(Composed and performed by Reynold D. Philipsek copyright 2011 Zino-Rephi Music BMI)
Recording engineer: Stymie Seamans
I am a sucker for certain mid-1960’s music. The Beatles, of course, Burt Bacharach, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and much of the movie music of the time, like Henry Mancini’s and European (mostly French and Italian) film scores by composers like Michel Legrand to Francis Lai and Ennio Morricone. A certain emphasis on bittersweet and slightly nostalgic melody and harmony sometimes including the use of vocalization without words was a hallmark. Even in my early teens, I tried to reproduce that kind of music on my little reel to reel recorder (it could record two tracks of “sound on sound”). The main music theme from the 1966 French film “A Man And A Woman” particularly stands out as an example (check it out on YouTube).
In my own small way, I try to reproduce the atmosphere of one of those European film scores on this piece. There is a certain magic to that music that still gets to me. I might not have completely ‘nailed it” on this piece but it is fairly close. To my ears that music always tried to reach for that magic or what an old music teacher of mine used to euphemistically refer to as “the subtle opium” in music.
I might add that the “marimba/vibes” and “tympani” samples played on keyboard add a certain sense of drama to this recording. I only draw your attention to that in case you miss it (headphones help).
Take care. Be safe.
Link below: