ANTHONY PHILLIPS & JOJI HIROTA
Wildlife ESOTERIC
Ex-Genesis man’s expanded 2008 TV soundtrack set.
Writing TV and movie soundtracks can often be the bread and butter keeping a jobbing composer’s body and soul together. Providing themes, links and musical cues is a noble undertaking rather than something to be looked down upon, given the emotional presence and weight when music is married to the moving image. Ex-Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips and Japanese multi-instrumentalist Joji Hirota, one-time collaborator and musical director of Stomu Yamash’ta’s Red Buddha Theatre and Real World recording artist, both have considerable experience in this field.
Originally released in 2008, much of this collection underpinned the British TV natural history series Survival and Natural World. Accordingly, titles such as Secrets Of The Amazon and Bears Of Kamchatka describe their usage. Some of the 60-plus pieces are as brief as 30 seconds while only a few ever get to stretch over three minutes in length. Naturally some are little more than the swell of strings, a keening swoop of a flute. More often than not it’s enough to connote the intended mood in much the same way as the mark-making found in Japanese calligraphy is rich in information and purpose, regardless of the simplicity of its graceful stroke.
However, the kind of brevity this medium dictates comes with specific challenges for the composer and listener alike. Without the accompanying visual sequences of animal life in action, how well do they stand up as a meaningful musical experience? Several times there are appealing themes whose engaging melody and impressive sound design suggest they would benefit from being expanded and elaborated upon but remain frustratingly short-lived and transitory. Nevertheless, many of these miniatures sparkle and enchant in their self-contained world. An extra disc with many previously unreleased items, including a short collaboration with Phillips’ old musical partner Mike Rutherford on the track Victors, adds weight to the package.