Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: It's the anime that changed the format forever, from storytelling to character design - Neon Genesis Evangelion is still, to this day, one of the most beloved, divisive and iconic animated series of all time. From influencing 'Madoka Magicka', 'Serial Experiments Lain' or 'Kill La Kill' to its resurgence in popularity thanks to social media and the infinite memes that the show continues to spawn off almost 30 years later. Many will know 'Cruel Angels Thesis' and the bossa nova cover of 'Fly Me to the Moon' performed by J-Pop singer Yoko Takahashi, which are used as the intro and credit sequence songs, but don't neglect the electrifying orchestral composition from Shiro SAGISU that backsets the action sequences. This is the first time the full OST is pressed on vinyl. It comes in a beautiful gatefold featuring frames from the show inside, housed on black and blue vinyl to reflect the colour palette of this hugely influential show.

Review: While most celebrated in electronic music circles for his work as part of Yellow Magic Orchestra - not to mention a string of experimental solo works - Ryuichi Sakamoto has long been an acclaimed composer of music for the big screen. As the title suggests, this fine compilation gathers together some of his best soundtrack works. There are plenty of familiar favourites present - check the chiming, suitably cheery theme to "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" and the swelling closing theme from "The Last Emperor" - alongside lesser-known gems such as the lilting strings of "The Sheltering Sky (Main Theme)", the simmering beauty of "Little Buddha: Acceptance" and the jazz-influenced bliss of "Femme Fatale: Bolerisch".

Review: Silva Screen Records continues their vast compilation project here with another tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, the legendary former member of Yellow Magic Orchestra who passed not so long ago. They have pressed this one up to various formats and this is a gatefold transparent lime green and black splattered vinyl from the acclaimed film scorer. He wrote for epics such as Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, The Sheltering Sky and The Last Emperor. This album takes in plenty of the most standout tracks from those movies, all performed by the Brussels Philharmonic and conducted by Dirk Brosse.

Review: Not your everyday crime thriller, Man On A Swing (1976) doesn't just follow a detective solving a murder with his very own machismic wits. It rather sees the main character consult a local mystic for help, in what can only be described as a far more holistic and spiritually in-touch mystery than most out there. Lalo Schifrin's OST is as entertaining and stark as this premise suggests, blending every influence from disco to funk to bossa nova into a rather exciting affair.

Review: The Cowboy Bebop was an anime series that was much loved for its soundtrack albums by Japanese composer and instrumentalist Yoko Kanno and his band the Seatbelts. The sounds were weird and wonderful affairs that made odd connections between seemingly disparate worlds - jazz, rock, J-pop and electronic, often with a curious aesthetic. Just this year, Kanno has returned to soundtracking the series on Netflix so this reissue is sure to connect with fans old and new. It is largely instrumental, with big band pieces next to more ambient passages and extensive alto sax deployment. As far as cult records go, this one is right up there.

Review: Introducing Cowboy Bebop: The Real Folk Blues Legends, a vinyl masterpiece with captivating designs by Toshiaki Uesugi, celebrated for his work for the Cowboy Bebop franchise. Thw LP, carefully supervised by the legendary Yoko Kanno, compiles tracks from the whole Cowboy Bebop discography including 'Blue', 'No Disc' and 'Knocking on Heaven's Door', and not least the iconic 'The Real Folk Blues'. This release brings to vinyl for the first time many such classics, delivering to fans a unique sonic experience not only highlighting the sonic world of Cowboy Bebop, but the opportunity to share in the legacy of one of the most successful anime series of all time. This vinyl set features two deluxe LP discs on 140g dark blue marbled 12" vinyl. It also includes an insert print with tracklists, credits, liner notes and interviews with Yoko Kanno.

Review: Curated under the expert guidance of Yoko Kanno, this LP offers a selection of chill-out and downtempo tracks that allows you to explore iconic songs like 'Adieu' from Cowboy Bebop: Blue (featuring Emily Bindiger) and a brand-new recording of the hit 'The Real Folk Blues' (featuring Mai Yamane). Immerse yourself in the cultural phenomenon of Cowboy Bebop with this exceptional vinyl set on deluxe 140g pink and dark blue marbled" vinyl disc with an insert print containing song track list, credits, liner notes and interviews with Yoko Kanno.

Review: One of Giuliano Sorgini's finest and most sought-after titles, Scappo Per Cantare, is finally available as an official LP reissue, and the first ever to be remastered from the original tapes. Originally released in 1971 on the small library music imprint FAMA - which operated as a sub-label of RCA Italy - the record contains the original music written for Scappo Per Cantare, a small, pseudo-psychedelic 'musicarello' (musical comedy film) broadcast on RAI television. Despite this seemingly innocuous commission, the music - though he's uncredited, it was made in collaboration close confidant Alessandro Alessandroni - is incredibly surreal, and a psychedelic treat for anyone seeking crisp, chordophonal-compositional mastery distilled on record.

Review: Photographer Nan Goldin captured snapshots of inner-city queer sexuality like no other. Famous for her visual chronicling of LGBT subcultures in New York throughout the 1970s and 80s, her work focused on escapism within the real - walking the tightrope of sexual ecstasy over beds of real danger: the twin epidemics, HIV/AIDS and opioid. Film material about her work up until now has largely been limited to the slideshow 'The Ballad Of Sexual Dependency', but 2023 changed that with the documentary film 'All The Beauty And The Bloodshed', which biographically documents Goldin's life and career, homing especially in on her lengthy fight with the orchestrators of the opioid epidemic, the Sackler family. The soundtrack to the film, composed by international experimental sound art group Soundwalk Collective, in collaboration with Dawn Sutter Madell - is an intense, almost heavenly orchestral suite, yet is no less cinematic or righteous. It's tinged with the mood of tearing down an oppressive, parasitic pharmaceutical structure, not least one which still financially feeds the arts world with bloodstained hands.