ST09

Artist:

Rebekka Karijord

Release Title:

Songs of Earth (featuring London Contemporary Orchestra)

Catalogue Number:

OONAST09

Release Date:

1st September, 2023

Rebekka Karijord cultivates a majestic symphonic setting – interpreted by the London Contemporary Orchestra at AIR Studios – for Margreth Olin’s profoundly reflective film “Songs of Earth” to rest within.

With director Margreth Olin’s 85-year-old father serving as the cinematic guide through Songs of Earth, the film promises from the very start to get up close and personal.  But not in that usual documentarian way.  Songs of Earth rather employs the breathtaking immensity of nature and the harmonics of earth herself to reach into the center of that most intimate of all terrains.  The human spirit.  And now, the soundtrack is available as a rich experience on its own.

The process of scoring Songs of Earth was unconventional right from the get-go, owing in part to the close collaborative relationship between Karijord and the film’s sound designer, Tormod Ringnes and field recordings by Andreas Lindberg Svensson.  Joining the team on site during the filming, Svensson used contact and underwater microphones to capture the stunning sounds of nature itself.  Once the effervescent, eerie, and utterly realistic music of glaciers, melting ice, rivers, frozen lakes, and streams reached Karijord’s ears she began to meditate upon how she could translate these sounds into the body of orchestral instruments.   In other words:  How does a woodwind sing like a melting glacier?  Can a double bass resonate like an ancient spruce tree? Does an avalanche thunder through the brass of a tuba or wooden body of a viola?

Having reached a few conclusions, Karijord experimented with various soloists at her studio. She wanted to test the limits, unearthing how musical instruments could emulate nature. How brass and wood and steel could allow earth to emanate from their bodies. The techniques she uncovered were used in the writing of the score, and then taken to AIR Studios to be run through the majesty that is the London Contemporary Orchestra. “LCO was definitely the right orchestra for Songs of Earth. Undoubtedly one of the best in the world at these very intuitive, cinematic, extended techniques. They arrived at that precise place I wanted to reach with this score,” Karijord reflects.

Overall, Karijord was determined to communicate simplicity with this soundtrack so that it wouldn’t prevail over the imagery. She achieved this by keeping the origin of each tone closely linked to nature, rather than asking nature to emulate the sounds of the instruments. The resultant experience trains the human ear to absorb music in a whole new way. “When I watch the film now, I have trouble differentiating the field recordings from the studio instruments. This creates a fantastic synergy, a sonic poem on the indivisible nature between the human and natural worlds.”

The fact that Margreth Olin and Rebekka Karijord have worked together for over 15 years, and both claim Norwegian soil as home ground, plays no small role in this remarkable result. The extensive level of trust and freedom between the two women can be heard within the instrumentation. Take the flute being played without its mouthpiece, blown into much like a bottle. The result is otherworldly, a massive moaning ache of a tone, uncontrollable while still sticking to its lines. Much like the deep trust coursing through the relationship of these two Scandinavian women, which grants Karijord the freedom to follow her creativity to its farthest edge.

Songs of Earth, featuring executive producers Wim Wenders and Liv Ullman, is a moving meditation, a deep journey seamlessly traveling between both sonic and visual landscapes. Listened to on its own, this spell-binding soundtrack promises to awaken the human spirit from the inside out, reminding each one of us of that undeniable connection between the nature out there and the nature within.

Original Score by:  Rebekka Karijord
Orchestra:  The London Contemporary Orchestra recorded at Air Studios, London
Soloists:
Hanna Ekström
– violin
Linnea Olsson
– cello
Nils Berg – woodwinds
Vilhem Bromander – Double Bass

Conductor: Hugh Brunt
Film Directed by:  Margreth Olin
Sound Design:  Tormod Ringnes
Field Recordings:  Andreas Lindberg Svensson
Score Mixer:  Fionna Cruickshank

 

ST08

Artist:

Lisa Montan

Release Title:

Unruly

Catalogue Number:

OONAST08

Release Date:

8th March, 2023

Lisa Montan creates a poetic and existential score to Malou Reymann’s award-winning historical drama Unruly (Utsylrig)

Unruly, Malou Reymann’s critically acclaimed sophomore feature, is inspired by actual events of the women’s institution of Sprogø in Denmark in the 1930’s and tells the story of Maren, a strong-minded young woman, seen by authorities to be ill-mannered and promiscuous.  Concerned her unruly behavior will incite others, she is sent away to an women’s institution on the small island of Sprogø. Here she is to learn how to behave as a proper young woman. She must share a room with Sørine who has already internalized the story about herself and has learned to behave properly. Sørine is to help Maren settle in Sprogø and help her change her behavior, but Maren’s refusal to comply with the system leads to terrible consequences for both.   Unruly is a horrific story about women losing power over their own bodies.

Composer Lisa Montan set off with a desire to translate the story of the film into sound and music by finding a space where the inner and outer worlds meet and did this thanks to a unique and very specific ensemble, collaborating with a handful of Sweden’s most talented artists: music producer & mixer Linus Hillborg, Nordic jazz pioneer Nils Berg (Bass clarinet & saxophone), flute soloist Laura Michelin, Thora Thorslund (principal trumpet at the Royal Opera in Stockholm) and experimental cellist and composer Leo Svensson Sander. This result is a stunning and immediate journey through an otherworldly timbre of emotions that help carry the film’s more everlasting metaphors.

Inspired by the primal power of the female body, Lisa Montan discusses her choice for wind instruments as the touching point of the score: “The textures of the acoustic material of the woodwinds and trumpet are significant in finding locations within our bodies that serve as emotional centres.  I find that these wind instruments that rely on the breathe really suit the emotional landscape of this film and give the viewers the chance to, even if momentarily, experience a frequency that resonates in unison with all of us.  This production all came together in close collaboration with producer Linus Hillborg and his way of sculpting electronics into the acoustic sound picture”.

Press Contact:  
Valerie Dobbelaere
+32 486 26 28 55
valerie@strikeascore.com

Solists/Musicians:
Nils Berg/ Bas Clarinet, Saxophone
Linus Hillborg/ Electronics
Laura Michelin/ Flute
Leo Svensson Sander/ Cello, Saw
Thora Torslund/ Trumpet
Felicia Ivarsson/ Violin

Music Producer/ Music Editor/ Additional Arrangements/ Score Mixer: Linus Hillborg

Music supervisor: Allan Montan

ST07

Artist:

Jon Ekstrand & Carl-Johan Sevedag

Release Title:

Opponent

Catalogue Number:

OONAST07

Release Date:

17th February, 2023

Stream:

Jon Ekstrand & Carl-Johan Sevedag create an organic, vulnerable score to Milad Alami’s intense psychological drama ‘OPPONENT’.

Opponent, Milad Alami´s sophomore feature film, is an intense psychological drama dealing with masculinity, intimacy and violence.  The film follows Iman, a prominent Iranian wrestler, and his family who have been forced to flee Iran in the aftermath of a devastating rumor. As refugees, they end up in a run-down hotel in Northern Sweden. Despite feeling powerless, Iman tries to maintain his role as the family patriarch in a new culture. To increase their chances of asylum, he breaks a promise to his wife and joins the local wrestling club. As the rumours start to resurface, Iman’s fear and desperation begin to take a hold.

To portray Iman’s journey from Iran to Sweden, the composer duo decided to incorporate a mix of Nordic and Iranian instruments and blend those acoustic instruments with electronic elements:  “Being the first time for both of us working with Milad we quickly discovered that he’s not only a very talented director but also very open-minded and willing to let us try a somewhat left-field approach with the score. A lot of ideas came out of us two improvising on different synths, effects, and acoustic instruments laying around in the studio. Given the short timeline and the playful nature of making the score, we opted to play all instruments ourselves: cello, ​key harp, ​bass flute, baritone saxophone, clarinet, ​Ney-flutes, piano,​ ​mellotron, ​balalaika,​ etc. We took turns on all of them.”

This resulted into a very organic score with a certain human touch and vulnerability which works great with the overall theme and atmosphere of the film.

Press Contact:  
Valerie Dobbelaere
+32 486 26 28 55
valerie@strikeascore.com

 

ST06

Artist:

Lisa Montan

Release Title:

Exodus

Catalogue Number:

OONAST06

Release Date:

17th February, 2023

Stream:

Exodus a film by Abbe Hassan
Original Score by Lisa Montan

In a film filled with human warmth, we get to know 12-year-old Amal, who flees the war in Syria and is forced to place her life in the hands of people smuggler Sam. Amal is also a desirable prey for the trafficking organisation that is constantly on the lookout for new young girls to exploit and sell. Sam is the only one who can save her from the horrors of war and human trafficking, and Amal is the one who, with her imagination and playfulness, can pierce through Sam’s cynicism and  help him make peace with his past.

Music by: 
Lisa Montan

Score Mixed and Music Edited by:
Linus Hillborg

Soloists:
Hayk Hakobyn
Linus Hillborg
Anders af Klinberg
Laura Michelin
Thora Torslund

ST05

Artist:

Jon Ekstrand

Release Title:

Hilma (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Catalogue Number:

OONAST05

Release Date:

18th October, 2022

Jon Ekstrand creates emotive and cinematic post classical score to Lasse Hallström´s biopic about abstract art pioneer Hilma af Klint.  

HILMA is the story of one woman’s unwavering search for the truth about humanity and the universe at a time when men made all the rules.  The film explores the enigmatic life of Hilma af Klint (1862-1944), whose unconventional and highly spiritual art remained relatively unknown for decades.  Today af Klint is recognised as one of the Western world’s first abstract artists, an achievement made even more impressive by the male-dominated artistic scene that surrounded her.

ST04

Artist:

Rebekka Karijord

Release Title:

Explorer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Track listing:

  1. The Explorer
  2. Morse Signals
  3. Rolling Hills
  4. Forwards
  5. Delirious
  6. The Road Trip
  7. The Death
  8. Reminiscence
  9. Whirling
  10. Morse and Woodwinds
  11. Ice Has a Memory

Catalogue Number:

OONAST04

Release Date:

4th July, 2022

REBEKKA KARIJORD UNCOVERS THE INNER WORLD OF SIR RANULPH FIENNES WITH AN EMOTIVE,  DRIVING AND CINEMATIC ELECTRO ACOUSTIC ORCHESTRAL SCORE TO THE FILM “EXPLORER”.

OONA Soundtracks is pleased to announce the release of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to “EXPLORER” by Scandinavian composer and artist Rebekka Karijord.  EXPLORER, directed by Matthew Dyas, produced by George Chignell and distribute  by Universal Studios UK, is a portrait of the world´s greatest living explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.  The film goes beyond  a simple retrospective of his record breaking achievements to reveal the person behind the myth, with exclusive access to RAN´s closest friends and archive footage spanning decades of expeditions.

In order to musically accompany and highlight the story of “RAN”, Karijord sculpted a hybrid score by creating a signature instrument sampling the radio and morse signals from archive recordings of RAN´s expeditions.  This electro acoustic instrument was mixed with a 12-piece string ensemble, woodwind ensemble and vocal ensemble to create an organic, vivid, and emotionally dynamic score to offer an insight into the nuances to the dramaturgy of the story.

Throughout the scoring process Karijord found it particularly important to underline the female forces in RAN´s life, most importantly the impact that RAN´s late wife Ginny played in his life, whom was the brain behind many of the expeditions.  To illustrate this force Karijord used processed voices and vocal ensemble recordings, offering a visceral opening into the clear love and admiration for this mysterious woman figure as well as representative voices of the “female” elements brought forward through the natural world.   This impressive score is full of orchestral driving rhythms written in odd meters, quirky sampled electro acoustic sounds, and female vocals all recorded in a matter that made them vividly ”imperfect”  to match the documentary footage, often shot with super-8 from some of the world’s highest mountains and most fierce arctic environments.

 

 

 

 

ST03

Artist:

Jon Ekstrand

Release Title:

Margrete – Queen of The North

Track listing:

  1. For The Union
  2. Who´s The Enemy
  3. Wake Up
  4. Stable Fight
  5. I Know Who I Am
  6. Lullaby for Oluf (featuring Rebekka Karijord )
  7. Forest Ambush
  8. Mother´s Love
  9. Mother´s Love (part II)
  10. Best For The Union
  11. Prison Break
  12. The Decision
  13. The Betrayal
  14. Done Deal
  15. The Burning
  16. The North

Catalogue Number:

OONAST03

Release Date:

17th September, 2021

JON EKSTRAND CREATES A HAUNTINGLY TENSE AND PALPABLE SCORE TO UNTOLD STORY OF VISIONARY REGENT MARGRETE I

‘Margrete – Queen of the North,’ the highly anticipated large-scale period drama starring Trine Dryholm in the lead as Margrete I, tells the previously untold story of one of the most powerful regents in Scandinavian history.

Standing at the absolute center of power, Margrete is a magnificent woman.  Ahead of her time she sacrifices herself completely for her land, gathering the three Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peaceful and visionary union.  She created something extraordinarily grand with enormous consequences to her personal life.

To musically accompany Margrete, one of the strongest rulers Europe has ever seen, director Charlotte Sieling gave composer Jon Ekstrand a lot of creative freedom, allowing him to sculpt a sonic narrative that was authentic to the film´s time period whilst contemporary enough to allow the narrative to find parallels with the present tense.  In order to create this unique sonic universe, Ekstrand took a deep dive and went heavily into the instruments that were present and available during the 1200 & 1300’s and ended up really falling in love with the Key Harp (Nøgleharpe, Nyckelharpa), an instrument rich in Scandinavian folk music history:

“I wanted to try and integrate a medieval instrument into this score, but bring it forwards into a more contemporary context.  I landed on Key Harp (Nøgleharpe, Nyckelharpa), totally falling in love with the instrument and taking intensive lessons.  I ended up playing it myself on much of the score as I did not want it to sound so polished, but more disharmonic and textural.”

Apart from the key harp, cello was one of the main solo instruments on the score, accompanied by a string orchestra from Gothenburgs Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gunnar Erikssons Chamber Choir, which gave the score the extra cinematic breath to hold the grandness of the story:

“I really wanted to go away from the traditional medieval score route, with the big brass section and epic battle sounds. So the idea was to create these harmonic textures with the Key Harp to build tension and then allow the cello to be the melodic core of the score.  I collaborated with the great cello soloist Linnea Olsson. The score also includes one song, for which I had the opportunity to collaborate with Rebekka Karijord again.  She wrote the text for and sang on the piece “Lullaby for Oluf”, that really encapsulates a special moment in the film.”

Press Contact:
Valerie Dobbelaere
Post Bills PR
valerie@postbills.agency

Label:
OONA Soundtracks
Jacob Snavely
jacob @ oonaoona . com

ST 002

Tove

Artist:

Matti Bye

Release Title:

Tove (Original Soundtrack)

Track listing:

  1. The Beginning
  2. The Drawing (Matti Bye, Lau Nau)
  3. Secret Land (Matti Bye, Lau Nau)
  4. First Meeting (Matti Bye, Lau Nau)
  5. Wandering Piano (Matti Bye, Lau Nau)
  6. Sea (Matti Bye, Lau Nau)
  7. Galloping Waves
  8. Last Kiss
  9. Noir (Mambo Noir Trio )
  10. Valse Noir

Catalogue Number:

OONAST 002

Release Date:

28th May, 2021

Artwork by:

Swedish pianist-composer Matti Bye translates Moomin creator Tove Jansson’s inner world into a daring, unconventional and hauntingly timeless score.

In her biopic ‘Tove’, director Zaida Bergroth captures the unpredictable love life of libertine children’s author Tove Jansson, creator of the cult children’s books ‘The Moomins’. Initially a side project, she was catapulted to fame after her lover insisted upon bringing the characters to life in the theatre.  Set in bohemian Helsinki after World War II the sensuously textured film, shot on 16mm, concentrates on a formative decade in Tove’s life (from the mid-1940s to mid-’50s) and explores her turbulent search for identity, desire and freedom

After its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival last year, ‘Tove’ was this year’s Finnish selection to the Oscars and has been nominated for 10 JUSSI Awards, including one for Best Music.

The captivating and textural score, created by accoladed Swedish composer and artist Matti Bye, melds exquisitely with the natural acting style, 16mm analogue film that this was shot on as well as mono sound mix. During the initial writing, Bye set out on a journey to attempt to illustrate Janson´s inner world in sound.   “I wanted the melodic and sonic language to try and get as close to this sense of her inner decision-making process and psyche as possible.”

“For me Tove Janson herself is an immensely inspiring artist of creativity and boundless imagination, and I love the courage of director Zaida Bergroth to choose the most unconventional film music I ever made, textural and minimal music that takes winding paths into the irrational, self-contradictory human psyche of Tove.”

The score , which also features Finnish composer & artist  Laura Naukkarinen (Lau Nau) as well as Matti´s band Mambo Noir Trio, integrates electronics and field recordings into a central role of the sound picture.  The result is an illustrative and authentic score that leads the viewer into the mind of the protagonist and sets the scene.  Hauntingly timeless, not only does this score meld with the period in which the film is set, but it lifts the story forward into a contemporary realm allowing the extremely relevant thematics to be brought forward into present day.

We at OONA Recordings are proud to present the mesmerizing soundtrack to this beautiful film as a singular and stand-alone experience.

Press Contact:
Valerie Dobbelaere
Post Bills PR
valerie@postbills.agency

Label:
OONA Soundtracks
Jacob Snavely
jacob @ oonaoona . com

ST01

Artist:

Rebekka Karijord & Jon Ekstrand

Release Title:

I Am Greta (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Track listing:

  1. Tic Toc
  2. The First Friday
  3. Riksgatan
  4. Depression
  5. Childhood
  6. The Wind
  7. Nervous Feet
  8. Katowice
  9. Fridays For Future
  10. Trolls
  11. Claustrophobia
  12. The Movement
  13. Grief
  14. New Chapter
  15. The Ocean
  16. The Arrival
  17. People Are Waking Up
  18. Grief (credits version)
  19. Fridays For Future (alternative version)

Catalogue Number:

OONAST01

Release Date:

13th November, 2020

Unique composer duo Rebekka Karijord & Jon Ekstrand create compelling, hybrid score to intimate portrait of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg

OONA Recordings is thrilled to announce a limited edition environmentally conscious vinyl pressing of the ‘I Am Greta’ soundtrack by Rebekka Karijord and Jon Ekstrand.  Manufactured at RPM Records in Denmark, every step in the production process was carefully considered in order to achieve the most environmentally friendly product possible.  The records are made of 100% recycled PVC, and the covers printed on wood free 350 gsm 100% recycled uncoated card stock using plant based inks.   No plastic or shrink wrap will be used in the packaging or production apart from the recycled PVC in the vinyl record itself. One can read more about the process and the drive to create more sustainable productions at rpmrecords.dk/eco.

The story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is told through compelling, never-before-seen footage in this documentary following her rise to prominence and her global impact as she sparks school strikes and protests around the world.

To musically accompany Greta and the children of the ‘Fridays for Future’ movement on their journey, composer duo Rebekka Karijord and Jon Ekstrand spent quite a lot of time searching for right balance when it comes to how much emotional triggers the music should offer:

“With the music for ‘I Am Greta’ we aimed to find a sonic counterpoint to the friction between the shy, contemplative inner world of Greta, and the unbounded energy of the natural world and climate change movement. From the start we found it useful to separate the score into three distinct voices: Greta’s voice, the voice of natural world, and the voice of the climate chance movement.”

The synergy between the two composers with very different backgrounds as well as the blend of classical instrumentation and usage of electroacoustic elements let to a unique, compelling score.

”Rebekka and Jon’s dynamic score to ‘I Am Greta’ is huge and intimate, uplifting and melancholic, and manages to carry the emotional nuances of Greta’s story. The score forms a musical parallel to Greta’s journey and narrative voice throughout the film. It’s energy, urgency and emotional depth reminds us that the time for climate action is now.” – Nathan Grossman, director of ‘I Am Greta’

Press Contact:
White Bear PR:
Thomas Mikusz
thomas@whitebearpr.com

Post Bills PR:
Valerie Dobbelaere
valerie@postbillsagency.com