Chosen Road from Fall From Earth – by Philip Sheppard – Clio Gould Violinist
For Clio Gould
This track was written in a single afternoon just before our Abbey Road Sessions for my album Fall From Earth.
I had just had confirmation that Clio Gould would be leading the orchestra for my recordings. I knew I had to write something special for her.
I’ve known Clio’s playing for most of my life – in fact, we first played together when we were 15 years old.
Even then, her sound was utterly and totally breathtaking and I’ve been in love with her playing ever since. Her sound is effortless, silken, chocolatey and quite unlike anybody else.
Chosen Road is about the paths that you take and the routes that you choose through life. Sometimes the going is hard, but the views can take your breath away.
Clio is the greatest violinist in the world. This is my way of saying thank you to her.
Order from Bandcamp
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=75147650 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=small tracklist=false tracks=4061886354 esig=009513d550468b4c06c10eaa8d787d62]
This weekend saw the premiere of Greg Barker’s new documentary ‘The Final year’ at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The movie charts the astoundingly exhaustive efforts by Barak Obama’s diplomatic team to manage complex international problems. The unfettered access to Obama, John Kerry, Samantha Powers, Ben Rhodes and Susan Rice has created an incredible witness document to the often unseen and unappreciated efforts that operate below the surface of a successful administration.
Control Room at Abbey Road during our session. Photo by Nathan Azopardi
We recorded the string score in Abbey Road Studio One with an orchestra after not many weeks of writing. The soundtrack for this movie was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced as a composer. Putting music under political figures is fraught with ethical and artistic problems. In documentary, the role of the composer is to frame the action, NOT tell the audience what to feel. I wrote entire soundtrack three times until I found a way in, that didn’t feel biased or dramatic.
The reviews from the Hollywood Reporter and Variety are here and I feel reflect the importance and peculiarity of this movie.
Here’s a track from my recent album ‘Somewhere along the edge’
My friend the photographer Trey Ratcliff is a master of making poetry from light. His images are a constant source of inspiration for me. See his work here.
Here’s a performance of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin I did the other week in San Jose at the premiere of The Human Face of Big data – a film I scored for Sandy & Rick Smolan.
It’s using a cello (leant by the amazing Eric Cheng) and a Boss Loop Pedal.
I worked with Jimmy Page back in 2008 – but that’s a whole lotta other story. We were both younger back then…
I’m the pasty looking Brit on the right, giving him a few tips on how to be less introverted. *ahem*
Well actually, I’m getting an important life lesson right there.
Here’s a guy who earns a (damn good) living, playing guitar, in the sunshine, whilst keeping phenomenally fit.
He’s not a particularly shy chap.
In fact, he’s the definition of bold.
And it works.
And I always need more of that.
As a musician, it’s all too easy to be conventional, not stick your head above the parapet and toe a conventional line.
Despite having been a performer for years I was always terrified of standing out, being different or not knowing exactly what I was going to do on stage in a performance.
In short I had absolutely zero boldness. Nada. Nothing. Whilst a student at the Royal Academy of Music, I put the conservative into conservatoire.
I was obscenely square even in classical music terms.
The breakthrough for me came from meeting an insanely great jazz pianist, Keith Tippett. He encouraged me to improvise entire concerts.
(Side note: Improvisation is a word with many negative connotations so Keith’s neat trick is to re-label it Spontaneous Composition).
Now this is a terribly un-British thing to do. But it has been at the root of everything interesting that’s happened to me since then.
The feeling of walking onstage and not knowing what I’m about to play gives me a bigger high than any drug (even coffee), and, once you realise that the audience are more nervous than you are, is remarkably enjoyable (so long as you’ve practiced an insane amount).
My rules now are simple:
Always say YES to something terrifying, then panic when you have time alone.
When you are challenged to perform in a bizarre circumstance, always accept the dare…
Those split seconds of bravery will open the doors to your dreams…
This morning I’ve been playing some Paganini from an early edition, viewing through an Avegant Glyph driven by an Amazon Kindle Fire.
So far, it’s pretty thrilling experience and somewhat exciting to consider the possibilities of accessing archive material without expensive printing, using music stands, and having a truly focussed environment whilst working.
My normal day job is composing and recording film soundtracks. This is where such technology will fly, especially once reduced into a lens. The software I use to sequence, record and mix will all be effectively projected at a low level into the eye and will occupy no real estate in my studio.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to mastering those octaves – technology won’t do that for me…
Here’s what I did after a long day of recording in Abbey Road one night last week. I’d been conducting the orchestra all day, and my brain was in another place.
I was speaking a language far from English, and things were swimming in front of my eyes. Rather than start heading home, I decided to decompress a bit.
There’s a deeply unusual documentary I’m writing at the moment, so I put the film on, Gordon, my fantastic engineer set everything to record and I got ready to play along. In the end, I ended up doing a 59 minute solo take on my cello – which is something of a record for me… It was a bit surprising seeing as my arms were really aching from conducting all day.
Anyway, here’s the result. (Don’t worry, it’s not 59 minutes).
A piece of music dedicated to Trey Ratcliff whose work I’ve loved for years.[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87240788″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
He is a master of HDR Photography and I met him for the first time last year in Monterey.
This piece is recorded using tuned glass instruments and is an attempt to play with refraction, colour and shade in music.
I’ve no idea if it’s successful but it’s a new direction for me…
Here’s a piece I’ve just written inspired by a fabulous photographer I know called Cole Rise. I love his air of magical realism… hyper-dreamy landscapes where gravity doesn’t quite work in the way it should…[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/86053920″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
My solo performing setup generally includes loop pedals, pitch shifters and reverb units.
I’m doing a lot of experimentation at the moment with my live setup, using acoustic & electric cellos, new custom built units as well as some exciting new effects pedals from Boss, Boomerang & Line 6. Before I plan a programme I always draw a new circuit/ wiring plan and however much I try to simplify things around my feet, they always end up verging on the complex..!
The sketch above is the setup I have in my studio at the moment… Looking a little tangled for my liking…
Here’s a short improvisation from a set I performed in Mexico a couple of months ago. The guest speakers prior to me had mentioned whale songs, volcanos and one of my favourite pieces, La Folia. Needless to say, all of them found their way in.
It’s been great to see Andrew Bird storming Sundance with a live set where he built songs up from live loops on violin using a parallel setup of Line 6 delay modellers, one tightly locked, the other more for floating ambient lines. You can watch it here.
Andrew Bird
The great thing is that the gadgetry he’s using is rendered unimportant by the emotional punch of the songs. It’s easy to get hung up on gear for its own sake, but if you’re not making someone laugh, cry or get the chills, it ain’t worth it…
I’m on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row tonight to talk about music & journeys.
I’m with a total hero of mine – Adrian Utley from Portishead – both of us being interviewed by Mark Lawson.
Here’s a free track for you if you’d like to download it – click through to Soundcloud & it’s free.[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/5680720″ iframe=”true” /]
Last night saw the first ever collaboration between Impropera & Not so Silent Movies… at the wonderful Kings Place. We improvised a new score, and new operatic narrative to Nosferatu… well, it is nearly Halloween.
Our next event is on Sunday afternoon. Click here for more details.
Last month was great fun too – Jarvis Cocker, Dario Marianelli and John Etheridge joined our fabulous house band. Here’s Gramophone magazine’s blog about it.
If you’d like to get more free tracks, or news of gigs – click here.
Today is the last day of mixing all 205 of the Olympic Anthems for the London 2012 Games.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra are incredible, and having spent 50 hours locked away with them in Studio 2 at Abbey Road, we all know one another that bit better, and I’m totally in love with their sound. If you want proof of how good they are, just listen to some of their live recordings on their own label.
We’ve gone from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe via the Faroes and Tajikistan, and it’s been something I’m not going to forget in a hurry. Jake Jackson, my rather extraordinary producer, had the bright idea of keeping a record of what we’d done on a wallchart… Dr Strangelove would approve…
Jake’s map!
The press attention’s been odd and an interesting element to deal with, some of the papers were looking for an angle – eg, ‘what’s the worst anthem?’, ‘What could go horribly wrong?’, and ‘Why do you look like Nick Clegg?’. For the record, I DO NOT LOOK LIKE NICK CLEGG. At all. Really.
A top class athlete with a chap in a suit (me)
On our last day we asked Jonathan Edwards – the world’s favourite triple jumper – to come and join us for the recording of God save the Queen. You’ll have to watch this space to see if he made it onto the final cut of the recording… all I’ll say is that it was the loudest note we recorded across all 974 takes!
Just to show what a good setup we have here at Air Studios.. here’s a snapshot for you:
The mix setup…
Note; a very busy Jake Jackson (two keyboards at the same time a la Rick Wakeman), our spreadsheet of anthems projected, too many apple computers, live streamed football match (ahem)…
Yuri’s night on Tuesday (the anniversary of Gagarin’s orbit around the earth) is being marked by an extraordinary film – First Orbit – made by Chris Riley and Paulo Nespoli on the International Space Station. This is the soundtrack.[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/13400937″]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC2Ea0So2CY]April 12th This year sees an extraordinary anniversary. Fifty years ago to the day Yuri Gagarin became the first person to see the Earth from space. To mark this extraordinary anniversary, I’m proud to be involved in a project devised by my friend Christopher Riley.
By matching the orbital path of the Space Station, as closely as possible, to that of Gagarin’s Vostok 1 spaceship and filming the same vistas of the Earth through the new giant cupola window, astronaut Paolo Nespoli, and documentary film maker Christopher Riley, have captured a new digital high definition view of the Earth below, half a century after Gagarin first witnessed it.
We have partnered with YouTube to share First Orbit with the World in a special global streaming event on the 12th April. The Yuri’s Night network will also be showing the film at over 120 parties around the world that day. If you would like to watch it at one of these events then please contact the organizers directly through the Yuri’s Night clickable party map.
“We’d been working with some of these tracks on another project” says Chris, “and we suddenly realised how perfectly they could compliment ‘First Orbit’ as well. We contacted Philip to ask his permission to use them, only to find that his entire Cloud Song album was already in orbit onboard the International Space Station!”
NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, had them on her iPod… Her husband, Josh Simpson is a friend of mine and they’d listened to a lot of my music together before she left, so I made up a playlist for her. Quite by coincidence Cady had been listening to the music in ‘First Orbit’ at one end of the Space Station whilst European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli was shooting for the film at the other end, without either of them knowing the connection!
My soundtrack for the forthcoming PBS Frontline series God In America is now available. Click here! Please drop me a line if you’d like more details. Here’s a track from the show…
From the debate over the building of an Islamic center near Ground Zero to the threat by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran, religion continues to animate American political discourse just as it has since the country’s founding.
Now, for the first time on television, God in America explores the tumultuous 400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America.
A distinguished list of actors has been enlisted to portray the historical figures. Two-time Emmy winner Michael Emerson of Lost, delivers a powerful performance as Puritan leader John Winthrop; Oscar-nominated Chris Sarandon (The Princess Bride, Dog Day Afternoon) gives a poignant portrayal of Abraham Lincoln’s spiritual journey during the Civil War ; Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Toby Jones (Frost/Nixon, Harry Potter , W) as George Whitefield, America’s first, national evangelical preacher; Keith David (Crash, Platoon) as abolitionist Frederick Douglass; and Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife) as the incarcerated Baptist minister Jeremiah Moore.
The traditional spiritual ‘Steal Away’ played by an orchestra of cellos, followed by a postlude – solo viola James Boyd. Hope you like it..! This is to be broadcast on the soundtrack to ‘God in America’ – October 10th, 11th, 12th 2010.
Here’s a sketch I’m working inspired by the incident at the Gare de l’Ouest. A touch of Victorian melodrama with a steampunk symphony orchestra…
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/murder-on-the-great-western” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=a38036″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
Here’s a new track called Kinderszenen. Hope you like it.
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/kinderszenen” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=846d11″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
Here’s a new track called The Soldiers’ Prayer. If you like this you might like this too…
[tweetmeme source= ‘@PhilipSheppard’ only_single=false]
This is going to feature on a BBC film called ‘Little Ships’. I’ve written the soundtrack for this beautiful, moving film. I only hope it gets somewhere near the quality of the film!
To mark the 70th anniversary of the ‘miracle of Dunkirk’, 50 of the surviving little ships which made the original perilous cross-channel voyage are returning to France.
The brilliant historian Dan Snow tells their extraordinary story: their role in the evacuation and the people who struggled to keep them afloat during those fateful days in 1940, when the future of Europe hung in the balance.
Online music promotion & why musicians should make their own record deals… [This is a section of a talk I gave at the Royal Academy of Music]
[If you like this… then read the supporting article CLICK HERE]
Wilhelm couldn’t help feeling the Wigmore makeover was a little too contemporary
During my lecture a student asked if they should send a huge dossier of references, biographies, programmes and recordings to prospective venues/employers.
Err.. nope!
A CD with a handwritten note – all nicely designed & personally directed is much better, especially if solicited via an initial email.
(The former package would in all likelihood end up in a recycling bin)
Harsh maybe.. but true!
Humphrey thanks Mrs Watson for the Gutbuster tailcoat
Here are some simple steps to:
Promoting tracks online
Releasing tracks online
Getting income through sales (though this may not be the primary aim at this stage).
You want people to hear you, join you, and get excited about what you produce next (and hopefully turn up in droves to your next recital).
The Burberry string trio’s Morton Feldman season wasn’t going well
Getting it out there…
Let’s assume you’ve already recorded a really well thought-through programme of pieces/ songs… (This is a whole other massive subject, and something that classical musicians can often get very wrong…)
The obvious place to start a web presence is myspace, but it seems (at best) an inelegant way to present yourself as an artist, especially when there are so many other free hosted sites with beautiful templates out there.
I have a myspace page, (it’s so very ugly.. I won’t even link to it here) but its primary purpose is to redirect traffic to my own sites!
The traffic on my MySpace page at the moment
WordPress
I love WordPress (where you’re reading this).
It’s free – it has excellent templates, so even a klutz like me can make something look half – decent…
I can place a track like this
by entering a piece of simple code, and it looks professional.
It’s designed as a piece of blogging software, but rather than using it purely as an online diary, I find it is a great place to host your biography and showreel.
More importantly, it’s a great place to engage in regular chats with people who might like what you do.
The more people that comment and link to you, the higher you page goes in Google’s rankings, so make sure it’s appealing!!
Also, when people leave comments, good or bad, try to respond as soon as you can! This can be difficult if you’re busy, but shows that what you’re doing is artist led, not just a facade by a record company to ‘get down with the kids’…
You can get a WordPress blog here – highly recommended.
The chaps in Led Zep felt Jimmy had gone too far…
Mailing list
If you want to link with people who like what you do, then maybe use a company to administer a mailing list for you. I use Constant Contact and find them very effective. They have a good policy against spam and there are lots of safeguards in place to ensure you communicate properly in your (hopefully) mass emails.
Obviously Twitter links into this whole pattern very neatly too!
Getting a great look for your album
Sometimes technology creates more niggling work for us and leaves a big creative void in the heart of your soul… and then sometimes, it proves itself to be a thing of simple beauty.
I love Flikr.
I am a massive fan of specific photographers like Lucy Martin, Trey Radcliffe, TonTon Copte and many others. Something in their imagery and artistic sensitivities links with my music.
I found all of them through the site, and in fact recently licenced an image from Lucy Martin which was a perfect fit for my Henry VIII album. Have a look here and you can see why!
Mailbox was in a right grump
SoundCloud
A different way of grouping/ hosting your music for free is presented by SoundCloud.
What is neat about this is the way people can place comments along the timeline, and even better, anyone (if you like) can stream it to their own blog/site.
Here’s a recent piece of mine which is being streamed from the SoundCloud website.
Listeners can add comments at specific points in the track – you can see them by hovering over the pictures.
I use SoundCloud to determine whether a track has ‘legs’ or not.
It’s very meritocratic – if something’s good – it’ll get lots of plays!
Now, if you’re feeling generous, you can make the tracks downloadable (although you should tag them in iTunes first so the mp3 has your web address in its code – google ‘iTunes metadata’ if you want to know more).
This track is a download track – again, it’s being streamed via a simple bit of code from SoundCloud:
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/in-i-the-apotheosis-akram-khan-juliette-binoche”]
The downwards arrow on the right is a download link.
Here’s a site where someone’s placed a block of my tracks leading to free downloads.
Later in casualty, Fritz regretted selling the viola
Lastfm
A well-established streaming music service is lastfm.com. This is a curious amalgam of fansite and radio station. Personally I find it a bit disjointed, and also it concerns me that unreleased tracks often appear there from dubious sources. There are tracks of mine on there that I’ve never released!
The Sixty one
A completely different approach to new music streaming and downloads can be found at thesixtyone.com.
This is a really hard site to describe as it is as much about gameplay as it is about streaming music. There are two types of (free) account. Artists or Listeners. The Listeners get a higher ranking depending upon how they scout for new songs that the Artists place on there. They give ‘hearts’ to tracks they like, a little like buying shares in a stock that looks like it’s going to perform well.
Frankly, no-one really knows how it works.
Also, as with SoundCloud, you can tell pretty quickly if a track has merit as it will get voted onto the front page!
Players also give ‘tips’ which I hadn’t realized translate into Paypal dollars.
From my page here, I have enough for two cappuccinos already… hurrah!
However – it was a superb place to place your music, but following a recent makeover, users have expressed dismay at the frankly confusing navigation…
The Albert Hall’s sitemap left a little to be desired
Setting up a label and generating paid downloads
Setting up a label appears at first to be an onerous and difficult task. This certainly used to be the case, when there was a baffling array of requirements; barcodes, encoding, registration and so forth.
This is no longer the case thanks to intermediary companies that have sprung up to help us confused and frustrated independent players and composers.
CDbaby
CDBaby was established by the very brilliant Derek Sivers (whose blog is essential reading). They distribute to a huge number of digital outlets, and have excellent accounting procedures for small labels. They started as a physical distributor of CDs but seem to have made a smooth transition to digital marketing. You can read about joining here.
Ditto Music
One of the most impressive of these new services is Ditto Music.
They have created a brilliant service where the tasks of creating a label for your releases is streamlined and organized for a one-off fee.
They also take 0% of your royalties when tracks are sold online, and they can distribute to 700 digital outlets.
The real icing on the cake is that they have created a means by which independent musicians can get their tracks loaded onto Spotify, and iTunes.
Whenever I have a soundtrack album for a film or concert project, they are my first port of call.
Xavier didn’t feel the sponsorship deal with Dunkin’ Donuts had compromised him at all
Spotify
There’s a widely held belief that as an independent artist, getting your tracks onto Spotify and iTunes is nigh on impossible unless you’re with a major label. This is happily untrue as discussed above. Spotify is an exciting way of streaming (and now temporarily downloading) tracks which has begun a seamless integration with phones and mp3 players.
Spotify are themselves trying to approach smaller, independent labels, and you can register interest as a future partner here.
What’s next..?
I’m going to write about physical CD production, as well as other merchandise… But I need a big mug of coffee first! Let me know if this is useful…
From his birth in Rio de Janeiro in 1948 to his untimely and tragic death in Baghdad in 2003, Sergio Vieira de Mello led an extraordinary life.
Vieira de Mello joined the United Nations in 1969 and would devote his life to the organization and its ideals. Known to most as simply ‘Sergio’, Vieira de Mello worked in some of the world’s most volatile and distressed regions. His career spanned assignments in Lebanon, Peru, Bosnia, Sudan, Cambodia, Cyprus, Mozambique, East Timor and Iraq. Working mostly for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sergio achieved some astonishing successes. These achievements were not easily won. Sergio grew up with the UN, developing several guiding principles along the way.
When Sergio died he was serving as the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq. He had managed to find a balance between pragmatism and idealism, principles and compromise. He was the UN’s ‘go to guy’, having spent decades refining his approach. In the words of his friend and colleague Dennis McNamara, Sergio was, “one of the bright stars, maybe the brightest. He was the master magician, mediator, manager, massager of egos.” This was the tragedy of August 19.
Just heard the news that there’s a volcanic cloud heading this way from Iceland. Here’s what I think it might sound like… (this may be a bit rough as I’ve written it fast!)
[soundcloud width=”100%” height=”81″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=5a4811″ url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/ls32-morse-dynamo”] CLOUD MORSE by Radiomovies
Don’t forget you can get this and other free downloads when you subscribe here!
I like sending free tracks out sometimes, and have found a really good way to do this…
If you fill in your email address at this link, I’ll send you news of downloads, sheet music, forthcoming gigs and broadcasts. It’s totally secure and a good way to keep in touch.
There’s a song sent back to you by return by way of thanks!
Here are some recent tracks… let me know which other ones should be downloads![soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/r-a-d-i-o-m-o-v-i-e-s” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&show_playcount=true&show_artwork=true&color=6bb7ef” width=”100%” height=”360″ ]
It’s on UK iTunes now, and US iTunes here. Stumble It!
It’ll get onto Spotify a little while later, followed by all the other major retailers. ‘O Dolce Nocte’, ‘Without Discord’ and ‘Adieu Madame’ are getting some nice attention. Thanks everyone for getting behind this.
If you don’t want to buy it you can click below and stream the tracks from SoundCloud.[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/sets/henry-mind-of-a-tyrant” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&show_playcount=true&show_artwork=true&color=ff7700″ width=”100%” height=”225″ ]
I’ve teamed up with an extraordinary photographer for the artwork, Lucy Martin, and am working on a physical copy of the CD for release in the New Year.
Thanks to everyone for spreading the word and getting RadioMovies CD label off the ground!
Steve Scott used one of my tracks in a recent animation called Legend of Exos
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/4865046]
I love his style – steampunk and surreal.
The film features my track ‘Keep Walking’ which you’re welcome to download from here:
[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/keep-walking-3″]
(Click the downwards arrow on the right hand side!)
I’m delighted to tell you that Henry Mind of a Tyrant is shortly to be released on a label I’ve just set up…
I have great designers, animators, editors on board and think it may just work..
There are Three CDs coming out before the Autumn and this is definitely one of them!
NB, Other releases are to be a piano album (including Crystallised Beauty) and a CD of my odd cello/orchestra soundscapes (including Close Your Eyes).
Click the play button to hear tracks including O Dolce Nocte featuring Alamire and Fretwork.
The reason I’m writing though is that I’m going to need help (hopefully yours!) getting the word out there about the Henry CD as this is a small-label release, but I’d love it to reach a wide audience. There’s no financial drive behind this, as I’m just as happy to distribute tracks free when I can. Your suggestions matter very much, as it’s only because of the comments on this page here – that the companies have agreed to let me make the CD!
So all ideas as to how & if you’d like to own it, which radio stations I should approach, what kind of packaging you’d like used, which tracks you’d want on there (I will put the credits music on!), even how much it should cost… will be very gratefully received. I’d also like to put suggested artwork online, so you can help me choose what it should look like.
So, at the moment I’m considering all of these types of release;
Free download
Spotify Release
iTunes
CD release with artwork from the TV series
Coffee table style copy (don’t know how else to put it..!) – ie a book with a CD/ specially commissioned artwork/ calligraphy/ limited edition print
I’ll send you a Henry mp3 right away by way of thanks if you drop me an idea!
Working on ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’, and meeting many of the astronauts from the Apollo programme led me to fall in love with all things lunar.
Here’s something I wrote recently after listening to the Apollo 8 Genesis reading.. I noticed they all spoke around B flat major, and that their voices are inherently melodic.[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/radiomovies/apollo-good-earth” params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=c48c1e”]
Featured voices are; Frank Borman, James Lovell and Bill Anders.
Well.. after lots and lots of talking and negotiating.. it looks like we can get the piano pieces released!! Initially on itunes, emusic and spotify.. as well as a nice coffee table version. Please let me know with your comments which ones definitely make the cut!
Exciting times ahead. Very close to coming up with a way to issue tracks in digital and physical formats with a twist.
I’ve just added this track that I wrote called Sink Below[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/aqua-voce.mp3]
Here’s a track called Not Coming Back[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/not-coming-back.mp3]
Hope you like it! The awesome photo below is by Trey Ratcliff. SLR genius…
Photo by Stuck in Customs
PS. Follow me on Instagram for updates on other tracks: https://www.instagram.com/philipsheppard/ – also if you leave me a message below, you may find an mp3 or two on its way..! Thanks for the continued support from Jane Austen fans – click here to know more…
Sorry for the recent radio silence! I’ve been very busy with a film and a stage show… plus there’s a really big film project in the pipeline that I wish I could tell you more about…
To all who’ve asked for Crystallised Beauty… it’s just been sent – and I’ve had a brainwave about how to release tracks more easily. Watch this space!
Also coming soon – a schedule of all forthcoming performances and film broadcasts/premieres plus dance shows too.
Here’s a new piano track that goes with the above image – a memory for water [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/a-memory-of-water.mp3]
The Houston Symphony announces Carnegie Hall as the second stop for the world-premiere event, The Planets—An HD Odyssey, a newly commissioned project of the Symphony. On January 28, 2010, Carnegie Hall will present the Symphony under the baton of Music Director Hans Graf in a program that culminates with Gustav Holst’s beloved The Planets and a high-definition, state-of-the-art film by celebrated producer/director Duncan Copp.
I’ve written a Prelude – The Launch of Cassini which opens the film.
I’m very excited about this. I’ve played in Carnegie Hall, but have never had anything presented there before. The Holst is such an incredible piece that I’m steering clear of its orchestration and soundworld and going heavily into harmonics and string overtones.
I may put a sneak peek here soon. Needless to say, it’s going to have a lot of cellos in it…
Philip Sheppard is a composer specializing in film and television soundtracks. He is also a solo cellist and a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
Recent films include In the Shadow of the Moon (which won numerous awards including the World Documentary Prize at Sundance), Henry Mind of a Tyrant for David Starkey
The 2009 Mountainfilm Festival plopped its audience in front of gorgeous canyons and tremendous acts of bravery, audacious hoaxes and evil corporate maneuvering, boundless compassion and extraordinary individuals.
In the end, it was one of these individuals — Sergio Vieira de Mello — who stole the hearts of the movie-goers.
Greg Barker’s film, “Sergio” is a meticulously-crafted portrait of de Mello — the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights whose life was cut tragically short when a truck bomb exploded below his office in Baghdad. “Sergio” won the Audience Choice Award at this year’s festival.
Watch out for online stream of some of my music from the film… coming soon!
Anyway, sitting in the garden, writing music. Today’s one of those days I’m grateful to be a self-employed person… shouldn’t go on about it as it’ll start raining, and for all I know you may be sitting at a PC somewhere cold..?
I wanted to let you know that there’s a new tag in the top right hand corner called Free Bits. It’s where I’ll post anything that appears on my other posts such as free mp3 downloads and sheet music, plus the odd preview invite and so forth.
Join me and you’ll be the first to know about future freebies, Henry VIII soundtrack release and download (Mind of a Tyrant), Jane Austen piano tracks and release dates for some films I’ve worked on in the US.
Moon Machines is on the Science Channel this week – the companion series to In the Shadow of the Moon. I wrote the music for the series last year which aired on the Discovery Channel.
Henry Mind of a Tyrant continues its run on Channel 4 this evening at 9pm with the second episode – Warrior. Channel 4 have put a series of short films, images and even (oh no…) an interview with yours truly at this site. Don’t forget the soundtrack is a free listen on this site.
Sergio is going to be shown at HotDocs in Ontario – click here for more details.
Lots of people (hundreds in fact!) have downloaded the sheet music for Crystallised Beauty this week, and I’m asking for suggestions for the next piece to be made available. Let me know at this page!
On this site, I’ve put up a couple more archive album tracks;Aqua Voce now online, together with Penitential Psalm.
Thanks for all the messages and comments – it’s great to hear from you…
After rather a lot of emails, I’ve finally got around to writing up the piano score of Crystallised Beauty. As everyone who’s asked for it seems very friendly and sociable, I decided to make it for two pianists…
You can still play it on your own if you prefer, but… to fit all the different parts in, four hands are better than two!
It’s free, but please don’t copy it anywhere else – if anyone wants a copy they can download it from here for nothing. If you want to give anything, a comment is always welcome!
I can’t play it well, but I love it all the same… Which other pieces would you like free sheet music for? Please let me know!
I’ve written quite a few pieces for piano recently, for various films and as concert works. (NB free download at the end) Join me on Instagram for mp3 and sheet music updates
After the Moonlight (Piano Trio)[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/13-fast-gathering-tears.mp3]And… This is new too The Daguerreotype [Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/jb2-old-photos.mp3]Here’s another recorded in Finchcocks, a stately home and piano museum. The instrument used is a Viennese double strung piano – a very rare and extremely fragile instrument. [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/04-moon-over-meadow.mp3]
The piece is (as yet) unnamed, but is based on the idea of an empty drawing room at night – except, that is, for the piano. It holds within its wood and strings snatches of music, harmonics and melodies that others have played on it… Any ideas for names gratefully accepted – the more literary the better!
Here’s a second piece recorded on a Steinway – a slow ballade waltz [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/jb3-ballade.mp3]
Here’s a third piece called The Long Letter[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/07-10-long-letter.mp3]
Here’s the obvious one (of Jane Austen fame)… Crystallised Beauty – the (not often heard) full-length version of the track:[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/01-crystallised-beauty.mp3]Added today – Sheet music for Crystallised Beauty!
And here’s one called for Elena[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/22-9-for-elena.mp3]
This is a piece (with strings) called keep walking[Audio http://radiomovies.wordpress.com/files/2009/03/pssst.mp3]
I’m really excited about the series. Can’t say too much here, but, most of the soundtrack will appear shortly on this site as an audio stream.
It features Alamire, Fretwork, Charles Mutter and Dot Allison amongst others.
Dot Allison
Here’s a sneak preview of one of the lead tracks Ultimi[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/ht4-ultimi-mix-copy-1.mp3]
New Piano track
Here’s a newly released track playing with the idea of piano touch – it’s a little rhapsody about Glenn Gould [Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/15-glenn-gould.mp3]
If you like this, there’s a whole page of piano tracks…
Sheet Music
Hundreds of people have downloaded the Crystallised Beauty sheet music this week. I’ll put some of the other piano pieces online as scores as soon as I get a chance… watch this space!
I’ve just been finishing the soundtrack for the new David Starkey series for Channel 4, entitled Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant . The music features the viol consort Fretwork and vocal consort
An extract from my video diary from the day of the Beijing Olympics closing ceremony.[wpvideo Xm981dzk]
The Chinese rehearsal was extraordinary. I was able to talk to many of the performers, and filmed them from up close as they hurtled towards the stadium roof. This was shot on a very small HD camera – I’d drunk a lot of coffee so excuse the odd shake. (Also I’m a better musician than film maker – so please excuse any bad edits etc).
The most striking image was the silken volcano – really simple but very classy.
The music is a piece I wrote for string orchestra – as yet untitled…
Meanwhile our handover cast were getting ready in the compound for the very brief bus rehearsal.
This animation is pretty gory.. but cool. When it gets to the more gothic 3rd section you can hear a piece of mine called keep walking…
If you like it – the full track is below plus the link to the mp3 if you’d rather hear it on your personal gramophone!
[wpvideo AWtyQOwh]listen to the full length track here:[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/pssst.mp3]
This from BoingBoing:
In “Legends of Exos” we are launched into a psychedelic land of stained glass, tracking a warrior on his way to battle. His attack segues into a lovable world of fuzzy woodland creatures but concludes with a finale that Burton fans will find comforting.
PSST!3 Pass It On is collaborative film project is composed of 17 films made by 51 teams of directors and animators from around the globe. Each film is broken into three parts — beginning, middle, and end — and each part is created by a different team.
There are some new tracks added this week from past albums including Harrison’s Chronometer which I released as the other track on the EP length Glass Cathedral album, way back in 1999.
You’ll find them all in the sidebar to the right under Pages, including The Diver in the Crypt and In-I stage show.
Soon to come… the score of Sacred Monsters, (the Sylvie Guillem Akram Khan dance piece) and a very weird piece I wrote about the Venetian Underground System…
London Calling – Part one of Building the Olympic Dream
Tonight – 4th March 09 on BBC2 at 9pm
Features my score for the London Symphony Orchestra ‘This is London’ which was based on several well-known traditional British songs as well as The Shipping Forecast (as read by Zeb Soanes) and, of course, the Greenwich Time Signal. There’s also a new arrangement of the UK National Anthem (in order to make it a bit more lyrical). Also should be a chance to hear the version of Whole Lotta Love I worked on with the LSO, Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis (with the correct clear sound… rather than what was broadcast!).
Olympic Documentary London Calling – screens this week
I’ve just heard that this Wednesday (4th March 2009) sees the broadcast of the BBC Documentary ‘London Calling’, which, according to the BBC website;
…follows the exploits of the Ceremonies Team as they prepare to mount the eight-minute show to mark the official handover of responsibility for the Olympic Games from Beijing to London…
I was the music director for the handover, which involved writing a score for the London Symphony Orchestra (based on several well-known traditional British songs as well as The Shipping Forecast and the Greenwich Time Signal) as well as re-arranging the UK National Anthem (in order to make it a bit more lyrical).
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/1592686]
The show had to culminate in a well-known song, so, together with co-producer Steve Robson, I recorded Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis performing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin together with (the brilliant bass player) Guy Pratt and Geoff Dugmore (the most civilised, yet powerful drummer you’ll ever find). We laid down the backing at Olympic Studios with as near to an authentic setup as possible – even down to the risers for the drums and correct amps.
Hearing that riff played by that man in that room.
I Love My Job.
Guy Pratt, Jimmy Page and Geoff Dugmore at Olympic Studios http://radiomovies.wordpress.com
I suspect that the programme will make fairly nailbiting viewing as there were major highs and lows throughout the long development process for everyone, culminating in the adrenalin rush of the show at the Bird’s Nest Stadium – but followed by the revelation that the direct feed of music and sound (which we’d spent months preparing) didn’t appear to find its way from the stadium to TV sets.
For me there were several moments that still seem a little unreal –
At the Bird's Nest Stadium before the show
Firstly, being in Air studios conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, who were blissfully unaware throughout the recording session that the ‘James‘ I was on intercom with in the control room was a certain guitar player… Secondly, realising just how technically and musically accomplished Leona Lewis is as an artist. I’ve not worked with many singers in the pop world who can discuss coloratura technique, and operas by Purcell and Bellini. Actually, there was one… Jeff Buckley ! (Check this out…) But Leona can really sing with heart and soul, balanced with quite astounding technique.
But also… Chris Hoy, Jamie Staff and Victoria Pendleton (plus medals) coming to my place for a drink before the cast party. I think I’ll tell my grandchildren about that…
Here’s my version of the National Anthem performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the singers from The National Youth Theatre.[Audio http://radiomovies.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/anthem-july-20th-1.mp3]
I like sites with long streamed mp3s where I can listen to music while I work – kind of webpage radio stations for each album, show or film project (where I own the tracks or have permission from the publishers). I’ve had lots of nice requests for the scores to recent stage shows, and I don’t want to charge people for the music – especially if they’ve already paid for a ticket!
I’ve had a really encouraging response from posts such as this.
Tips for breaking into the covert world of composition for new media, such as film soundtracks, TV, adverts, arranging and games.
[digg=http://digg.com/music/How_to_be_a_composer_for_new_media_tips] How get on the path to becoming a film, television, web or games composer
Music technology tips by Philip Sheppard February 2009
(These are key points from lectures I’ve given recently, and a recent article for Classroom Music Magazine)
WORK really hard. Work harder than anyone else you’ve ever met.
If you don’t love working really hard you won’t enjoy being a composer (and believe me, it’s a great job)
Ask people to show you how they do what they do. No composer minds being asked how they put a track together
Learn how sound works – if you study the physics of sound, you’ll be more likely to be able to shape it into agreeable forms
Make a portfolio of what you do. A showreel can be virtual – myspace is a start but can look fairly horrible. WordPress is excellent as a shop window
Specialize in something unique. A small business advisor will call this your USP – Unique Selling Point. (I got into the business by doing leftfield things with string instruments)
Always work with people who are better than you. I do, and I hope they can’t tell. this keeps me on my toes, and I learn from every job
Network network network… but in a cool way. If a player writes to you asking for work, it’s less appealing than if they write to invite you to a gig isn’t it? A mailing list/website with news and forthcoming events is a surefire way for people to see how busy you are. Once you’re seen to be terribly busy, this will attract more work. this sounds like a catch 22 – but it isn’t. You are likely to be self-employed, so employ yourself now!
Listen emotionally, analytically and critically to everything. If you love a piece you hear, try to work out why you love it. Dissect it into its elements. Equally if music doesn’t move you or grab you, try to work out exactly why.
Always carry a bit of manuscript paper with you (or a dictaphone if you don’t read music). Moleskine do really nice pocket manuscript books. Your best tunes will always hit you when you’re not looking for them
see point number one…
Coffee is your friend and enemy. Keep it close, but use it wisely.
How I got into it all…
I trained as a cellist at the Royal Academy of Music where I have been a cello Professor since about ’94. I had several composition lessons there as a second study, studying with Melanie Daiken, before second studies were abolished! However, by that point I was heavily ensconced in the Contemporary Music scene.
Luckily the RAM had a policy of drawing in great living composers, so I was able to play under Berio, Tippett, Messaien and many other truly inspiring musicians. At the same time I felt compelled to start improvising, and joined a quintet with Keith Tippett which specialised in ‘spontaneous composition’. At this point I learnt the value of knowing when not to play…
I’m motivated to write music that I’d like to hear – which sounds obvious and a bit selfish, but, it’s a pretty good filter.
My ‘break’ into composition came when I tried to multitrack some pieces on the cello, was encouraged to put them on a CD, that sold well and found its way onto the desk of an ad agency who threw me in at the deep end to devise the ident music for a major broadcaster… which was a learning curve, and a great break.
Pros and Cons: Pros – I love my job. Every day is different. I can be based at home and still write and record (very different from my former touring existence). I meet really exciting people – last year it was 5 moonwalkers in one day.
I’m my own boss. I can be creative and still be working. Cons not many.. Very late nights – but, I love working late. Oh yes – developing a studio tan (that’s very very pale) and having a habit of buying a new Mac every year and convincing myself I really need it.
Pathetically excited to hear the track I worked on with UNKLE – James, Aiden Lavelle and Pablo Clements being used in Top Gear for the race across Japan. It originally appeared as an advert for BMW – see below. The brief was to rework elements from Beethoven 9 into something suitable.
The track features on our latest album End Titles Redux on the SurrenderAll label. Having trained as a classical player and composer, it’s incredible to meet musicians with such sonic awareness. ‘Sound design’ is a casually used term, but UNKLE have an ability to cross the threshold between sound and that which is tactile.
I’ve heard people say that architecture is frozen music, I’d argue that music can be melted architecture.
Here’s Bernstein conducting Beethoven 9 in probably the greatest performance of the work at the Freedom Concert in Berlin:
Here’s a photo I took of the Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony rehearsal from the sound control desk as the Chinese rehearsed their incredible finale at great speed.
This was after we’d rehearsed our Red London Bus (containing Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis and a certain footballer) getting around the carpeted track.
I used tiltshiftmaker to give it an extra level of unreality – see also picture of very large Taiko Drum from the same rehearsal.
This morning I’ve been playing some Paganini from an early edition, viewing through an 
Sending this to JJ Abrams as thanks for using my track for promoting Star Wars.
I’m on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row tonight to talk about music & journeys.
Stumble It!
Here’s a piece for nine-piece string orchestra (ie double quartet plus bass) I wrote whilst staying in Suffolk one scorching Summer.
Featured voices are; Frank Borman, James Lovell and Bill Anders.
Please let me know with your comments which ones definitely make the cut!
Summer’s landed – So soon after Easter?
