Back catalogue: Classical

Review: Blake Neely's Masters of the Air is a stellar war score, much like his work for The Pacific and Greyhound. It achieves a near-perfect balance of bold heroism and quiet solemnity, bound together with a memorable main theme in 'Soar'. Neely, who previously worked on The Pacific alongside Hans Zimmer and Geoff Zanelli, has once again captured the raw heroism and terrible horror of WWII. The main theme, introduced in 'Soar (Main Title)', is elegant and evokes flying, though it may take a few listens to fully catch. Highlights include the tense 'Around The Clock', the sorrowful 'Every Second Is A Little Death', and the thunderous 'The Bloody Hundredth'. The score's mix of grand and rousing tracks with quieter, solemn moments, like 'Going Home', makes it a solidly entertaining listen. Fans of Neely's previous work, will find much to appreciate in this well-crafted soundtrack.

Review: Before he passed away in 1975 aged just 43, jazz musician and composer Oliver Nelson created a swathe of scores for film and TV, most notably Ironside and The Six Million Dollar man. This limited-edition release, the 19th in the 'Universal Pictures Film Music Classics Collection' brings two of Nelson's big-screen scores to CD for the first time. Tracks one to 18 form an expanded soundtrack to Western flick Death of a Gunfighter, a score in which Nelson focused on elegiac strings, melancholic motifs, suspenseful interludes and sweeping orchestration. The remainder of the CD presents the soundtrack to Skullduggery, a largely forgotten 'jungle adventure'. Nelson's music for this is more dashing, daring, upbeat and expansive, with extensive use of densely layered, tribal style percussion.

Review: For many people of a certain generation. Shawshank Redemption was the first grown-up film they ever saw which is why it is atop so many best-ever lists. No matter when you see it though, it remains a classic with an engaging story, great characters and an immersive soundtrack. To mark the 30th anniversary of the great movie, that soundtrack has now been pressed up on limited, numbered 180-gram audiophile black & white marbled vinyl with an insert. Plenty of the film's musical motifs and most memorable scenes feature and make for a great stand-alone listen.

Review: "A stunning use of Poe's work as the Cliffs Notes to his own majestic, intricate brand of storytelling, Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher showcases what the One Percent is willing to sacrifice to remain in high places." So says Vanity Fair of the Netflix Original Series, The Fall of the House Of Usher, a decade-spanning narrative that nods to several of the master horror author's most famous nightmares while telling tales of the wealthy and wealthier. It's typically polished-looking stuff from the country that can't stop making polished-looking dramas for video-on-demand services. But how about the score? Written by the Newton Brothers, regular collaborators of Gothic Horror creator Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House), the music could loosely be described as contemporary classical, and certainly does well in setting a scene and creating a brooding atmosphere, even if you're not actually watching the show.

Review: Created and directed by Mike Flanagan, The Midnight Club is a hit original Netflix series with a soundtrack by The Newton Brothers that now gets its own vinyl release thanks to Waxwork Records. It comes across four sides of gatefold orange and purple swirl vinyl and is a tasteful mix of orchestral and synth sounds that are coated in eerie ambient cues packed with emotion and darkness that embody the modo of the film which centers around the stories of eight terminally ill people who all live at the Brightcliffe Home hospice centre.

Review: Svitlana Nianio is a Ukrainian artist, musician, and singer known for her standing in the nation's avant-garde circuit. Cutting her teeth as a member of the experimental group Cukor Bila Smert (Sugar White Death), her work has over the years blossomed into an ever-keen exploration of voice and composition. After a spate of relative non-success, she "disappeared from the public eye" until a resurgence in popular interest came in the mid 2010s. However, we cast our minds back: the newly reissued Transilvania Smile is an early work, containing the original soundtrack for a dance theatre performance of the same name, which Nianio composed and performed in 1994 in collaboration with the choreography group Pentamonia, based in Cologne. A delicate balance of Nianio's vocals, backed by piano and harmonium, create a haunting and atmospheric sound blending folk, classical, and ambient elements.

Review: While the world instantly remembers Ennio Morricone's heroic contribution to the world of movie scores at the height of the Spaghetti Western trend - Italian produced cowboy flicks set on the frontier of an early United States - less people will jump to the name Bruno Nicolai. And yet, here we are, faced with one of the greatest soundtracks ever written for any film in the canon. Archetypal of the genre, Nicolai conducted many of his close friend Morricone's scores, and this betrays what to expect from this masterpiece. The soundscapes are grand and pompous, open and mysterious, edgy and tense. Varied, but always the aural equivalent of panning across almost-unchartered plains and seeing a solitary rider appear on the horizon. If that sounds remotely entertaining, this is an essential.

Review: Yuji Nomi's Whisper of the Heart: Image Album brings the magic of Studio Ghibli's beloved film to vinyl for the first time. Inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's storyboards and sketches, this whimsical collection of orchestral music was masterfully composed by Nomi, perfectly capturing the film's emotional depth. The album includes four vocal tracks, with the iconic 'Country Road' leading the way. Directed by Yoshifumi Kondo and released in 1995, holds a special place in Studio Ghibli's legacy as the first feature not directed by Miyazaki or Takahata. Kondo's vision, supported by a screenplay by Miyazaki, shines through the film, blending heartfelt storytelling with stunning animation. The film introduced surrealist painter Naohisa Inoue to Ghibli's artistic roster, further enriching its visual style. Nomi's score is a whimsical, delightful experience, with each track meticulously tailored to match the film's scenes. Unlike other Ghibli soundtracks, this one doesn't rely on recurring themes, offering instead a fresh surprise at every turn. Now available on limited edition black vinyl.