Movie Themes and Underscores – AKM Music Review

AK169 AK170  title
AK169 Emotive World & AK170 Nature Soundscapes

Copyright Free Movie Themes and Underscores – AK169 & AK170

I’ve had these two AKM Music copyright-free albums sitting waiting to be reviewed for a few weeks now. Whilst sharing similar characteristics, they do vary quite a bit in their application. AK169 Emotive World is, to me, a movie theme track album. Whilst there are tunes on there that could be used underneath narration I think this one is ideal when your looking for music to go on top and drive your visuals. AK170 Nature Soundscapes is more of an album of narrative underscores or possibly musical wallpaper when you want the images to tell the story in their own.

AK169 Emotive World

This album is all about big themes, mainly orchestral but there’s a few with a definite oriental feel to them. The first few tracks conjured up visions of big screen blockbusters but there’s also a smattering of tracks that could be used on corporates and commercials. Lots of voice effects here if you’re looking for some!

01 Main Theme – 3’16”
Medium slow, repetitive orchestral piece with swirling start and building with stabbing strings and voice effects. It conjured up a victory scene from one later Terminator films, with a hint of electronic FX here and there.

02 Black Wing – 3′
Back with the Terminator here. He said he would be! This could be used on the opening title sequence for the film or a scene where he rebuilds from being almost totally wiped out. There’s voice effects again on this one, with a slow beating of a huge timpani drum to create building tension. Nice dramatic ending to lead you into narrative.

03 Blue Moon – 2’36”
I was expecting something equally spacey on this but it’s an odd one. It starts with an electronic trumpet voluntary and gets all mixed up after that. There’s a horribly repetitive electronic stab which doesn’t seem to go away and eventually breaks into a chorus of electronic strings and odd sounding instruments (a bit like broken trumpets). Not my favourite.

04 Crisis of the City – 3’27”
Orchestral, menacing – with swirling electronic strings which create an image of desperation and destruction. Oh hang on, there’s another voice effect, this time a male choir giving it a ‘heave ho!’ type effect. This soon fades though and we’re back to this medium-paced big orchestral piece. Could fit equally well on a bank commercial as it could on a big blockbuster sci-fi or war film.

05 – Emotional – 3′
Poor attempt at a sad gypsy violin opening. If it was there to conjure up the emotions then it failed, and I’m not really sure where or how you’d use this one.

AK169 Emotive World
AK169 Emotive World

06 Kingdom of Children – 2’47”
Now they’ve got their electronic harp out and mixed that with what sounds like a young person’s voice effect and a harpsichord. It’s a simple tune this one, which makes it usable on all manner of films – especially those depicting kids.

07 Last Battle – 4’07”
Think of all the previous tracks and edit them together. Lots of voice effects, string stabs and big orchestral sound. Goes on a bit!

08 Morning – 2’19”
The rythym is building on this one with a big wind section chorus. I can imagine someone flying.

09 Ancient Drum – 2’12”
Hear them jungle drums man! Well it actually starts with a Japanese taiko drum and gong sound but soon breaks out into a wild tropical jungle beat. This could be a really useful track if you were looking to cut something at a really fast pace.

10 Osaka – 3’15”
Slow with a strong steady big-drum beat. Definite oriental feel about it, with chorus line played on a shakuhachi wooden flute. Orchestral strings build and finally lead you out as a solo.

11 Red Sky – 2’46”
Slow piano start, with orchestra sections dropping in one by one. And yes, you’ve guessed it, a choir of voices brought in for good measure. You can’t work out what they’re saying but it’s a feature that might preclude you from using the track. It ends on the piano, back on its own playing out it’s repetitive tinkle.

12 Santan – 2’09”
Indistinguishable from the last one really, but a bit more of a Celtic sound and without the voices.

13 Sky – 3’58”
Big orchestral piece with crashing cymbal sounds and horn sections. Eventually the voice effects come in and make you realise you’re on the same album. Could imagine this being used on a bank commercial.

14 Sunday – 2’03”
Violin opening sequence – obviously electronic but with a melancholy feel to it. Big drum and orchestral stabs and chorus pieces lift you up as the track moves along. No idea why its called ‘Sunday’.

15 Taiko – 2’08”
As the title suggests, we’re back with the Japanese Taiko drums this time but a lot less ‘jungle’ – more pure Taiko. A really useful track to have on hand if you are trying to get a really Japanese feel to something. Nice bamboo bashing to cut to.

16 Tear – 2’24”
So sad – so very sad! Reminded me a bit of Hushabye Mountain from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when it started, but soon fell into the same orchestra and voice effect pattern of other tracks in this album.

AK170 Nature Soundscapes

An excellent mix of mood-creating and enhancing tracks to add to landscapes. Each track has at least three variations of the main theme including a short sting and alternative cut. Quite of a few of these would work really well as a background track to narration. Nothing will offend you too much, and some of the alternate versions are very different to the main, yet recognisably similar. This could make them ideal for a longer-form documentary.

01/02/03/04 Above the Clouds – 5’54” / 2’43” / 19″ / 12″
This would work well on a scene filmed from a drone over highlands, valleys and streams. A slow piano-led piece with highlights in flute and string.

05/06/07 Blue Lagoon – 3’39 / 3’09” / 14″
Again, quite a slow piece but has much more of an electronic feel to it. Wispy short electronic stabs and a twiddling keyboard underscore take you along. This is pretty non-specific, so could be used as a background for narrative quite easily. The alternate version (06) is a bit more electronic and less detailed – making it even more usable for a narrative underscore.

AK170 Nature Soundscapes
AK170 Nature Soundscapes

08/09/10 Deep Forest Sunrise – 4’19” / 3’16” / 25″
A little more upbeat this time, but still with an electronic sound which has swirling keyboard effects and a driving electronic beat. An occasional subtle voice effect breaks in and slows the whole thing down before breaking back into the beat. The alternate version is a lot more melodic and slow with a piano lead.

11/12/13 Navaho Plain – 2’45” / 2’45” / 22″
Think Native American prairie with a hint of Celtic tribe and you’ll have this one. Flute and swirling orchestral sounds will take you to a misty morning somewhere – with birds flying high over a silent landscape. The alternative version is very similar, but with a more pronounced flute sequence.

14/15/16 Rising Sun – 4’11” / 2’21” / 19″
This starts with an eerie distant drumming sound before breaking into strings and subtle flute. The beat then lifts with an acoustic guitar lead with a bit of a Spanish sound to it. The alternate version is a bit more reliant on the drum beat and has a bit more of an electronic feel to it.

17/18/19 The Moon Appears – 6’12” / 3’03” / 17″
This one starts with a constant, slow deep swirling sound with distant strings and wind instruments. You can imagine drifting over a sea of ice during the first part of this. Gradually more definition is added with tubular bells, big string section and voice effects. The rhythm kind of creeps up on you. Reminded me of Bladerunner in parts. Alternative version is much simpler and more flute than anything else.

Kevin Cook F.Inst.V. (Hon)

Note: 20% off either the CD or CD DOWNLOAD with this promo code ‘HDSLR1’. All AKM Music’s albums and single-track download music can be previewed on their website – AKMMusic.co.uk