The 10 best tracks for a film soundtrack, according to Illum Sphere
It's been a while since we'd heard from Illum Sphere; the DJ, producer, and co-founder of forward thinking Manchester club-night and label, Hoya:Hoya. After releasing the 'Spectre Vex' EP and adding to the Fabriclive mix series in 2014, he's broken the hiatus and made a return to heavyweight label Ninja Tune for 'Second Sight'. A solid two-tracker reflective of Illum Sphere's shift to a more machine-sounding approach, it sees paranoid banger Second Sight go tête-à-tête with the gently arpeggiating synth lines of Ritual.
Title track Second Sight definitely has the hallmarks of a high octane chase, with images of a bank robber's getaway car rolling over a ramp and into the abyss, its gunmetal grey paintwork shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Call me tragically poetic but listen for yourself and you'll hear that, in general, 'Second Sight' is pure mind movie nutrition. That's probably why Illum Sphere put together a list 10 tracks perfect for a film soundtrack, of which he's scripted out below in all its glory. From the film noir, establishing scene feels of Pärson Sound's Blåslåten through to the space-age-roller-disco-chase-scene glitz of CHBB's Go Go Go, we're romanticising every piece of music we hear from here on out.
In Illum Sphere's own words:
"So much of my favourite music is stuff that can instantly evoke a mood, feeling or imagery. It’s like they were almost made for a film. Also, for me (as I’m sure for most), a good soundtrack can make a film so much better. Outside of scores, here are a few personal favourites that I think would work perfectly in film."
Read Illum Sphere's list below and stream seamlessly via our YouTube playlist.
Illum Sphere: "Beautiful, haunting, spacious, fluid, perfect scene setting material."
Illum Sphere: "If you’re looking for music for a film, then Bryn Jones probably made something that fits. For me, so much of his music is emotive or a brilliant mood setter, the E.G Oblique Graph stuff especially."
Illum Sphere: "The coolest character in the film just introduced themselves by strutting slow motion onto screen with this playing."
Illum Sphere: "Someone’s on a mission. Time to roll out. Cue CHBB."
Illum Sphere: "Uh oh. Shit’s gone down. They’ve lost everything. Maybe someone took all the dope, or the money, or both. Maybe it’s way less material and more gut wrenching. Either way, time to go for a contemplative drive with a little help from Leon."
Illum Sphere: "No idea what they did, but things got dark and now they’ve gotta get out of there."
Illum Sphere: "Heartbreak. Total heartbreak. There’s always space in a film for something that can reduce even the most cynical of us to a blubbering mess."
Illum Sphere: "It’s all good. Everyone’s alright and everything’s back on track."
Illum Sphere: "Did they get away with it? Was it glorious bloody failure? Good ending? Bad ending? Weird ending? It doesn’t matter, ’Your Dragging Feet’ will soundtrack it perfectly."
Illum Sphere: "If a film ends with ’A Time For Us’ as the final piece of music, I’d put a bet on it being a pretty good film."
'Second Sight' is out February 19th on Ninja Tune (pre-order).
