Meanwhile on Earth, Dear Radiance and more

Last batch of under-the-radar gems from 2024, with Pendant ce temps sur terre (Dan Levy), How to Date Billy Walsh (Rob Lord), To Kalokairi tis Karmen (Ted Regklis), Dis-moi pourquoi ces choses sont si belles (Vivane Audet, Alexis Martin & Robin-Joël Cook), Stellaris: The Machine Age (ELFL), Pourqoui tu souris? (Arthur Simonini) and Hikaru Kimi e (Yumi Tono).

Pendant ce temps sur terre (Dan Levy, 2024)

Jérémy Clapin’s artsy science fiction film (aka Meanwhile on Earth) tells the story of a woman who loses her brother in a space mission, but is contacted by an alien life form years later. Dan Levy, who previously impressed me with his score for J’ai perdu mon corps (2019 – reviewed here), again provides a totally mesmerizing score that utilizes eerie, hard voices and chorus overlayed by exploratory electro-acoustic hybrids. It’s like a 50s sci fi score channeled through a modern prism – maybe with a splash of Artemiev in Tarkovsky mode – as it traverses all these otherworldly tonalities. A score to get positively lost in. Favourite tracks: «Meanwhile on Earth», «Forest», «Brother», «Space»

How to Date Billy Walsh (Rob Lord, 2024)

A straight-to-streaming teen rom-com? Couldn’t sound less interesting to these old and weary eyes. But Rob Lord’s electronic gem of a score lives its own life, independent of the source material. Wide open and inquisitive, with funky grooves and light-feathered synthpop melodies,  it’s pretty close in style to what Rob Simonsen used to do before he hit it big. Lord plays around with the cat-and-mouse aspect of the threeway drama by employing old-school drum machines and undulating, highpitched melody lines. 25 minutes of breezy, presumably anachronistic synth. Favourite tracks: «Eye Contact», «The Meaning of Love», «End Credits (Wow Wow Wow)»

To Kalokairi tis Karmen (Ted Regklis, 2023)

Also known as The Summer With Carmen, this is a Greek dramedy about a man who discusses potential screenplay options with a friend at a queer nudist beach. Composer Ted Regklis – previously unknown to me – takes an attractive approach to the story as he juggles two main components: One, humourous deconstructions of “Bachian” baroqueisms as performed by a chamber orchestra, and two, beat-based electronic music mirroring the Pride scene. A couple of habaneras are thrown in there to complete the ecletic mix. Weirdly, it all comes together over 32 minutes somehow. A score that works as a fun, acidic commentator of the onscreen proceedings. Favourite tracks: «Versailles», «Pride M3», «Carmen»

Dis-moi pourqoui ces choses sont si belles (Viviane Audet, Alexis Martin & Robin-Joël Cook)

Canadian drama about a priest who tutors, and corresponds with, a much younger woman about Nature and God and everything they have in common. Vivane Audet, another new acquaintance to me, composes a delicate score, sparsely orchestrated, alongside Alexis Martin and Robin-Joël Cool. While there are hints of the ecclesiastical (like a choir or certain psalm-like structures), it’s mostly a chamber-sized exploration of life wisdoms – like pronounced use of woodwinds and piano circling the dialogue. Not striking in terms of themes, perhaps, but has a stark, somber, Thomas Newmanesque rigidity that is easy to fall in love with. Favourite tracks: «Dis-moi pourqoui ces choses sont si belles (ouverture)», «Anthèse, No. 1», «Pollen (variation)»

Stellaris: The Machine Age (ELFL, 2024)

This is an expansion pack to the sci fi strategy game Stellaris (2016-), where players take control of interstellar civilizations for exploration and colonization. Following in the footsteps of Waveshaper, ELFL (real name Daniel Kadawatha) is another Swedish synthwave composer who makes the most of the relatively short score (26 minutes) – epic, lush sci fi landscapes filled with Vangelis’ cosmological vastness, fat beats, M83’s Oblivion stylings and gloriously retro production values. Sometimes also flirting with more contemporary genres, like dubstep oscillations. ELFL is one to watch! Favourite tracks: «Quantum Spawn», «BLADE», «Quantum Soul»

Pourquoi tu souris? (Arthur Simonini, 2024)

French comedy about an unemployed man who fakes missing documention in order to stay with a woman in Bordeaux. Arthur Simonini has made his mark with several high profile gigs recently, including Celine Sciamma’s Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019) and Petite maman (2021) – the latter alongside Para One. For this short score – the album is only 17 minutes, more of a suite, really – Simonini presents a classical, bittersweet excursion for rhythmic piano and aching strings, with a couple of folksy, guitar(or zither?)-led tracks inserted for upbeat contrast. Simonini perfectly balances the heartfelt with the lightweight. Favourite tracks: «Wizi», «La bulle»

Hikaru Kimi e (Yumi Tōno, 2024)

NHK Taiga dramas always have great scores, and this is no exception. For the 2024 edition of the long-running series, Hikaru Kimi e (aka Dear Radiance), composer and pianist Yumi Tōno (at 60 years old, a veteran in the Japanese industry, but unknown to me) provides a score throughout its 48 episodes that is stunning in scope. It might be a bit more eclectic than usual – there are some contemporary elements here that don’t quite fit in, and there are several jazzy cues, but there are few other places in the world where this kind of lush, orchestral, almost Golden Age-like romanticism can still be heard – with considerable symphonic forces and transparent melodies. Be aware that there are several score volumes released, but the go-to is the “best of” album of 80 minutes. With this effort, Tōno can proudly join the ranks of previous Taiga drama composers like Yugo Kanno, Yoko Kanno (no relation) and Naoki Satō. Favourite tracks: «Amethyst», «Distant Sky», «Purple», «Snowy Night»