Back catalogue: Classical

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: Polish audio artist and sound designer Wojciech Rubin apparently draws a lot of inspiration from gnostic texts. If that's your blank drawn, we're talking about a collection of religious beliefs that took root in the first century AD and pointed to humankind's salvation coming through knowledge, as oppose to faith. To quote South Park, "we didn't listen" and so we are where we are today. Thankfully, at least someone remembers this moment in the story of civilisation, although you'll need to listen pretty closely to spot how this has influenced Rusin. Nevertheless, Honey For The Ants is captivating stuff, giving us powerful and somewhat spiritual vocal solos, meandering piano wonders, droning didgeridoos, soft string movements and a sense of the fantastical, forgotten, and dreamt throughout.

Review: Fargo Year Five is the fifth instalment of the acclaimed series Fargo and it debuted on screens back in November 21, 2023, and rolled out ten more gripping episodes. Continuing the tradition, Jeff Russo crafted the captivating music for this season, as he did for the preceding four. Notably, Russo clinched the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special in 2017 for his exceptional work on Fargo. Besides his prowess in television composition, Russo is revered as one of the founding members of the band Tonic, showcasing his multifaceted talent across various facets of the music industry, and this score is as good as all the ones that came before it.

Review: RZA has always been an interesting character who has dabbled in many different projects alongside his legendary presence as part of the Wu-Tang Crew. For this new album, he makes his first foray into the world of classical music and fans have already dubbed it a masterpiece. It's an emotional rollercoaster with turbulent moods, beautiful finales, and plenty in between, all of which have been designed as a way of attempting to get people into classical music who might previously have ignored the genre. It will surely work wonders on that front.