Browsing Tag

orchestral

Orchestral rock alchemist Kaby Burton has released her sophomore single, The Dance.

Posted on 10 September 2021

It is probably safe to assume that most millennial alt girls, myself included, found themselves fantasising about cultivating the same grippingly gracious talent as the likes of Nightwish; Kaby Burton made it a reality.

‘The Dance’ is the sophomore single from the solo artist who made her debut with her single, Hymn of the Sea, in 2020. Her debut set the bar high, but the atmosphere and intensity of emotion in her orchestral rock track, The Dance, is enough to leave the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. ‘Immersive’ almost feels like an understatement when it comes to the theatrically sublime ballad.

The Dance is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mad Gallica evokes awe and emotion in her cinematic ballad, ‘Souls on Fire’.

Posted on 4 July 2021
Mad Gallica

For her latest single, the classically trained singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist, Mad Gallica wrote a cinematic pop ballad about supernatural romance; the orchestral soundscape is just as immersive as the deeply meta story weaved by the LA-based artist.

‘Souls on Fire’ is one of those tragically rare singles that evokes the perfect balance of awe and emotion as you listen to the fierce yet flawlessly pitched vocal crescendos. The LA/Nashville-based artist’s degree in vocal performance from the Musician’s Institute in LA was discernibly worth every cent.

She has toured the world as a keyboardist and backup vocalist, although I couldn’t easily name many voices that Mad Gallica couldn’t easily outshine. She has opened for the likes of Metallica, System of a Down, Ozzy and Guns and Roses.

Check out Mad Gallica via her website, YouTube and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Thomas Eggensberger explores the ‘Forgotten Universe’ in his latest cinematic score.

Posted on 26 June 2021

LA-based German composer, orchestrator and songwriter Thomas Eggensberger has composed for film, television, concert music and collaborative art; his accolades are endless and his latest score, ‘Forgotten Universe’, is sure to earn him plenty more.

Forgotten Universe exhibits all of the hallmarks of talent that you would expect from an artist that has toured globally and worked with high-profile names, including Wayne Sharp, Tom Howe and plenty more. But the emotion that bleeds from the wavering orchestral strings in the cinematically profound instrumental score is anything but predictable. The composer made light work of ensuring that by the time you reach the end of this bitter-sweet serenade, your rhythmic pulses will feel at a loss with the silence that follows.

Forgotten Universe is now available to stream via YouTube.

Connect with Thomas Eggensberger via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Billy Moffat has released his symphonic masterpiece, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett.

Posted on 19 June 2021

Scottish-born composer Billy Moffat brought plenty of his experience touring the globe with the show, One Night of Queen, to his latest release, Through the Eyes of God, featuring Davie Brockett on guitar.

Starting with dramatic neo-classic keys, there are no hints in the production to warn that the stunning crescendos will soon give way to over-driven scuzzed-up guitar solos that easily match the furore in an Apocalyptica track. Davie Brockett’s searing solos blazon the professional instrumental score with even more virtuosic stripes.

Though the Eyes of God is, quite literally, a jaw-droppingly symphonic masterpiece that will easily leave you ensnared by the sheer nuance and Moffat’s ability to compose a score that will put your rhythmic pulses under instant command.

The orchestral release is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia

Momento has celestially revived Sigur Ros and Devotcha’s ‘Through The Horizon’

Posted on 23 December 2020

Self-described as ‘Genre-Fluid Performers’, childhood friends Jonathan Chan and Jan Bislin – better known as Momento – are multi-instrumentalists, performers, and composers, specialising in a mixture of original and reworked pop and classical compositions. Here presenting their new single ‘Through The Horizon’, a mixture of Sigur Ros’ ‘Hoppipolla’ and ‘How It Ends’ by Devotchka, the classically trained duo mix electric and acoustic violin performances with sequenced electronic drums and synthesiser parts to create a beautiful, entrancing soundscape that is at once familiar and wholly new.

Already well-established as support for acts as diverse as Tim Minchin, James Blunt, and Gary Barlow, and with over half-a-million YouTube views under their belts – as well as regular headline shows on the streaming platform Sofar Sounds – Jonathan and Jan have here created a beguiling instrumental piece which allows both performers to shine, never overly flashy yet clearly demonstrating their supreme musicianship and arrangement expertise. Based on ‘Through The Horizon’, 2021 should be pretty memorable for Memento.

Check out ‘Through The Horizon’ on YouTube, and follow Memento on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Neo-Classic artist and composer Reid Wegrecki made orchestral strings accessible with their lo-fi ambient dreamscape “Curiosity”

Posted on 25 July 2020

Many contemporary music fans view classical music as anachronistic or inaccessible. Reid Wegrecki is on a mission to smash those misconceptions and accordantly welcome more people to the world of orchestrally-crafted ambience.

By finding the perfect balance between live orchestral instruments and lo-fi ambient electronic effect, Reid Wegrecki offers the striking nature of neo-classic strings, brass and keys while allowing her soundscapes to be commercially immersive.

For every composition, Reid Wegrecki collaborates with a rotating line up of exceptionally skilled artists. The end result is more than mesmeric. Quite honestly, it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before. While I’m no stranger to Classical or Neo-Classic scores, their sound resonates as captivating and cathartic simultaneously. The ambience will soothe you while the nuancedly crafted melodies will leave you in awe of the talent behind the soundscape.

The perfect introduction to the artist and composer’s style is the instrumental single “Curiosity” which can be found on their tenderly absolving 4-track EP “Daydreams”.

You can listen to Reid Wegrecki’s transfixing single curiosity for yourselves by heading over to Spotify or YouTube now.

Keep up to date with their latest releases via Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 8udDha bl0od has taken his sound to celestial new heights with his recently released single

Posted on 17 April 2020

“8!ll&73D580gU5j0Urn3Y;JAckDAn13lj0hn570n:3Arn3s7h0m1ngrAy0n7h38UllD0g5mA5h1ngDjAng05l3m0nPUmpk1n5” is the absurdly titled symphonically celestial soundscape from easily one of the most beguiling artists we’ve discovered in 2020.

Perceptibly, there’s no limit to 8udDha bl0od’s talent, we’ve heard them alchemically attack everything from Psych Rock to Alt Electronica. But this time, they’ve crafted a cinematically arrestive instrumental single. And it’s definitely one of the most progressively epic tracks we’ve heard from 8udDha bl0od so far. Be prepared to fall down a Rabbit Hole. The track kicks off with a Wagner-style orchestral electronic composition which you’ll easily be able to tie your rhythmic pulses to before an unexpected Psych Rock crescendo featuring heavily-distorted scuzzy over-driven guitar following on from the flurried orchestral notes.

We’ll never know what to expect from 8udDha bl0od next, but one thing which remains as a constant is their ability pique our interest with the preludes and leave us well and truly consumed by the outro.

You can check out 8!ll&73D580gU5j0Urn3Y;JAckDAn13lj0hn570n:3Arn3s7h0m1ngrAy0n7h38UllD0g5mA5h1ngDjAng05l3m0nPUmpk1n5 for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ryan Douglas Michelsen – Camaraderie: A Profoundly Evocative Neo-Classical Composition

Posted on 29 February 2020
https://soundcloud.com/ryanmichelsen/camaraderie

Strap on a pair of headphones and prepare yourselves to be consumed by Ryan Douglas Michelsen’s recently released orchestral composition “Camaraderie”.

The US-based songwriter and artist has demonstrated their ability to construct intensely emotive soundscapes in the past. Yet, Camaraderie stands as a testament to their virtuosic talent when it comes to making melodies bleed emotion.

With the unpredictable crescendos, expect tension to linger in the ethereally-composed instrumental Neo-Classical work. But with their distinctive improvisational style, the best way to understand Ryan Douglas Michelsen’s epically cinematic work is to indulge in it for yourself. It will probably be in a cinema near you before long. Until then, you can use your imagination to fill in the visual gaps by allowing the orchestral instrumentals to arrest your emotions through the long, tensile notes.

You can listen to Camaradereie for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Martin Krampl Music – Things That Are Coming: The Most Intense Cinematic Neo-Classical Album You’ll Hear This Year

Posted on 19 January 2020

If you’re anything like me, the title to Martin Krampl Music’s debut 13-track album “Things That Are Coming” will leave you with the desperate itch to find out the nature of the things which are coming. Is it a ubiquitous threat, or is it a promise of good things to come?

There is no immediate answer which lies in the multi-layered tonality. The first single only serves to build the tension in this Classical Crossover album as dark harsh tones conflict with the light and optimistic effervescent notes. By the time the first single had drawn to a close, I was left with the affirmation that Martin Krampl may have one of the most Machiavellian composing styles we’ve ever heard.

Throwing an unexpected sample of a crying baby following a prancingly pensive piano melody in the second single was a positively Lars Von Trier-Esque move. Their ability to create urgency through perfect timing and seamless cinematic instrumental evolutions is unparalleled. Each soundscape has its own alchemy, from haunted ethereal mesmerism to dystopic Alt Rock tribalistic tones. I feel as though I’ve been put through an epic aural journey.

If anyone has any tips on how to remove your heart from your throat, it would be greatly appreciated.

You can check out Martin Krampl Music’s debut album which was released on January 17th for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Greska – Sailing Back to The Pier: Ever Heard a Carnivalesque Orchestral Sea Shanty?

Posted on 7 October 2019

“Sailing Back to the Pier” is just one of the eccentrically arrestive singles which you will find on John Greska’s latest album “Life as An Ocean”. The single can only be described as a feat of shimmering orchestral sea shanty chaos. Even finding those words to allude to the high-octane furore of Sailing Back to the Pier was a stretch.

It’s definitely a single which requires repeat attention to unpack the myriads of layers and stylistic influences which have been thrown into the orchestration. The Indie artist even finds a way to worm in some Jim Jones frenetic energy into the instrumental mix, which sits somewhere between the Fantasia soundtrack and what you’d hear if you went to the worlds most frenzied carnival on earth.

You can check out Sailing Back to The Pier along with the rest of John Greska’s latest album for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast