” by Swedish dir Marcus Svanberg premiered at Gothenburg Film Festival and is currently doing festival rounds. It has already won several awards, and is screening at HollyShorts, an Academy Awards® Qualifying Festival, in November.

Horror/drama film soundtrack featuring small string ensemble and other treated acoustic instruments.
Music and additional performances by Oscar Fogelström
Cello by Derryn Cullen
Violin by Jessie Morgan
Mix by Rich Aitken

The Hypnotist eligible for the 63rd Grammy Awards

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

I am happy to announce that the soundtrack album for the motion picture "The Hypnotist" is eligible for the 63rd GRAMMY awards. For all voting members: Please consider voting for the soundtrack album "The Hypnotist" and the track ”Ball & Chain”.

This is special to me, since The Hypnotist was the first ”real” feature film I scored, and I am so happy that Lakeshore Records with Brian McNelis, Eric Craig et al believed in this album and wanted to release it. And it makes me even more happy that they also wanted to submit it to the GRAMMYs.

I also want to thank everyone involved with the movie "The Hypnotist"; director Lasse Hallström, the producers inc Börje Hansson, the entire cast and crew, also notably Geoff Foster who went above and beyond my every expectation when he recorded and mixed the score. But also: London Chamber Orchestra, Matt Dunkley and Tony Blondal, Alastair King, Gareth Griffiths, Cool Music Ltd, Michael Blair, Mårten Sahlin, Björn Engelmann and of course Niki & The Dove!

Listen to the full album here: https://open.spotify.com/album/264kyVwrDKZm9bkc76mlWg...

#music #film #composer #soundtrack #filmmusic #filmscore #films #horror #thriller #scandicrime #nordicnoir

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Killing Small Animals doing festival rounds

Happy to see "Killing Small Animals" by Marcus Svanberg getting some traction at festivals around the world, including at HollyShorts which is an Academy Awards® Qualifying Festival. My soundtrack will be released shortly! Stay tuned!

Producer: Robert Feniger
Screenplay: Matilde Sköld & Marcus Svanberg
Photo: Johan Palm
Editing: Simon Pontén
Sound: Fredrik Sundberg
Grading: Wille Rising

#composer #film #entertainment #soundtrack #filmfestival #filmmusic #filmproduction #filmdistribution

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Nightshift - short interview

The soundtrack to Yam Laranas’ Nightshift was just released. Here is a short interview regarding the production of the score for the film.

How did you get involved with the project?

Via long term collaborator Yam Laranas. It’s our third film together, and we are just about to start working on our fourth film ”Rooftop”.

What were you asked to bring to the film and its music?

For this particular project we were looking to get a modern ”noir” feel. The entire film has a sort of noir vibe, with a mystery that deepens the longer the film progresses, and gets more and more existentialist in a sense. The entire film and score is propelled forward by an unrelenting motion towards an inevitably bleak and gloomy end

Who made the musical decisions and how did the communication process happen?

As always with Yam, it truly is a collaboration. We start by sending demos back and forth and talk about the general feel/mood of the film. Then we narrow it down to specifics, both in terms of storytelling and instrumentation etc. Since we live on different continents, there’s a lot of Skype and emailing going on:)

Could you introduce key thematic elements of the score?

The most prominent theme is the main theme that is introduced in the opening cue ”Nightshift”. It comes back many times and in many iterations throughout the score. You could say that that theme symbolize the protagonists search for answers or the truth, and it gets more and more twisted as the mystery unfolds. The main theme appears in many other cues inc "03 The Demon”, ”05 Darkness”, ”06 What Happened?”, ”07 Dr. Alex”, ”12 The Earthquake” etc. There is also a second theme, a ”love” theme. That appears most prominently in the last cue called ”Dayshift”. That theme also appears most prominently in ”03 The Demon”, ”02 First Encounter and Blackout”. Additionally, there is also a third theme which is a B theme of the main theme, it’s sort of a question mark, played mainly by the woodwinds.

Do you have a favorite scene you'd like to talk about in greater detail?

My favorite scene/cue is actually the opening music ”Nightshift”, because it sets up the rest of the film in a great way. It really sets the tone and the mood, and the camera work is stunning. It’s like one big open ended question thing, but still with a motion forward, it really draws you in.

Was there a scene that was really hard to get right?

Well, the cue called ”13 Follow Them” was a challenge, and also a lot of fun. There is a lot of stuff happening in that scene, different moods, action etc that I obviously had to work with. It’s like the culmination of the film with a lot of stuff unfolding, so it is very intense. I can’t say too much, but there’s a lot of suspense and other things going on in there.

What could you tell me about the recording process?

The recording process this time around was a mix of different techniques. As usual a lot of the sounds are recorded in my own studio, ”Oceanview Studio”, analogue synth effects, electric guitars etc. For orchestra I wanted both a bigger sound and an intimate sound. So I went with FAMEs Orchestra in Macedonia for the big lush cues, but also recorded a string quartet with my long time collaborator Mattias Bylund for the more intimate scenes. On top of that I had some remote sessions with a few other musicians, inc Kristin Naigus who played some amazing winds and John Robert Matz who recorded brass. In the cue ”Dayshift” I also recorded some vocals with fabulous singer Christine Hals. Additionally, my daughter Solveig sang a few variations of the main them that is used throughout the score in various iterations.

Do you have any other funny / strange / interesting anecdotes about the project?

A lot of the sound effects I recorded myself, there is definitely some funny stuff in there, inc a rhythm played on nyckelharpa, violin distorted effects, a chicken pecking board toy, some Christmas decorations that were destroyed and pitched down. Also, a vuvuzela was part of a ”doomsday horn” sound that occurs quite frequently in the score, for instance in cue ”04 Behind You”.

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Nightshift by Yam Laranas

Just started working on the new film from Yam Laranas, Nightshift!
Here’s the teaser with music by me.

A woman is stuck in the morgue - on her first day - working as an assistant to a pathologist when the dead begin to manifest signs of resurrection. Not believing in the concept of the 'afterlife', she is challenged to face the reality that the strange weather outside, recurring earthquakes, and an unearthly trumpet sound could be the countdown to the end of days.

World Soundtrack Awards

So, I was pre-selected for the Public Choice Award at the World Soundtrack Awards for my score for Aurora by Yam Laranas.

I'm up against pretty heavy competition inc John Williams, Danny Elfman and Thomas Newman to mention a few...

Below is a link to the opening sequence from the film. It's a slow build... Orchestrated by Tristan Noon and recorded by Fames Project in Skopje. Some of the solo string fx were recorded by Mattias Bylund in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Across The Water (Aurora OST)

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Aurora - Winner

Aurora just won ”BEST OVERALL SCORE OF THE YEAR” at Reel Music, in competition with Marco Beltrami, Desplat etc (And also ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FEATURE)

From Alan Roger’s Reel Music: 

”Oscar Fogelström’s score for the Philippines supernatural thriller, Aurora, tops the category of overall score of the year because of a number of things. Firstly, the choral work in the score, particularly in the opening and closing tracks, is impressive.... 

...Also, dissonance features strongly in Aurora but the dissonance is somehow bedded in melody. Maybe ‘melody’ isn’t the correct word to use, maybe it’s that the dissonance is easily listenable that it almost sounds melodic? Unusual orchestrations, trilling brass figures, glissandi are all mixed with support from the choir which has now taken on a different feel from that which was heard in the opening cue. Personally, I love the way the composer uses the orchestra to create such an impressive soundscape. Although ominous and unsettling, solo strings offer a hint of humanity at various points in the score. Fogelström is always doing something interesting with the orchestra: where there would be tense scenes populated with ‘filler music’ (e.g., ambient soundscapes), here the composer achieves tension but keeps the music listenable.
Aurora is the most enjoyable score I heard in 2018. The final minutes of “Rise Up” could easily be made into a wonderful concert piece.”

Aurora - Feature Film

Oscar just finished the score for feature film Aurora by director Yam Laranas. The film opened in 150+ theaters in Asia and was mixed in Dolby Atmos. It has also had a theatrical run in the US and will soon be up on various streaming services.

Original Music
Oscar Fogelström

Strings

F.A.M.E.'S. Project, Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, Skopje, Macedonia
Conductor : Oleg Kontradenko
Orchestrated by Tristan Noon
String session editing by Rich Aitken
Solo violin performed by David Bergström
Solo violin recorded by Mattias Bylund

Choir
Johannebergs Vokalensemble
Conductors: Jan K. Delemark & Mikael Carlsson
Recorded by Mikael Carlsson
Choir editing by Ivano Tria and Joe Miller

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Bad Dreams

Oscar just finished the score for Stuart Fryer’s horror short “Bad Dreams”. Music composed by Oscar Fogelström, strings recorded by Mattias Bylund and performed by David Bergström

”Oscar listened to my vision for our Horror short ‘Bad Dreams’.  He knew all the obscure 18th century composers work I referenced swell as the modern ones.  The result:  my short film has the soundtrack of a Hollywood movie.  His work elevates it to a different level.  The music lifts the film from a mere low budget horror to a film with weight and meaning.  Oscars work has given me the chance to play the film alongside the worlds best at film festivals around the world.  I will be back working with Oscar again and again… Superb work.”

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