Pina

My Rating: 4/5

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I’m not really a fan of modern dance though I also admire the beauty it turns out.......nevertheless, I do know the name of the legendary German choreographer, Pina Bausch, for her redefinition of modern dance with delicate touches and expression to the human life that you and me also possess……… and also watched once of their performance….

In addition to Wim Wenders, it makes sense we need to see this movie or you can say documentary to pay tribute to Pina Bausch……it’s also rare to see 3D art film and the effect is very good indeed……the documentary is mainly filmed with interviews with dancers worked for Pina Bausch and telling their feeling to work with Pina........weaving together with the absolutely stunning photography of dance performance cut under the Wim Wenders’ unique movie language & atmosphere (a bit reminding me the vibe of Wings of Desire, Faraway, So Close, etc…)………it’s a impressive documentary in simplicity, beauty and faith to truly reflect the works and philosophy of Pina even you are not a dance or Pina’s fan……..    

     

Jenny Hval - Viscera

My Rating: 3.8/5

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It is my first time to listening Jenny Hval’s music and the album is also her debut under Norwegian music label, Rune Grammofon. As I’m die hard fan of Rune Grammofon, so I meet Jenny Hval’s unique music and see her complex strange music world…..

Viscera is a very eclectic album with assorted influences and expression of emotion and feeling of her sensual world and her body of lust…….at times, her music reminds me the music vibe of Dead Can Dance with those middle east like mysterious string sound…….then she suddenly transforms her music to as those poetry female singer-song-writer like Kate Bush, P J Harvey, etc with those full-of-personality protest-song-alike folk rock stuff with jazzy influence sometimes…....turning to another side of the LP, she even goes back to 60s hippies’ apocalyptic folk song style with her finger-pick acoustic guitar stuff accompanied with her unique high-pitch vocal singing like an emotional social activist with worrying concerns of living world…….coming to end, Jenny Hval leads us going back to a ghost-like Norwegian forest with her psychedelic weird folk music that packs with the dreamscape vibe of loneliness, isolation, escapism, etc…….’Viscera’ is a really ‘rich’ album with lot of sensual and personal tales and music styles bringing audiences travel through ever changing dreamscape, landscape and soundscape also!!!  

            

Mountains - Air Museum

My Rating: 3/5

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I‘m not really an die-hard ambient music fan, but I do like some cool ambient artists with well blended minimal electro ambient drone and beautiful acoustic sound. Mountains are one of them amongst the poet-like Eluvium, etc……their ambient stuff is like making you being at a isolated sea shore or mystery-like forest in a cold foggy early morning seeing a beauty image (whatever the object you can imagine!) moving close and far out of your reach……..really a cool beautiful meditative listening experience!!

After their last album ‘Choral’ under Thrill Jockey in 2009, the duo Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp of Mountains come up with this new release ‘Air Museum’ which the new direction has just shocked me to dead…..they just abandoned their signature soul of acoustic sound and totally focused on exploring in synth noise and electro pulse sound…..a bit like heading to those Avro Noto or avant techno stuff with more cold, isolated, angular, mechanical, emotionless nature…….I don’t like it honestly!!!    

Balmorhea - Live at Sint-Elisabethkerk

My Rating: 3.5/5

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Balmorhea is one of my most beloved band nowadays………the whole story discovering this Austin-based band is so memorable for me and such sweet surprise is still one of my driving forces why I love and keep digging in indie music……their 2008 album ‘Rivers Arms’ is one of my all-time classic that I keep placing aside of my CD player for in-case I need to listen beautiful songs like “Baleen Morning’, etc ……their beautiful, melancholic and thoughtful chamber/post rock music is just too unique too lovely…..

This Balmorhea’s new release is a live album recorded in a church in Belgium……most songs are selected from the last 2 ‘not-too-excellent’ albums ‘All Is Wild, All Is Silent’ (2009) and ‘Constellations’ (2010) and the songs performed are not quite the same as what you hear in album…….the concert ‘air’ feeling is very strong and the recording quality in term of scale is not really good……in addition to the songs selected are rather in atmospheric side, so the album comes out a bit disappointed and unable to draw audience into the mood and vibe I expected……not bad for fans to enjoy the band’s works before their next new works, but certainly not for new people wanting to have good introduction in the band’s music!!!   

Midnight in Paris

My Rating: 4/5

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I always have expectation from Woody Allen even at his such old ages………Midnight in Paris didn’t make me disappointed…....the movie talks about a Hollywood screenwriter travels with his fiancée to Paris and has funny and strange time-traveling adventure back to 20s of Paris at every midnight meeting famous authors like Hemingway, etc and surrealists like Dali, etc…….As a trilogy with the ones in Barcelona and London as well as this one in Paris, Woody Allen seems coming back to his creative peak under such fresh European background……..a special movie full of strange idea, clever fun, middle-class irony, intellectual nostalgia that we are longing for!!!      

Wires Under Tension - Light Science

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Because of the excellent Balmorhea, I begin to notice the emerging music label, Western Vinyl, and their chamber/classical-influenced post-rock or indie-pop bands/music in last couple of years…….as recommended by friend, I made a trial listen in their new band, Wires Under Tension, which in fact I didn’t even notice the band is from Western Vinyl as they really have a awful band name and also the old-fashioned unappealing album cover design seems just like from light years ago…….

Nevertheless, what matters here is music, in that sense, this South Bronx-based 2-man-band is really a surprise package and has created a superb debut album that is full of great/unique instrumental/post rock music in fusion with violin-leaning chamber music, electronics, samples, jazz jam rhythm……..the thirty-something minutes music comes out to be very rich, packed, high-pace, energetic and also full of detective-investigating-chasing alike cinematic vibe……..reminds me something like Slow Six for the beautiful violin/chamber stuff, Mouse On The Keys for the exciting electronic/jazz jam, etc……as a debut album, it’s no doubt a huge success!!   

Akron/Family - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Since their formation in 2002 and debut album ‘Akron/Family’ released in 2005, Akron/Family just can keep offering lot of new weird ideas and strange surprises in their last 5 albums……..coming to this 6^th album, I still expect something new something weird something different from this Brooklyn-based psyche freak folk band …….after few listens, I am no disappointing and feeling good on their new release…….still their trademarked mixed-genre mixed-culture mixed-living-philosophies high energy high tempo hippies-party-like music with mixed stuff of psychedelic jam, freak folk, afro-jungle-beat, acoustic country, improvisation, electronics, strange vocal, etc…….something like mixing their US fellows Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Iron & Wine, etc. altogether……very rich and diversified as usual but more well-balanced and solid album produced this time and full of those vibe of genesis of beginning of everything, earth, planet, civilization, etc……a very good un up-beat enjoying listening experience though you might not really have any idea what’s the meaning of the album title!!

Low – C'mon

My Rating: 3.7/5
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Low is not only a band for me, sometimes they represent a mood…...a mood that is sad, self-pitying, people sucked at low point of life, everything moving slow, depressingly sitting static on sofa don’t want to move starring outside window sky blue thinking lot of things unfocused, etc……… so when they have a new album, it’s not really meaning there’s new music for me…..that might be only meaning it is going to return to the mood of Low helplessly but beautifully…….

Their last album ‘Drums & Guns’ in 2007 is a let down for me because they want having musically changes to be more rich & accessible and might be a bit more bright……it might work for other indie band, but not really for Low…….So, it’s feeling good for me to see them in their ninth new album ‘C’mon’ to go back to their sad/slow core musical track of past 20 years since their debut in 1994……..once again they focus on beautiful & healing song writing and mood setting with simple loosen shoegaze fuzzy guitar notes and Alan Sparhawk’s delicate & full-of-passion saddened vocal……everything’s just simple, serious and solid and giving me another chance to immerse into Low’s beautiful healing dark sad world!!

Kashiwa Daisuke - 88

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Kashiwa Daisuke is a really playful multiple talented musician that like to bring some surprises to people……. every time he has new release and I have to figure out whether this new album is post rock, dub or classical stuffs……..just like last one, after the classic 2^nd album ‘Program Music’ with the rich beautiful electro/acoustic post rock music, he then surprised everyone to release a clubbing dub album ‘5 Dec’ in 2009....as I’m not a dub fan, so not really like that album……..so, this time I played safe to check out the music he will play in his 4^th new album ‘88’…..answer is classical piano solo stuff!....after repeat listening, those flowing piano plays are just too beautiful and poetry……..nevertheless, sometimes the music are just quite close to the trademarked piano sound of Ryuichi Sakamoto that confuse people on its originality……anyhow, it’s still a very good piano music album worth repeating listening for the poetry thoughtful atmosphere created……

This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket

My Rating : 3.8/5
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I don’t know why…….Since I have been listening a couple of their tracks few years back, I’m not too interested to try their first same-named album in 2008 from this Texas-based This Will Destroy You who are formed in 2005 as I think their post rock stuff is a bit too atmospheric too ambient.

Nevertheless, I keep hearing many positive comments on them last couple of years……so decided to make a try on their 2^nd album ‘Tunnel Blanket’ and the result is just so rewarding…….if your frustrated or exhausted mind needs some escape and This Will Destroy You will bring you a mind traveling journey in a silent night with ever changing soundscape flying through empty lonely forest and isolated wave-blasting shore and even immersing in quiet ocean sea with your ears blocking by sea water hearing blurred sound/noise……..it’s a really ambitious album trying to achieve to blending everything in their own evolving post rock sound like Nadja’s high-pressure life-distorted doom noise, Eluvium’s thoughtful after-life shoegaze ambient, Godspeed’s beautiful epic orchestral post rock, etc…….a really cool and emotional post rock album that will bring you surprises!!               

Suede, Live in AsiaWorld Expo Hong Kong, 11 August 2011

Watched Suede’s reunion show last night and see all thirty/forty years age people coming out for such a night of nostalgia……when you see only hundreds to turn up for Brett Anderson’s Hong Kong show couple years ago while thousands have showed up last night, you know the power of NOSTALGIA for a name of SUEDE in Hong Kong…..it represents a generation of 90s……sometimes, people do need NOSTALGIA like some newly injected power and energy to refresh memory of our good old days…….I recently watched 2 reunion shows from Pulp and Suede and  feel Pulp’s show is more like as reunion with fans with more imagination and creativity in all set-up while Suede’s is a bit too straight forward for a show with typical (solid though!!) set up for an oversea band touring in Asia for fans with some not always show up for concerts……some more things to mention, the sound quality is quite bad and ‘Stay Together’ is missing again in their song list though Animal Nitrate, So Young, We Are The Pig, such early good stuff were still there……I don’t really like their mid-to-late albums’ stuff, so feeling boring sometimes while hearing girls (or women?!) screaming for songs like film star, etc….the show is quite short also with only 70-80 minutes makes fans a bit disappointed………   

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Alva Noto / Ryuichi Sakamoto - Summvs

My Rating: 3.3/5
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‘Summvs’ is already the 5^th album from the collaboration of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto since ‘Vrioon’ in 2002 and it’s also heard this is the final one of their collaboration……I have been buying only one of their previous albums…....forgot the title, probably ‘Insen’ and also watched their live performance in Hong Kong City Hall years ago as well as their Insen Live DVD…......Initial feeling of this collaboration is very good, but their music of following album to album is just so similar (might be I’m not really fan of ambient/glitch stuff and not also their target audience!) with those abstract moody (you may say avant-garde!) piano play of Ryuichi Sakamoto plus those groovy minimal micro electronic glitch/noise sound from Alva Noto plus those atomic-geometry inspired graphic show on stage and plus very consistent less-is-more minimal cover art design…….

After repeat listening of ‘Summvs’, the above mentioned feeling is still the same...…they just keep playing same stuff over last 10 years…...sometimes I will ask why this collaboration still lasts with such no changes no breakthrough!!........In ‘Summvs’, I even feel this latest release is also a bit not really up to the par of the previous ones…....Ryuichi Sakamoto’s beautiful abstract piano is still there (but not too memorable), but Alva Noto’s electronic glitch stuff seems to be even more low profile and unimpressive……..those groovy micro electronic rhythm and glitch noise is just almost disappeared and make ‘Summvs’ like a Ryuichi Sakamoto album with supporting guest artist of Alva Noto rather than a collaboration…….sometimes, things have to come to the end if sparks are gone!!! 

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact

My Rating: 3.8/5
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I think Gang Gang Dance is one of the most original and adventurous indie bands in last decade amongst the peers like Animal Collective, etc. Their music is just hard to classify that mix assorted music influences and lot of weird ideas like afro-beat, techno synth, samples, electronics, etc. with their unique devil-angel vocal, Lizzi Bougatsos, to make their music something uniquely psychedelic, hip, cool and unstoppable……they just can create something unique that represent the nowadays young generation like other greats in their own generations!!!

‘Eye Contact’ is already the 5^th album and also the debut for 4AD label from this full-of-excitement everything-unexpected Manhattan-based band since their formation in 2001………musically this time is still the same stuff same direction as their previous albums, but just turn out to be more refined, planned, mature and solid music of their own!!!......a bit like walking in the same path as Animal Collective that are now to be everyone’s favourite and try to making their music more big-band-like…..Who knows it’s good or bad? But for sure it’s more refined, well-produced and less adventurous as well as less surprised!!!! For those people like music adventure, ‘Eye Contact’ or nowadays Gang Gang Dance might be not too hitting the G-spot of their music taste anymore!!!        

Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

Mt Rating: 3.8/5
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‘Demolished Thoughts’ is the third solo album from this cool guitarist of Sonic Youth since his last solo one ‘Trees Outside the Academy’ in 2007……quite an efficient guy in the sense of releasing solo album from a band member……..

Compared to his last one with more guitar noise stuff, Thurston Moore is more on soft side approach and plays some gorgeous poppy easy-accessible chamber acoustic/psychedelic folk this time, something like unplugged Sonic Youth with no more electric guitar noise, very limited drumming, changing to with laid back and soft vocal of his own and adding some elegant violin and orchestral stuff……nevertheless, the music is still so cool especially in term of acoustic folk album…….you still can hear his trademarked cool dissonance power-chord-like repetitive guitar riff ‘decorated’ with some poetic orchestral strings plays……...conceptually no breakthrough, no new things and sometimes some songs are too long and flat might be the down side, but generally speaking this album is still cool, forever-young timeless and good for modern hippie escapism!! (the cover art and LP version's inlay stuff are also so nice!!)

Dustin O'Halloran – Lumiere

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Dustin O’Halloran is another fine modern classical musician/composer amongst the excellent peers like Johan Johannsson, Max Richter, Peter Broderick Nils Frahm, etc. (of course he's also a great dream pop rocker if you remember his romantic band 'Devics'!!)…….his composition and self-taught piano talent come up 2 of his previously released solo piano albums with beautiful, contemporary thoughtful and sentimental music….

In ‘Lumiere’, Dustin O’Halloran evolves his solo piano stuff with more strings involvement and richer arrangements……..with the help from his friends (not competitors!!) like Johan Johannsson, Peter Broderick, etc. (what a admirable harmonic music scene!!), you will be no wonder there is string orchestral involved and some orchestral arrangements are also very Johan Johannsson-like….nevertheless, the vibe of complete album is still his own subtle, modern, a bit dark a bit sad and thoughtful soundtrack mood (still remember his stunning score to Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette?!) which is quite the same as his last 2 solo albums if melodies are not less beautiful this time I think……anyway, ‘Lumiere’ is still a good modern classical album in nowadays standard!!!   

   

Ryan Teague - Causeway

My Rating: 3.8/5
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It’s been quite a while since Ryan Teague’s last album ‘Coins & Crosses’ from Type imprint in 2006. According to his own web site, Ryan Teague described himself as a Bristol based composer, producer and guitarist working in the field of electro-acoustic minimalism. His music combines contemporary arrangements and instrumentation with electronics and processing.

If you have heard his last album that packed with some beautiful and minimal modern classical composition stuff, you will be very surprised in the first seconds of listening this new album……no more those contemporary classical orchestral stuff this time and instead is those refreshing cool American Primitivism pioneer John Fahey-like avant garde finger pick acoustic guitar stuff……..when you think the album will be going to be folk and blue influenced, Ryan Teague’s works will remind you he is still a contemporary composer rather than a avant garde guitarist…..he just makes use of such cool finger pick stuff to process and loop them into some cool ambient composition music……though a bit over and boring for looping things some times, Causeway is still a very ambitious and impressive collection of works!!        

Tape - Revelationes

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Tape are Andreas Berthling, Tomas Hallonsten and Johan Berthling from Sweden formed since 2000 with blending acoustic, pop, experimental as well as electronic sound in an unique micro, warm and minimal way…..

‘Revelationes’ is their new release since their 2008's 'Luminarium'. If you look back their back catalogues, you might notice that their music was evolving to be more and more bright and out-going compared to their early releases of more low profile and introvert approach…...nevertheless, their unique music style has still unchanged for many years by looping some nice melodies with acoustic guitar, synth organ and electronics to create some very impressive warm, intimate, contemporary, polite and minimal ambient post rock sound……with this new release, Tape has been more emphasizing the drumming sound and the result becomes like a typical post rock band with less ambient more obvious jamming style and music form related to some jazz/chill out stuff……anyway, it’s a nice album showing Tape is evolving for good!!!       

The Tree of Life 生命樹

My Rating: 3.8/5
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According to Wikipedia, some movie’s background information is as…..”The Tree of Life is a 2011 American drama written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain. Malick's film chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man's childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, while also featuring themes and imagery of space and the birth of life on Earth. (The film's unorthodox style reflects the nature of memory.) After decades in development and missed 2009 and 2010 release dates, the film premiered in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its technical and artistic merits, but there were also polarizing reactions in response to Malick's directorial style and, in particular, the film's fragmented and non-linear narrative.”

I think The Tree of Life is the most talked art film recently (at least in Hong Kong) and the comments are also very extreme. Some also compare it to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey……I also had such expectation going to see this movie and my feeling is the movie is simply not really up to that grade…. The Tree of Life in fact is a good movie, but not really a great/classic one as 2001: A Space Odyssey……I also think the movie is a bit hollow in details as the movie did only speak for its main theme largely by the visual effect and music score rather than the story itself which the story is in fact quite a flat and boring 50/60s American family grow-up story (also a bit in hollywood way that miss a bit artistic way of independent film’s expression)..….those abstract theatre drama play is also quite pretentious and make me feel something force audiences to get into the main theme of the movie……I feel the Director is very eager to express loads of his idea, thinking and philosophy in Life, but I think I prefer a wonderful story of a movie speaks for its main theme in a subtle way rather than such forceful expression……

Johann Johannsson - The Miners' Hymns

My Rating: 3.8/5
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Johann Johannsson is one of the young living greats in the field of modern composition music amongst my other favourites like Max Richter, Peter Broderick, Keith Kenniff, Olafur Arnalds, etc….. so it's easy to understating that this Icelandic musician, composer and producer will always take part in film score works due to his composition talent.......he has been great in making music and film score presented by strings orchestral like his last album “And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees”for the film "Varmits" by Mark Craste. This new release is no exception which was made for the same named movie ‘The Miners’ Hymns’. But the new thing is it is no more a string orchestral play and instead is a brass ensemble orchestral stuff which provide a very different vibe compared to his previous works. I haven’t seen this movie and only heard that it’s a sad history-telling story to celebrate the coal-mining culture and movement in the northern English city, Durham in 70s. It is imaginable the movie will be showing those ‘blood and tear’ labour movement epic scenes to fight for rights and justice of coal-miners. Of course, it’s better for you to check with the movie web site or trailer for details.

Listening movie soundtracks sometimes is a complete different listening experience and approach to a normal album…..take this one as example, it will be quite a tasteless one if listening this solely as a music album of full of brass plays blowing for nothing…….but when connecting the score with the movie’s story line (though not yet having watched the movie), you will be easily touched by the vibe created by the brass instruments and it’s a very good soundtrack offering excellent background mood for the movie with rich implication for the dark old days in 70s with those working level people surviving in their days like a dog fighting for their deserved rights and justices……when you immersed in this mood of humanity thinking with those sentimental brass orchestral plays, you will be moved with tears in your eyes…….it’s a really stunning movie score that can just capture the vibe of the movie!!!

Dean & Britta play Galaxie 500, Live in Hang Out Hong Kong, 3 July 2011

A bit late to post this one......It's my 2nd time to watch them in last 2 months as I have been seeing them playing in Primavera in Barcelona in May......of course, this time with much less people attending the show which I think only around 200 people were there compared to thousands in Primavera, but I think most of them were loyal fans with thirty/forty something's age wanting some nostalgia on Galaxie 500, so overall speaking, the atmosphere was really good and the production was also a merit which made the show is a well set up one (in term of small indie gig's standard)...of course, Dean and Britta were also having a solid performance that making it's a memorable show for Galaxie 500 fans..... let's take a look some moments of the show as the below video clips.....  

Live Video Clip 1
Live Video Clip 2
Live Video Clip 3
Live Video Clip 4
Live Video Clip 5

Matthew Cooper - Some Days Are Better than Others

My Rating: 3.5/5
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For in case you don’t have idea who’s Matthew Cooper…..Matthew Cooper is another moniker name of the ambient musician, Eluvium, who is based in Portland, Oregon and well-known in the indie scene for his minimal and experimental music blending electronic, shoegze, ambient, classical influences….

‘Some Days Are Better Than Others” is his new soundtrack works for the same-named film featuring members of Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein) and The Shins (James Mercer). I haven’t watched the movie and, from some other reviews and also from the CD inlay texts and photos, this movie is going to be sad and serious talking why the good times slip by so fast while the hard times always seem so sticky and exploring ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment.....seems better prepare your mental condition before walking to cinema for this movie!!

  

In music term, this is still his trademarked ambient stuff that is full of feeling of unconsciousness, lightness, simplicity and escapism of being in this huge cruel universe……but this time is presented in an even simple way by using single line playing of damaged instruments (to reflect out the main theme of the movie - life after the good old days that we all must have to pass through….) …the outcome is something like a sound check for sound texture of different damaged instruments like organs/synths for different inner emotional reflection, but in a bit over subtle and minimal way…… maybe as we all know, Matthew Cooper/Eluvium is always a low profile (dare I say also elegant!) musician and it makes sense for a movie score to give the main spotlight on the movie itself rather than the music score (dare I guess of his idea like that) !!