New Blade Runner Movie gets the green light

I know what you might be thinking....they shouldn't make a follow up to the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner simply because it will never come close to the original. Okay, I admit there's a thousand reasons why there shouldn't be another Blade Runner film (we won't discuss them here), but then again, if they are prepared to take that gamble they will have to come up with something pretty epic to try and hush the critics.

According to Deadline, Ridley Scott is going to direct and produce the film which is a good start. What isn't clear at present is whether the film's going to be a follow-up or a prequel. There are three follow-up Blade Runner books written by K. W. Jeter. Jeter's Blade Runner 2 : The Edge of Human really explored the Blade Runner universe in depth and could be a good starting point for a follow-up film. The original film was only loosely based on Philip K. Dick's book 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?'

One factor that will be paramount to it's successs, or it's failure, is the film soundtrack. Vangelis created a futuristic masterpiece for the original film so it'll be fascinating to see who composes the score for this one.

Let's remind ourselves of the Vangelis score with a taster below....

Will they want Vangelis to compose the soundtrack for the new film or will they go for an artist who makes more futuristic sounds to try and achieve their vision?

Whoever they choose has a massive task on their hands. Here's a few suggestions of electronic artists that could be considered for the job :-

Boards of Canada - the Scottish duo have a huge following but have yet to compose a film score. Maybe they are waiting for something that they can really get their teeth into. They were rumoured to be composing the Tron Legacy soundtrack before it was announced that Daft Punk were doing the honours.

Underworld have shown off their soundtrack skills by shifting with ease to a more cinematic /  ambient sound with the film scores 'Breaking and Entering' with the help of Gabriel Yared and 'Sunshine' with John Murphy.

Cliff Martinez came up with the sci-fi score for the film Solaris back in 2002 which some compared to Vangelis and Blade Runner. Whilst I think the Vangelis score is superior to his Solaris score, it still stands out as a fine piece of work.

Then there's Clint Mansell who's composed some unique scores. Requiem for a dream, The Fountain, Smokin' Aces, The Wrestler and the Britsh sci-fi film Moon are among his works that could see him become a candidate.

One thing worth noting is ambient music as a genre generally ages well. The Blade Runner score by Vangelis still sounds fresh and futuristic all these years later. So whoever does compose the soundtrack for the new Blade Runner film will be looking to create a body of work which will stand the test of time. A massive challenge to say the least....

Salt Tank are set to return to our stereos

Salt Tank were championed by the late great John Peel back in the 90s with their unique style of progressive trance and chill out. Their 1996 album 'Science and Nature' was such a well crafted piece of work touching on elements of techno, ambient and house. Their follow up album 'Wavebreaks' (1997) was more experimental but also a rewarding listen.

They're back after a long period of meditation so it'll be interesting to see what they come up with....let's hope they release a new album very soon....

Find out more about them on their website below...

www.salttank.co.uk

Now let's remind ourselves of some of their work below...

Eugina - Probably their best known track

Into the light of the shining path

Ocean

Swell (Eden) - Kate Bush is sampled on this track

Hope you enjoy :)

New Plaid album release date and new EP by Kalya Scintilla

Hi folks

I just wanted to mention that stuff we blog about we'll try and follow up on....
I talked about Plaid in a previous post and now we have a release date for their new album 'Scintilli'. The album will be released on the 26th of September on warp records. Here's a video from a track off the album called '35 Summers'.

You can pre-order the album now and there's also a rather cool Scintilla t-shirt you can purchase through Bleep. Relevant links below....

www.scintilli.com

Bleep.com link

Now to move on from Scintilli to Scintilla. Kalya Scintilla has just released his new Illusions EP on bandcamp. It seems he still has the button firmly on the quality control. You can listen to all 6 tracks by clicking on the link below. Enjoy....

Illusions EP on Bandcamp

Like Boards of Canada? Here's some similar sounds....

Okay, the blog a day thing didn't happen. I did manage it for a whole week though....

Boards of Canada (from Edinburgh, Scotland by the way if you didn't know) have a nostalgic pastorial sound that many have fallen in love with. They have released some great work, 'Music has the right to childrem' and 'Geogaddi' are must have albums. Their music contains themes of chilhood and is largely influenced by the natural world. Since they haven't released an album since 2005 here's a few other artists that share elements of their sound.

Yimino - kind of a cross between BoC and Plaid

Christ. - was a former BoC member before he went solo

Com Truise - Tripyra

Milieu - Paddyscapes

Casino vs Japan - It's very sunny

Tycho - The daydream

Hope you enjoy the videos and music :)

Plaid interview and a new album fast approaching

I'll come back to other artists who aren't part of EMG yet at a later date. Now let's talk about Plaid.

Plaid are Andy Turner and Ed Handley from the UK. They have been making forward thinking electronic music for more than 20 years now and are damn fine at it too. They started out as part of The Black Dog before parting ways. They have collaborated with the likes of Bjork and Nicolette and have remixed many artists including Red Snapper, Goldfrapp, Bjork and The Irresistible Force. Plaid have worked extensively with Bob Jaroc (who creates visuals to go with their tracks). He also created the visuals for their Greedy Baby DVD/CD.

Sometimes, because of the complexity of their music, it may take a few listens before you properly appreciate it. One things for sure, Plaid have produced a fine body of work over the years. Perhaps what's more impressive though is that they are always looking at ways of reinventing their sound. Here's an insightful interview with Ed and Andy...

Plaid have done two animation soundracks to date. Both are strong compositions. Tekkonkinkreet and Heaven's Door are soundtracks that are characteristically Plaid but also work well on the big screen. Here's the track 'White's Dream' from Tekkonkinkreet....

Plaid have been working on a new album for a few years now called Scintilla. All indications point towards a 2011 release. Because of the wait some believe it may be a double cd. And it looks like it's going to be released on Warp Records. Check out the Plaid website for their latest news, gig dates, etc....

www.plaid.co.uk

They also have a youtube channel called The Plaided for your visual and listening pleasure....

The Plaided Youtube Channel

Plaid have always made quality electronic music and we can't see the new album being anything less than another Plaid masterpiece :)