DIRTY MONDAY PLAYLIST... FT IAN NEIL

And the winner is… Today’s Dirty Monday Playlist.

Master Music Supervisor Ian Neil takes us on a nostalgic musical journey through Hollywood - offering up 10 Decades of Music from the Oscars. Listen to the playlist and read why the tracks mean so much to Ian Below.

Read Ian’s full bio HERE

OVER THE RAINBOW BY JUDY GARLAND / THE WIZARD OF OZ - Can you believe this film is 82 years old? It’s magical in many ways and I remember watching it with my Gran as a kid, I then showed it to my kids. The film will live on forever, the song is unforgettable and won the Oscar in 1939. No one else had a chance that year. Sing it Judy!

WHITE CHRISTMAS BY BING CROSBY / HOLIDAY INN - The 1940s had some great contenders, but when one of the greatest song writers of all time writes the greatest Christmas song ever and then Bing Crosby croons it to perfection, well it’s game over. Everyone now dreams of a White Christmas ever since it was released. As for the film Holiday Inn? Meh! Not a patch on It’s A Wonderful Life.

MONA LISA BY NAT KING COLE / CAPTAIN CAREY U.S.A - The 1950s was a tough call. I’m a huge Frank Sinatra fan and he won three in five years. Not to put a Frank song on would be sacrilege, but then when you have Nat King Cole singing Mona Lisa whatcha gonna do? It’s from the 1951 film Captain Carey USA which I can say hands down I have never seen. The song has long outlived the film.

MY KIND OF TOWN BY FRANK SINATRA / ROBIN & THE 7 HOODS - Impossible not to include Old Blue Eyes in all this - the musician and the actor who changed popular music for ever. So I’m gonna cheat, but it’s my game so don’t judge me. It’s My Kind of Town was NOMINATED for an Oscar in 1964 from the film Robin and the 7 Hoods (which I’ve seen once and don’t really need to see again). It lost out to Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins, a film I truly adore. But Frank trumps Dick Van Dyke, Frank is The Royal Flush and you can’t beat that.

THE WAY WE WERE BY BARBARA STREISAND / THE WAY WE WERE - We’re half way there and it’s the 1970s. Young Barbra as she was then, only went and won two Oscars that decade. But I’ve got to give it to The Way We Were. Streisand & Redford in one the greatest love stories ever to be ingrained in celluloid. What a voice and what a goddam song. Memories indeed Babs.

ARTHUR’S THEME BY CHRISTOPHER CROSS / ARTHUR - The 80s: big hair, shoulder pads, roller skates & leg warmers and that was just Patrick Swayze. Possibly the worst line up of films in this decade for me personally, with the exception of Officer And A Gentleman, but then time may have turned my brain to mush! The decade gave us songs everyone knows and sings along to, despite them mostly smelling of Gorgonzola. But the winner is Arthur’s Theme, cos I loved Dudley Moore and this is one HUGE guilty pleasure of a song and I am making no apologies.

YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME BY RANDY NEWMAN / TOY STORY - The 90s now and I will be honest I am starting to lose the will to live, things are getting bleak in both film and song categories here. Can’t even find a score I like, I’m not bringing us all down with Schindler's list! Oh hang on what’s this I see lurking in 1995? Oh thank the lord for Pixel and the great songsmith Randy Newman. Toy Story is just a genius film and this song strangely lost out to Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas. I demand a recount.

LOSE YOURSELF BY EMINEM / 8 MILE - The noughties now, which I hate people calling them. I don’t need to study this decade, it’s a slam dunk. One of the best music films made and a great artist still in the early part of his career. The rap battles in the club still give me goosebumps and this song is simply KILLER. Lose Yourself in the moment for the next 5 minutes and 21 seconds.

HAPPY BY PHARRELL / DESPICABLE ME 2 - The 2010’s? The ten’s? Whatever you want to call this decade this one is a no brainer. From a sequel no less and for me a song that extends itself way beyond the film from where it came. An anthem for a generation and such a simple tune. But by jove, it just makes you HAPPY. Sing along with Pharrell people and clap those hands!

HEAR MY DREAM BY CELESTE & DANIEL PEMBERTON / THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 - And here we finally are - the roaring twenties. It’s been a blast folks, I've just travelled 80 plus years in a few hours and not many choices here given it’s only 2021. But as I enjoyed the film, and am really impressed with how Celeste has risen to fame with some help in the world of Film & TV, this is my top choice. Shame Daniel Pemberton didn’t win the Oscar last night - but there’s always next year.

Want to connect with nature and help save the planet? Start with awesome music!

To celebrate Earth Day we turn to Dirty Soup's new creative neuroscientist Katherine Templar Lewis for a simple recipe to tune the mind to help restore our planet.

"The science shows that some music powerfully evokes awe - the benefits are clear thinking and good health. We’re more connected, invested in the greater good and do more to lessen our impact on the environment,” she says.

Katherine's recommended awe-inspiring Earth Day tunes are Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2, the end of Mahler Resurrection Symphony No 2, and Pink Floyd’s The Great Gig in the Sky.

Listen to the tracks below and read more about Katherine HERE.

Dirty Soup warmly welcomes Juliet Martin to its Music Supervision roster.

Dirty Soup warmly welcomes the Music Supervisor Juliet Martin to our talent roster.

Anyone that watched the most talked about TV show of 2020, Normal People, will have heard Juliet's incredible track placements in full effect.

Next up for Juliet is Sally Rooney's Conversations With Friends directed by Oscar-nominated Lenny Abrahamson.

Read Juliet’s full bio HERE

SPIN MAGAZINE SPENDS A DAY WITH TRISTEN BACHET AKA TRZTN

Paris-based musician Tristin Bechet, known by his moniker TRZTN, uses his uniquely provocative, electronic designs to create sonic mood boards for films and brands, like Nike, Karl Lagerfeld, Dior, Chanel, and Givenchy. His new album Royal Dagger Ballet is another hypnotic feat. Its single “Hieroglyphs” features Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O, whom he also collaborated with music for Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are film and Rise of The Tomb Raider.

In Bechet’s own words: “‘Hieroglyphs’ resembles an odd [David] Lynchian dream state; bizarre and beautiful. A sonic portrait that warbles away into space dust. Without holding back, I embarked on a phantasmagorical way of production— sculpting sound more than composing conventionally. I recorded clangs and digital white noise. I re-shaped her voice, deformed the structure, and resampled her own vocals creating the main staccato vocal theme. The track disintegrates and falls back together like the push and pull of a rubber band stretching.”

Time I woke up 7:15 a.m.

Every day starts with Water comes in, water goes out.

Breakfast consists of My kid’s half-eaten crepe guzzled with instant coffee.

To get going I always Pray to the God of Thunder and Rock and Roll.

I don’t feel dressed without A feeling inside.

Before I start working I must Smoke a Quigarette and have a think (a quick cigarette).

Currently working on I am pretty much locked in the studio for most of the day. Now with the release of my record I am in a transitional period where I am exploring my next move. That includes experimenting with musical ideas or getting to know a new instrument. Also working on a commission for a fashion brand, and finishing a music video.

But I’d really love to be Doing the same things but in more majestic fashion, such as taking a helicopter to my glass studio on the edge of a cliff overlooking the crashing waves.

Book I’m reading Art Sex Music, the Cosey Fanni Tutti autobiography.

I don’t know how anyone ever Yoga in the nude is one thing, but nude yoga videos is another.

If I had to play one album on repeat, it would be Ew. That sounds like torture, so I will go with John Cage’s “As Slow As Possible”. One note, thank you.

The perfect midday consists of A simple Brazilian lunch preferably sitting on plastic chairs outside somewhere. Also, a moment when a buddy and I “realize” something at the same time.

To help get through the day I need to Pick up my guitar and strum into the void with no intent.

Not a day goes by without speaking to Sometimes I go days without speaking to anyone.

My daydreams consist of Journeying the Far East on a motorcycle with my little boy in the side-car.

In a perfect day, in a perfect world Just feel love. Fulfilled. What does that feel like? Also, I’d be very rich.

__

Read Tristen’s full bio HERE.

DIRTY MONDAY PLAYLIST... FT FIONA BRICE

This week’s Dirty Monday playlist from Fiona Brice offers her favourite orchestrations with tracks by Beck, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Issac Hayes and more.

A Royal Academy of Music graduate, Dirty Soup's orchestral arranger has worked with artists such as Jay-Z & Beyonce, Mark Ronson, John Grant, Anna Calvi, and Florence and the Machine.

Read Fiona’s full bio on our HERE

1. Scott Walker “It’s Raining Today” (1969. Arranger: Wally Stott)

The sustained string dissonance creates a real sense of psychological unease, offsetting the rich velvet of Walker’s voice, before delving into a dense, dark arrangement. This is brave, experimental writing.

As an arranger I have often been given this track as a reference, notably for “One Breath” by Anna Calvi.

2. Nick Drake “Riverman” (1969. Arranger: Harry Robertson aka Robinson)

Another classic that artists often refer to when asking for strings! There is an easy pastoral quality to the playing, but the disjunct melodic motion and cross-rhythms mean this arrangement wouldn’t be out of place on a Radiohead tune. Inspired.

3. Bjork “Joga” (2004. Arranger: Bjork/The Icelandic String Octet)

One of many stunning orchestral tracks by Bjork, this one is sheer beauty. The counter-melody cascades and cycles around her main vocal, and there’s a perfect balance of emotion and restraint in the string playing. String octet is a really great ensemble to write for because it can easily carry a whole song harmonically and rhythmically (octet is also the line-up used by the Beatles for “Eleanor Rigby”).

4. Serge Gainsbourg “L’hotel Particulier BOF Melody Nelson” (1971. Arranger: Jean-Claude Vannier)

I am a huge fan of Vannier’s arrangements and he was clearly the perfect collaborator for Gainsbourg. The strings on this track are pure filth. String porn. They drive the tension of the song, they bring tenderness in places, brute force in others. My french session player colleagues believe the strings were always recorded muted for these arrangements. I need to try that.

5. Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” (1975. Arranger: John Paul Jones)

What happens if you let the bass player write the orchestration? Massive prog riffs, that’s what. Hard to argue with this epic rock track. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have been playing violin in a string quartet at a wedding when some drunk guest rolls up and shouts “Oi oi, can you play Kashmir? Ha ha ha ha”. Yes. I can.

6. John Grant "Pale Green Ghosts” (2013. Arranger: Fiona Brice)

And this is one of mine and it is my favourite collaboration with John Grant to date. He asked me to re-work the theme from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Prelude in C sharp minor and combine it with menacing brass stabs to create the cinematic feel for this title track. The drama builds throughout and is spine-tingling when performed live with an orchestra (so far we have done this with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra).

7. Beck “Paper Tiger” (2002. Arranger: David Campbell)

Lucky Beck, having an amazing orchestral arranger for a father.. they worked together on this track and to my mind this arrangement is clearly influenced by Vannier/Gainsbourg. The strings rif in unison and octaves, something also found in Indian classical music, but although it wears its influences on its sleeve, this track goes way beyond pastiche and is genius in its own right. The production on the whole “Sea Change” album is incredible and is regularly used by Front of House sound engineers to test their PA sound.

8. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991. Arranger: Will Malone)

A hugely iconic arrangement which many people have tried to copy since. From a one note start, the harmony develops beautifully, becoming progressively more angular, climbing up the register of the string ensemble and getting more rhythmic as it grows. Sophisticated, elegant writing.

9. Yma Sumac “Bo Mambo” (1954. Arranger: Billy May)

This is specifically a brass track but the writing and performance takes my breath away. The arrangement frames her incredible voice beautifully. Billy May was a legendary composer, arranger and trumpet player, writing for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald and many other greats. I could easily create a Top 50 of his arrangements alone. Stunning.

10. Isaac Hayes “Walk On By” (1969. Arranger: Johnny Allen)

One of my all time favourite recordings. Perfect for watching the sun come up. The orchestration is anthemic, expansive, with broad sweeping counter melodies and heavy rhythmic interjections paced beautifully over 12 minutes. There are a couple of dodgy moments in the string performance, which would be tidied up by a drop-in to meet today’s squeaky clean digital standards, but it’s all part of its analogue gorgeousness.