The Killing Fields (album)
Encyclopedia
The Killing Fields is the 10th record album by Mike Oldfield
, released in 1984
. It was the soundtrack
album for the film of the same name
and it is the only full score written by Oldfield. The music was orchestrated by David Bedford
.
and The Space Movie
), this was the first time he had written specifically for film, and so far the only time. Oldfield composed the album on a Fairlight
CMI
.
Like many movies, the album is not a comprehensive record of all the Oldfield soundtrack music used in the film. Most notably, the music accompanying the darkroom sequence does not feature on the album. The single from the album, "Étude", is taken from the Francisco Tarrega
piece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra
".
Oldfield spent six months working on the score for The Killing Fields before going on tour
, but when Oldfield returned the producers of the film asked for more music to be written, prompting Oldfield to ask for the use of an orchestra
and a choir
; three months later the score was finished. It was released just a few months after Oldfield's previous album, Discovery
.
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
, released in 1984
1984 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...
. It was the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
album for the film of the same name
The Killing Fields (film)
The Killing Fields is a 1984 British drama film about the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, which is based on the experiences of two journalists: Cambodian Dith Pran and American Sydney Schanberg. The film, which won three Academy Awards, was directed by Roland Joffé and stars Sam Waterston as...
and it is the only full score written by Oldfield. The music was orchestrated by David Bedford
David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
.
History
Though Oldfield's music had been used in films before (see The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
and The Space Movie
The Space Movie
The Space Movie is a documentary film produced in 1979 by Tony Palmer at the request of NASA, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.The 78 minute film was released theatrically in 1980, on VHS in 1983 and on DVD in 2007...
), this was the first time he had written specifically for film, and so far the only time. Oldfield composed the album on a Fairlight
Fairlight
Fairlight is a digital audio company based in Sydney, Australia. In 1979 they created the Fairlight CMI, the first digital audio sampler, quickly used by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Jean Michel Jarre. They are now a manufacturer of media solutions tools such as digital audio...
CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
.
Like many movies, the album is not a comprehensive record of all the Oldfield soundtrack music used in the film. Most notably, the music accompanying the darkroom sequence does not feature on the album. The single from the album, "Étude", is taken from the Francisco Tarrega
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...
piece "Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Recuerdos de la Alhambra is a classical guitar piece composed in 1896 by Spanish composer and guitarist Francisco Tárrega. He wrote it in Granada.A virtuoso on his instrument, Tárrega was known as the "Sarasate of the guitar"...
".
Oldfield spent six months working on the score for The Killing Fields before going on tour
Mike Oldfield Concert Tours
This article is a list of Mike Oldfield concert tours. The larger of the tours have separate articles. Oldfield has performed in concerts since his youth, and most recently performed in 2008.- Background :...
, but when Oldfield returned the producers of the film asked for more music to be written, prompting Oldfield to ask for the use of an orchestra
Bavarian State Orchestra
The Bayerisches Staatsorchester is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera.- History :Founded in the times of Ludwig Senfl the orchestra, specializing in musica sacra, belonged to the finest ones in Europe already under Orlando di Lasso . In 1651 the Italian opera was introduced in Munich...
and a choir
Tölzer Knabenchor
The Tölzer Knabenchor is a boys' choir with roots in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz.The choir group is still led by director and singing master Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, who founded the choir in 1956 when he was only nineteen years old. The founder was once a student of Carl Orff's and worked with him...
; three months later the score was finished. It was released just a few months after Oldfield's previous album, Discovery
Discovery (Mike Oldfield album)
Discovery is the ninth album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. It was recorded at Oldfield's then-home in Villars-sur-Ollon in the Swiss Alps where he was living for tax reasons...
.
Side one
- "Pran's Theme" – 0:44
- "Requiem for a City" – 2:11
- "Evacuation" – 5:14
- "Pran's Theme 2" – 1:41
- "Capture" – 2:24
- "Execution" – 4:47
- "Bad News" – 1:14
- "Pran's Departure" – 2:08
Side two
- "Worksite" – 1:16
- "The Year Zero" – 0:28 (David BedfordDavid BedfordDavid Vickerman Bedford , was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music....
) - "Blood Sucking" – 1:19
- "The Year Zero 2" – 0:37
- "Pran's Escape / The Killing Fields" – 3:17
- "The Trek" – 2:02
- "The Boy's Burial / Pran Sees the Red Cross" – 2:24
- "Good News" – 1:46
- "Étude" (Francisco TárregaFrancisco TárregaFrancisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea was an influential Spanish composer and guitarist of the Romantic period.-Biography:Tárrega was born on 21 November 1852, in Vila-real, Castelló, Spain...
, arranged by Mike Oldfield) – 4:37
Personnel
- Mike Oldfield – guitars, synthesizers, Fairlight computerFairlight CMIThe Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
, producer, engineer - Preston HeymanPreston HeymanPreston Heyman is a British session drummer. His credits include playing with the Tom Robinson Band on the album TRB Two. He is the co-founder of London based production company Flipside Productions and plays live with Zohar and Avivit on the London circuit....
– oriental percussion - Morris PertMorris PertMorris David Brough Pert was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music...
– percussion - Eberhard SchoenerEberhard SchoenerEberhard Schoener is a German composer, conductor, arranger, and keyboard player."My message is the music. The goal of my life is to create an original form of contemporary music in which the opera, jazz, ethnical and electronic music melt together...
– conductor - Bavarian State OrchestraBavarian State OrchestraThe Bayerisches Staatsorchester is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera.- History :Founded in the times of Ludwig Senfl the orchestra, specializing in musica sacra, belonged to the finest ones in Europe already under Orlando di Lasso . In 1651 the Italian opera was introduced in Munich...
- Tölzer Boys ChoirTölzer KnabenchorThe Tölzer Knabenchor is a boys' choir with roots in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz.The choir group is still led by director and singing master Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, who founded the choir in 1956 when he was only nineteen years old. The founder was once a student of Carl Orff's and worked with him...
External links
- Mike Oldfield Discography - The Killing Fields at Tubular.net