Back catalogue: All genres

Review: As the official soundtrack to Claire Sanford and Josephine Anderson's documentary Texada, New-York based composer Elori Saxl's latest record comes issued on a steadfast, standalone vinyl edition. Texada explores the evolving connection between people and the remote Texada Island, British Columbia, shaped by ancient limestone formations and industrial history. Saxl transforms these themes into sound, blending analog synthesizers, processed baritone saxophone (by Henry Solomon) and field recordings of water and rock. Her compositions evoke stone textures and the lunar-tidal motion of waves, with tracks like 'The Quarry' capturing the drive of resource extraction, and 'The Most Special Place' reflecting nostalgia and discovery, merging human and geological scales.

Review: Decca and CAM Sugar present the complete edition of Francois de Roubaix's historic La Scoumoune score, contracting unreleased tracks, demos, and alternate takes. The 1970 thriller, directed by Jose Giovanni and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, witnesses a small-time crook entangle himself in a torrid torsion of crime and fate, themes mirrored in de Roubaix's palpating score. Roubaix blended barrel organs, synths and unconventional sounds like rattles and springs, inculcating in the viewer the thrill of the chase, while the formal strategy to use entirely different instruments for each track went on to nail its touchstone status. Now a well of versatility, it comes regularly sampled in hip-hop and electronica; remixes by Alessandro Baldessari, Jean-Michel Bernard, and Benjamin de Roubaix, doing justice to a record whose very being seems to beg out loud for the remixing.

Review: F.M. (Francois Marche) and Fa_Fane (Stephane Bodin) say they "perform live with an acid-tinged electro-dub set, a danceable balance between the organic and the digital, the hot and the cold." When it comes to the studio, the fine line they tread between machine and human, accessible and experimental is equally evident, making them sure fire winners in the world of movie soundtracks. Not least when the film is on the avant garde side of things, as Fotogenico is. Directed by Marcia Romano and Benoit Sabatier, the movie is a visually arresting, high tempo collage of a chase-mystery in which a father attempts to piece his dead daughter's story together using only the music she recorded. Glitchy, digi-dub and synthesised post punk ensues, among other stuff.

Review: Painter, musician, actor, director and producer. John Lurie has done a lot in his time, whether that's appearing in 19 movies, composing for 20 TV shows and films - including some of those he was the star of - or producing primitivist art work. Here, we get to engage with two of those back catalogues, even if only because these are scores to a pair of his most iconic flicks. Always cool and stripped, Lurie's stuff is the kind of experimental-leaning jazz that works so well when setting the scene. And this applies off screen, IRL too: pressing play here will only serve to create a mood wherever you are, no matter what you're doing. One of shadowy streets, yellow hued spots, smoky barrooms and dark backrooms, a sense of after hours exploration.

Review: Claire Rousay's The Bloody Lady is a reimagined score for Viktor Kubal's 1980 Slovak animated film, based on the story of Elisabeth Bathory, a noblewoman accused of heinous murders. Known for pushing boundaries in experimental and ambient music, Rousay crafted the album after moving to LA, blending granular synths, piano, and field recordings into 11 evocative tracks. This new composition, commissioned after a coincidental visit to Bathory's castle, was first performed live at Videodroom/Film Fest Gent 2023. The score mirrors the film's darkly whimsical tone, shifting between delicate melodies and menacing undercurrents. Inspired by the heart's rhythmic pulse, central to the plot, Rousay's use of subtle, everyday sounds complements the film's folk tale narrative. The multilayered nature of Kubal's animation, with its mix of fairytale simplicity and deeper moral ambiguity, resonated with Rousay, who explored these themes through her sonic landscapes. This album stands as both a tribute to Kubal's legacy and a distinctive artistic statement. By leaving space in the soundtrack, Rousay invites deeper engagement with the story, reinforcing its timeless themes of love, destruction and humanity.

Review: British conspiracy thriller Utopia follows a group of young adults who, after discovering a mysterious comic book - The Utopia Experiments - embark on a manic quest for corporate restitution and prophetic fulfilment. As a shadowy government organisation detects their plans and resolves to track their every move, we watch an empathic but deadly game of cat-and-mouse; and Cristobal Tapia de Veer's acclaimed score only heightens the tension. This new 2xLP edition includes such instantly recognisable motifs as 'Brainwave Playground', 'Satan's Waltz' and 'The Monarch's Pyramid', capturing the series' eerie and intense atmosphere. The score continues to resonate to this day, following Tapia de Veer's success with The White Lotus and Babygirl.

Review: This soundtrack is a classy melange of blues, jazz and rock that all perfectly capture the sultry atmosphere of Dennis Hopper's neo-noir classic of the same name. Set in a small Texas town, the film follows drifter Harry Madox as he becomes entangled in a web of seduction and deceit and the moody cinematography and gripping narrative are elevated by this electrifying score. Legends of their game like Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal and Earl Palmer all feature with sparse, eerie and deeply evocative overtones. For that reason, this one is much sought after and has retained its smoky allure 35 years after its original release.