INTRADA Announces:
TRANCERS 1, 2, 3
Composed by MARK RYDER, PHIL DAVIES, and RICHARD BAND
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 356
By virtue of being a synth score, it sounded futuristic. But this wasn't using electronics for electronics' sake.
It was electronics melding into the emotion of the film.
-- Richard Band
One of the most iconic films in the Empire catalog is the 1984 film Trancers, which became a cult hit and launched a series of sequels. Setting the series’ noir tone was its sleek, exciting synth score by composers Mark Ryder and Phil Davies. Overseen by Empire house composer Richard Band, Trancers’ memorable themes became the calling card of Jack Deth during his first adventures. The music is as moody as the '40s film noir, black-and-white pictures that inspired Deth’s character, yet as colorfully modern as Trancers’ time-warped detective. Given the throwback tone of a high-tech future meeting the retro present, Trancers seemingly begged for an electronic musical approach, a sound quite different from the mainly orchestral scores that Band had done previously for the studio. The score would be in tune with Vangelis’ approach to Blade Runner, as well as the new-wave and rock aesthetic of such synth composers as Tangerine Dream and Giorgio Moroder. A classic noir score invariably employs a jazz sound, a sultry sax supporting the femme fatale as darker strings establish the no-nonsense hero. However, the composers took the approach of a moody homage rather than electronically replicating that kind of iconic instrumentation.
To premiere the scores for the first three Trancers films on this 2-CD set, Intrada used the ½" four-track scoring session tapes which contained the finalized two-channel stereo mixes.
The hard-boiled, trench-coat-wearing gumshoe is a film noir staple, narrating his encounters with scheming psychopaths and sensual dames while cracking a big case. Trancers cleverly added in time travel, propelling the consciousness of a future cop from they year 2247 to Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, circa 1985. Bogart’s spirit was very much alive in Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson), a man out of his element in an ancestor’s body. Setting out to “singe” the zombie minions of a similarly transplanted foe from his era, Deth finds a May-December romance with Santa’s sexy helper Lena (Helen Hunt), who proves to be just as strong-willed at trancer hunting. Trancers had instant cult appeal that made it one of the most popular franchises in the prolific output of producer-director Charles Band.
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 356
Retail Price: $29.99
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For track listing and sound samples, please visit:
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.10210/.f
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