Antarctica (Vangelis album)

Antarctica
Film score by Vangelis
Released 1983 (1983)
Studio Nemo Studios, London[1]
Genre Electronic, film score
Length 45:29
Label Polydor
Producer Vangelis
Vangelis chronology
Chariots of Fire
(1981)		 Antarctica
(1983)		 Soil Festivities
(1984)

Antarctica is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1983. It is the score of the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica ("Nankyoku Monogatari", lit. "South Pole Story") directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara,[2] and was nominated by the Japan Academy for "Best Music Score".

Overview

For years, the soundtrack album was only available in Japan, appearing in other countries as a rare and expensive import, when in 1988 Polydor finally decided to release the album worldwide.

There are two different CD covers, one predominantly white and the other depicting a frame from the film with the dogs. In each CD, the unused cover serves as the back of the booklet.

Composition

Synthesisers of "Theme from Antarctica" conjure cold and desolation, but also a bright landscape not lacking in beauty. "Antarctica Echoes" has minimal melody showing the vastness of the landscape. "Song of White" is cold-sounding, while "The Other Side of Antartica" has a sinister sound. "Deliverance" is the theme that plays at the end of the film when the handlers on the first expedition find corpses of seven dogs, that eight of the dogs broke loose, and two of the dogs, Taro and Jiro, return alive.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [3]

Jim Brenholts of Allmusic described it as a very good "dynamic and dramatic set" of music, "conveying feelings of angst, isolation, and even desolation", but "does not convey the iciness that listeners would expect".

Track listing

All music composed by Vangelis.

No.TitleLength
1."Theme from Antarctica"7:29
2."Antarctica Echoes"5:58
3."Kinematic"3:50
4."Song of White"5:17
5."Life of Antarctica"5:59
6."Memory of Antarctica"5:30
7."Other Side of Antarctica"6:56
8."Deliverance"4:30

Personnel

Production
  • Vangelis – producer, arranger, sleeve design[1]
  • Raine Shine – engineer
  • Alwyn Clayden – sleeve design

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sleeve note from the 1988 Polydor album edition. Retrieved on August 22, 2016
  2. 1 2 "Rediscover Antartica". uDiscover. September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Brenholts, Jim. Antarctica at AllMusic
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.