Snowdrops - Manta Ray

  by Lisa Torem

published: 14 / 5 / 2019

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Review

The duo of Mathieu Gabry and Christine Ott AKA Snowdrops composed the soundtrack, ‘Manta Ray,’ for the award-winning film of the same name by Phutttiphone Aroompheng. Bear in mind that this is no ordinary soundtrack, flush with memorable sequences. it is more of a holistic soundscape. Haunting, often bewildering sounds and foreign voices, breath in and out somewhat randomly, or so it seems… ‘Gemstones in the Forest’ takes us to a mysterious place, where bird-like cries posture over a stark, hovering bass. High-pitched, legato phrases battle with sci-fi bleat over the next few compositions. What ties these pieces together is an uncompromising commitment to suspense. ‘Abandon Battlefield’ features a throbbing monotone against a dissonant melody. More compelling is ‘Weird Dance,’ where the bright melody rises gently against an undulating beat. One can imagine a romance brewing as the entities blend. ‘A Ghost in the House,’ as the title suggests, suspends the listener’s ordinary sense of time. ‘Losing a Friend to Death,’ is unquestionably the most heartbreaking of the themes. Several of these themes tie more uniquely together: ‘Storm # 1,’ ‘Storm # 2’ and ‘Storm # 3’ all evoke great emotion. What is most memorable here is the mash-up of utterances, two male voices speak in Thai, over a cacophony of seemingly random effects. A creaking door suggests an intruder, or perhaps, a loyal friend coming to a gathering? Some sounds are halting and disturbing, others merely invite inquiry. Overall, the themes lend voice to loss, abandonment and companionship. The movie story line focuses on two characters: one, a Thai fisherman, the other, a Rohingya of Myanmar. Snowdrops utilized various keyboards to bring this dramatic film to life, and given the high stakes of the story, that is no small feat. Embellishing a profound theme via a vast expanse of effects requires a lot of ingenuity—Snowdrops’ ‘Manta Ray’ will undoubtedly whet the appetite for ‘Manta Ray’ the film.

Track Listing:-

1 Introduction / Gemstones in the Forest
2 Storm #1
3 The Mangrove
4 The Monologue
5 Weird Dance
6 Festival Music / Inside the Wheel / Thunder Thing
7 Breath / Storm #2
8 Losing a Friend to Death
9 Lights in the Deep
10 Abandoned Battleship
11 Hot Springs (by Rasmee)
12 A Ghost in the House
13 The Return
14 The Harmony of Rohingya's Voices / Circles
15 Manta Ray
16 Storm #3
17 Circles

Label Links:-

http://www.gizehrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gizehrecords
https://twitter.com/gizehrecords