„Stephan Eicke shows the dark reality of a Hollywood ripe with abuse, pressure and exploitation. […] This book is full of brave statements, and a must-read for those who want to have a future in Hollywood. Those who are hoping for the best can prepare for the worst. It is a fundamental book.“ Fotogramas

„There is no doubt that Eicke’s book makes some highly valuable contributions to the development of scholarly understanding of the contemporary film-music business. It breaks new ground in its consideration of oft-hidden matters such as film-music publishing and composers’ rights, the murky issues of ghostwriting and unionisation, and working practices at Remote Control Productions.“ Dr. Ian Sapiro, Music, Sound, and the Moving Image; Liverpool University Press

„Stephan Eicke is one of the most intelligent, knowledgeable and fine cynics in this medium. He’s an ant in an environment of cicadas. Admiration and respect!“ MundoBSO

„This book is an entertaining analysis of the working conditions for composers. It’s an especially lively read because it is built around interviews with 40 composers.“ ray magazine

„This is a very interesting book; the chapter on Hans Zimmer alone makes it worthwhile and I have to say I learned a lot from reading it. Recommended.“ Hellbound

„The author had managed to extract some frank comments from the composers which helps distinguish The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack from other composer interview books. Eicke’s book deserves to be read by a wider audience and not just be limited to those who have an interest in film.“ ReelMusic

„Eicke’s book is a very interesting one by investigating a topic not elsewhere covered in film music books and daring to point a spotlight at struggles that lie within the film music workplace. There’s enough information at hand here to warrant consideration, and to lend some understanding of conditions under which composers have to work.“ BuySoundtrax

„If you are starting out as a composer, I highly recommend this book!“ Carly Paradis

Interview about The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack

MundoBSO, January 2021

Interview about The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack

Sound Files, September 2019

Podcast Review of
The Struggle Behind the Soundtrack

German only

Tim Heinrich, 2022

Interview about Caldera Records

click on the picture to open link

Underscores, April 2014

Interview about Caldera Records

FSM Online Magazine, 2014

The Secret Sharer/Tsotsi
Music composed by Guy Farley

Nominated for a Music+Sound Award 2015

“It is difficult to get out of listening to Secret Sharer, a great symphonic score, worthy of the greatest masters and whose addictive theme will waltz in your head for a long time. […] The packaging of the album is elegant, liner notes Gergely Hubai are precise and the sound quality is perfect. If each release proposed by the label appears in the same vein, we can only rejoice and wish good luck to Caldera!”
Olivier Soudé, Underscores.fr

“Anybody who enjoys a good soundtrack full of melodies and emotion is going to find it in Secret Sharer and Tsotsi, an excellent example of the above mentioned style of composition. I also hope that it makes people discover a marvelous composer who deserves a much bigger presence in our collections.”
Fernando Fernández, BSOSpirit.com

“A musician definitely worthy of discovery on this end of the pond, Farley has impressed in both thrillers (“The Flock”) and romance (“Cashback”). Now “Secret Sharer” showcases both styles with a beyond-lush approach for strings, harp, flute and piano, and later a fully turbulent orchestra. […] Caldera Records show much promise with this debut release, offering a well designed and written booklet by international score specialist Gergely Hubai, as well as an ending audio interview with Farley himself, who insightfully talks about taking an atypical course for “Secret Sharer” when the score threatened to veer off into familiarly menacing Asian musical waters.”
Daniel Schweiger, Film Music Mag.com

“My favourite of the score’s themes is introduced at in “In a Neat Pile”, a piano line tantalisingly hinting at the melody during the first half of the piece before it is revealed in its gorgeous entirety. With that thematic material – and no shortage of beauty amongst it – established during the first half, in the second, Farley must explore much darker areas.”
James Southall, Movie Wave.net

“Farley has designed his Secret Sharer music around a sublime primary waltz melody, introduced on the accordion and take by strings and winds; it captures a splendid nostalgic tonality befitting of the film’s period.  The main theme is given a number of attractive variations throughout the score, which also carries a predominant atmosphere of unsettling suspense, somewhat Herrmannesque in its use of fluidly shifting string patterns.”
Randall Larson, Buysoundtrax.com

“It’s a symphonic creation with a strong central theme that emphasizes the sense of adventure and epic, supported by some melodies similar line.”
Conrado Xalabarder, MundoBSO.com

“This score is certainly worth having as I know that you will return to it many times to sample the highly emotive and poignant compositions.”
John Mansell, JonMan.com

“Secret Sharer is the kind of score I always listen to with pleasure. It’s laid back but there’s a fire burning inside it and I can feel that. It’s romantic and melodic and I love how the instruments complement each other. Guy Farley wrote a sensible and soothing score that will work very well when the sunset comes on the sea shore and you’ve already been there for a few days.”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“This is a pretty good and polished thriller score. It has the two main themes and a bit of thriller music that at times impresses.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

King of Devil’s Island
Music composed by Johan Söderqvist

“Elegiac, sober and beautiful, the music, driven by strings, pays tribute to the most beautiful aspects in this story inspired by real events.”
Olivier Soudé, Underscores.fr

“This is such a good album: the music is exquisitely-crafted, continually so evocative; the composer created a compelling atmosphere and executes it perfectly.  Musical storytelling at its finest, there isn’t a single flashy moment and yet the listener is absolutely gripped from start to finish as the story unfolds.  It won’t be for everyone by any means but for me the deep expressions of emotion played against the cold, harsh – sometimes even brutal – landscape are simply brilliant.”
James Southall, Movie-Wave.net

“King of Devil’s Island is a beautiful and serious composition where the elegiac tone dominates and only finds release in the “End credits” when all other instruments die down and the solo piano plays the final notes.  This score is special and you will feel all the pain, sorrow, scares or rage of the characters. With only a few notes and instruments, Johan Soderquist introduced us into a world I wouldn’t want to be part of. He painted it so well that I can’t wait to get back to my real life once the score is over. “King of Devil’s Island” will leave and echo that will haunt you long after it’s over.”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“This is a good score, a proper depressing and moody score, but in a good way. The sound is gritty, never clean, telling the story about these boys and the hell they went through on that island.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

The River Murders/Sinner
Music composed by Pinar Toprak

“As has become customary, Caldera’s album ends with an “audio commentary” from the composer, which I think is a terrific idea. This is a fine album, showcasing impressive music by a very promising composer who is hopefully destined for a very successful career as a film composer.”
James Southall, Movie-Wave.net

“With a remarkable talent for expressive poignancy and melodic phrasing, Toprak’s score for The River Murders (aided by cello solos by Tina Guo) provides a haunting musical atmosphere for this 2007 murder thriller starring Ray Liotta and Christian Slater. Fragile melodies float across the music’s surface, enhanced by misty choral flavorings, while beneath the musical waters lie deep, foreboding tones of strings, keyboards, wisps of high soprano melisma, and a pervasive reverberating heartbeat of timpani.  […] This affecting album has my highest recommendation, with thanks to Caldera for making it happen.”
Randall Larson, Buysoundtrax.com

“Beautiful and very elegant lyrical soundtrack with a remarkable main theme in which we have the prominence of the piano, cello and violin as main instruments, which evoke an apparent calm and placid tone, very evocative, with a moderate painful dramatic point.”
Conrado Xalabarder, MundoBSO.com

“The Turkish composer strikes again with this fantastic duo winner as a mix between Goldsmith and Young, scores with a deadly beauty accented with heavenly voices and chilling strings. A shock.”
Olivier Soudé, Underscores.fr

“After their impressive initial releases of Guy Farley’s Secret Sharer and Johan Soderqvist’s King of Devil’s Island, Caldera Records continues to show excellent taste in finding subtle, yet powerful scores from composers of creative note – especially when it comes to their work for movies that might have flown under the radar.”
Daniel Schweiger, Filmmusicmag.com

“The central solo instrument is cello, wonderfully performed by Tina Guo who I think we have all heard at some point. She actually takes the music and lovingly purveys it via her cello giving it heart, soul, depth and substance and also via her performance adds real passion to the proceedings. […] A wonderful release from Caldera containing two infectiously attractive works. Also includes a 7 minute audio of the composer talking about her career,and informative liner notes courtesy of Gergely Hubai with a number of stills from The River Murders. Please do not miss this one.”
John Mansell

“The music is delicate and loaded with force at the same times. An authentic gift!”
Fernando Fernández, BSOSpirit.com

“This score stroke a chord with me from its first moments. I cannot resist a great cello solo and Tina Guo shatters my insides with her performance. The music is moving, elegiac and deep and I am pulled inside this score without delay.”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“The River Murders is a delight, a classy thriller score. The solo cello by Tina Guo is making a big difference and this score is full of emotions. It might not be a movie that’s well knows, but this score is a must listen.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

All Good Things
Music composed by Rob Simonsen

“It’s a simple-hearted and elegant creation with a beautiful main theme and evocative air in some of its melodies, both the dramatic as in the sentimental. It is solidly structured and has very elegant moments.”
Conrado Xalabarder, MundoBSO.com

“The music is so full of dramatic life – when I said above that Simonsen’s score is a little surprising, that’s because I was expecting it to be in a slightly detached, documentary style, but have no doubt about it – this is a full-on dramatic film score, colours so well-defined. […] All Good Things is indeed impressive on every level and comes with a strong recommendation.”
James Southall, Movie-Wave.net

“Simonsen’s All Good Things are gripping from soft start to its intellectually nasty finish for this auspicious feature score, one that makes the anticipation to hear what Simonsen will cook up for his upcoming killer millionaire score to the already-acclaimed Foxcatcher.“
Daniel Schweiger, Filmmusicmag.com

“Simonsen explores a different genre, the thriller, where each group of instruments is beautifully exploited through detailed orchestrations. A real surprise!”
Olivier Desbrosses, Underscores.fr

“I really liked All Good Things and I am happy that I have a chance to get to know Rob Simonsen and his music even better. I also love that Caldera Records includes audio commentaries from the directors in their releases. It is a very welcomed addition and I wish more labels did this.”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“All Good Things is a solid thriller score with some exciting music to be found. It is a matter of taste obviously. I’ve never found the attraction to thriller music with a few exceptions. This is definitely one of the better thriller scores I have heard though which says something.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

Tokarev
Music composed by Laurent Eyquem

“The score for this drama is a multi coloured and varied styled score which seems to encompass an entire palette of sounds and musical textures during its running time. Poignant and touching tone poems are accompanied by nervously tense and highly combustible tracks which have at their core thundering percussive elements that drive headlong at a break neck speed to create that edge of the seat tension that is required in movies such as this.”
John Mansell

“Laurent Eyquem deservedly got a lot of positive attention last year for his rich, moving scores for Copperhead and Winnie Mandela – traditionally orchestral, emotion-based scoring.  It’s interesting therefore to find out what he can do with a very different kind of film and (obviously) he has written a very different kind of score, with two distinct sides to it that blend together well.  The first side is the very modern electro-thriller music he wrote for the action and suspense sequences, which sounds a little like an updated version of those great thriller scores Ennio Morricone wrote for films like this in the late 1970s and early 80s.”
James Southall, Movie-Wave.net

“Following up his delicate orchestral scores to Copperhead (reviewed in my July 2013 column) and Winnie Mandela, Laurent Eyquem has supplied an energetic and reflective score for this new direct-to-DVD revenge thriller, starring Nicholas Cage as a reformed criminal who reforms his old band to impose justice on the Russian mob who’ve kidnapped and killed his daughter. […] The music is nicely preserved on disc by Caldera; continued evidence that Eyquem is a composer worth listening to.”
Randall Larson, Buysoundtrax.com

“A really well produced package that really features some excellent work by the composer who’s rising starwise and with good reason. It is a score that really works well with the film and with good reason and that reason is that it is fresh and energetic and doesn’t try to overwhelm you too much. Tokarev is a very entertaining score that will help the rise of composer Laurent Eyquem to the forefront of future projects in Hollywood. Thumbs up.”
Danny Gonzalez, The Examiner.com

“An action score which is percussive and nostalgic at the same time, incorporating all modern idioms without developing into sound design or simple electronics. Tokarev is awesome!”
Underscores.fr

“Eyquem’s music poignantly captures Tokarev’s wages of sins as Cage is pulled into his inescapable descent into revenge. […] Props go again to Caldera Records for continuing their pattern of nicely designed graphics, informative liner notes by Gergely Hubai, and most noteworthy of all offering an audio addendum for the composer to explain their craft. Eyquem does so with truly heartfelt passion here as he reveals his own life’s tragedies that set him upon a fare more beatific course than Tokarev.”
Daniel Schweiger, Film Music Mag.com

“The music has heart and when I hear that in a composition I am involved and I care for what it tells me. […]  It is very easy for composers these days to fall into generic music trap but Laurent Eyquem navigates these complicated seas brilliantly.”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“Listeners who are only familiar with Eyquem’s lush work on scores like Copperhead or Winnie Mandela will be surprised to hear him writing in a much more modern idiom here; although the score is still predominantly orchestral, there are a great deal of electronic enhancement to be heard, often by way of rhythmic ostinatos and vaguely industrial sounding effects which lay on top of the music.”
Jon Broxton, Movie Music UK.us

“There’s so much energy here, and I haven’t heard Eyquem do this kind of music before. I love it.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

Pollyanna
Music composed by Christopher Gunning

“One of the special aspects of this film is the charming, lyrical yet brief romantic score by British composer Christopher Gunning that really is a wonderful surprise and a great revelation despite its’ brevity. A score full of sweep, tender romance and sparkling throughout, this is one of the best albums that Caldera Records has put out so far and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of their greatest best sellers.“
‘Best of 2014′
Danny Gonzalez, The Examiner.com

“Gunning’s Pollyanna spreads its happiness through beautifully delicate strings and pianos, wistful flutes and bell percussion gradually working over the emotions with a distinctive sense of early 20th century time and place.”
Daniel Schweiger, Film Music Mag.com

“I love this score…it is an instant classic for me and it might make me read the story to my little girl…”
Soundtrack Dreams.com

“Built around a lovely main theme voiced frequently with simple harmonies that permeates the score in multiple musical guises, Gunning’s Pollyanna is a delight, capturing the sense of innocence possessed by the title character without shirking the need for honest tension the story needs during moments of peril and injury (the dour “Nocturne,” the down-hearted “Pray that She May Walk Again”).”
Randall Larson, Buysoundtrax.com

“With its direct emotional appeal the soundtrack for Pollyanna is easy to recommend. The sunny atmosphere of this little score is heart warming and the melodies Gunning spins never overstay their welcome on the short album.”
FilmsonWax.co.uk

“Gunning succeeds in delivering a delightful score with several strong themes including the one for Pollyanna which is perfect for this optimistic child. Although the program is relatively short, do not miss it!”
Olivier Soudé, Underscores.fr

“The music is dominated by one theme, light and flowery and relentlessly happy – perhaps evoking in spirit if not compositional style the great Georges Delerue.  It is so full of joy it would surely bring a smile to all but the most haggard of faces – sentimental perhaps, but it has to be. […] Pollyanna is absolutely lovely.”
James Southall, Movie-Wave.net

Transsiberian/Princesas
Music composed by Alfonso de Villalonga

“Both Transsiberian and Princesas are immersive score – the former more so. […] It’s not one for instant musical gratification, but it is one that gets under your skin.”
Synchrotones.com

“Vilallonga, whose most famous project is the silent black and white-movie Blancanieves, is at the top of his game with these two original works which deserve to be heard on CD.”
JMHDigital.com

“It is simple and beautiful. Vilallonga shows two sides with a dark orchestral score, enhanced by sumptous cello solos and presents a warm melody in the second score. The quality of the label remains high.”
Underscores.fr

“Alfonso de Vilallonga’s scores for Transsiberian and Princesas would probably have passed most English speaking score lover’s attention if it weren’t for the sterling work done here by Caldera Records. Coupling the two short score on one CD is one that works incredibly well, especially as they’re both beautiful soundtracks in their own right.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“I will definitely mark this as one of the most honestly tender scores I have heard. The composer does a great job of setting this atmosphere and making us care.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

Belle de Seigneur
Music composed by Gabriel Yared

“It is music of great elegance. The main theme, a restrained waltz, is very seductive and the dramatic sequences are highly touching and simply beautiful.”
Underscores.fr

“Gabriel Yared turns in not just an epic film score for Belle du Seigneur, but also a work of beauty that crosses the line to also become a wonderful piece of classical music in its own right. This is one score that all classical music lovers should own.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“Gabriel Yared’s “Belle du Seigneur” is a lyrical and romantic score for strings, winds, saxophone and piano — in a way that is both typical for the composer, yet sounds nothing like his more famous scores. It’s a delicate, intimate score for a relatively small ensemble, with an attractive main theme that returns in virtually every cue. The composition is free-flowing, like a concert work, with each cue being perfectly formed and perfectly beautiful. When Yared explains in the interview that he’ll look at the film once and then writes his score away from it, not bound by the film’s technicalities and instead focusing on the story’s emotional content (and I have paraphrased that a little), it all makes perfect sense.”
Synchrotones.com

“Gabriel Yared’s music is almost like a lecture in orchestral beauty. He makes the most of every instrument, he gets the soloists to play with each other and take turns into the spotlight. The string solos, the piano or clarinet inserts and the flute moments make the experience of listening to “Belle du seigneur” feel just like walking through the most beautiful garden where all sorts of unexpected flowers appear. You want to walk very careful as to not disturb them or make them aware of your presence. The wonders will never cease in this score and each separate cue has its own special scent.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“There were cues here that I will take with me on my never ending musical journey. I’m sure this will please Yared fans as this music is definitely him.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

Trishna
Music composed by Shigeru Umebayashi

“Stunning, one of my favorites this year!”
JMHDigital.com

“Shigeru Umebayashi wrote an elegant and refined soundtrack with a delicate balance between melancholy and optimism, sadness and happiness. The main theme, a waltz, for the protagonist is beautiful and receives various transformations.”
MundoBSO.com

“Shigeru Umebayashi’s “Trishna” is quite a mesmerising work – hypnotic almost, through its repeating motifs and minimal orchestrations. The score displays fragments of lyricism, but the composer applies a great restraint.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“There is not a single wasted note or sound in “Trishna”. Every once in a while comes a perfect score like this one, a score you know from the first moment is going to be special. This is a magnificent musical rendition of a forbidden love story. The almost 40 minutes of score are filled to the brim with emotions, questions, moments and, above all, sweepingly beautiful music.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“Composer Umebeyashi has created an immensely sad score that seems to offer little hope for the lovers as it focuses on their seeming impossible romance. the score is driven by the seething sorrow of his gloomy love theme for Trishna and Jay, poignantly played on violin against cello counterpoint and collected strings in its introduction, and reprised variously throughout the score. The waltz theme is also reflected in a number of variegated renderings as the two despondent motifs carry the weight of their depression across the story’s arc, but despite the languid tone of the music, Umebayashi keeps these themes progressing and shifting, settling into a kind of resolution to be had at album’s end. Despite the score’s overall despondency, like Trishna herself the music finds dignity in sad circumstances, and the impassioned performances of the melodies really give the music a delicate beauty.”
Buysoundtrax.com

“How beautiful it is! It is a wonderful discovery you shouldn’t miss.”
Underscores.fr

“This is definitely a beautiful movie score to keep you company while you are walking around on a rainy day. Highly recommended to those movie score friends who are willing to confide their hearts to a group of sad strings for an emotionally resonant experience.”
FilmsOnWax.co.uk

Maria di Nazaret
Music composed by Guy Farley

“Maria di Nazaret is lyrical and emotional but also full of pain, very elaborate and careful with moments of beauty. The composer develops a humanistic perspective of the characters, emphasizing its importance but also underlining their conflicts, doubts and fears. It is a delicious soundtrack.”
MundoBSO.com

“Farley achieves a gorgeous sense of worship, paying due tribute at the altar of John Barry and Ennio Morricone in the first composer’s strongly thematic, writing and the latter’s blending of melody and dissonance. Most impressive is that Farley’s score for “Mary” (divided between “The Early Years” and “The Passion”) doesn’t overtly go for those ethnic biblical chestnuts that have become a bit cliché after “Passion,” subtly using tribal drums, diduks, flutes and voices that result in his own distinctive approach to Jesus. Farley shows a mastery of the orchestra and piano that might make some listeners think he’s been touched by a higher power.”
FilmmusicMag.com

“The label’s first release was Farley’s score for Secret Sharer and that was a very impressive album; this one is even better. His music seems to come from the heart and on this album is very rich and rewarding. Don’t let this one fall under your radar.”
Movie-Wave.net

“Guy Farley’s music is absolutely gorgeous and heart-felt. There are lush melodies aplenty here, orchestrated for strings, female vocals and various ethnic instruments. It’s a wonderful album and if, like me, you weren’t familiar with Farley before, then this is a great opportunity to get acquainted.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“Guy Farley shows his romantic side with an oldfashioned score that evokes the works of John Barry. The melodies, performed by 100 musicians, are simply sublime.”
Underscores.fr

“Guy Farley’s music for “Maria di Nazaret”, as well as “Wake of Death” and particularly “L’Umo Che Sognava Con l’Aguile” is absolutely gorgeous and heart-felt. It’s a wonderful album and if, like me, you weren’t familiar with Farley before, then this is a great opportunity to get acquainted. Caldera’s album comes with a wonderful booklet containing extensive liner notes and striking images from the film.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“For those that have followed Farley’s career to date, it will come as no surprise to discover that once again he delivers another collection of heart wrenchingly beautiful themes for Mary of Nazareth. What impressed me most about this album is that Caldera could have just included the score for Mary of Nazareth (it’s a respectable 53 min, 51 sec) but they went that extra mile and include additional content. This is a label that truly respects the composer and spoils soundtrack collectors.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“Maria di Nazaret” is one of the most intimate and beautiful scores I’ve heard in a while. The subtle and melodic piano strokes are like drops of rain in the desert. You almost can’t believe they are real. The female choral parts give me shivers and the ambient moments are soft and intense like a prayer. Guy Farley wrote a musical fairytale that I just want to put in a glass globe and have with me all the time. I stand by the two names I mentioned in the beginning: this is a score John Barry would have written after a meeting with Ennio Morricone and it’s amazing to find a composer worthy of that legacy. Get this score and welcome it into your life…”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“Maybe in 20–30 years from now I can compare it to other great works such as Cinema Paradiso, I really believe this score has such staying power and in time could become a real classic. This is a score not to be missed at any cost. It should be cherished and universally loved. It’s the type of score that I thought was just a part of the past, but turns out there’s hope for our younger generations too if more scores like this is allowed to be released. Needless to say, this is a stunning score that ticks all the right boxes. Buy this CD and a box of tissues and you’ll be a happy camper.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

“The music, highlighted by vocal melisma supported by a massed string orchestra enhanced by a few solo ethnic instruments, all in an achingly lovely harmonious setting. Additionally, Caldera has included another television score by Farley on the CD: the 2006 drama The Man Who Dreamed With Eagles, 11 tracks, a very poignant and breezy melodic score, as well as a single track from the 2004 Jean Claude van Damme movie “Wake of Death”, the gorgeous “Reunited”, featuring piano, strings and a lilting female melisma, which receives its premiere release here. The extra tracks are very complementary to the Mary score and all together make for an excellent and well-filled soundtrack album.”
Buysoundtrax.com

Rebecca
Music composed by Christopher Gunning

“Old-fashioned in the best sense of the modern gothic word, “Rebecca” is a superior, lavish score (astoundingly only performed by thirty musicians) from a composer who knows how to play picaresque romance amongst the well-heeled, music that sounds more alive than ever given Caldera Record’s sophisticated presentation, with Gunning himself summing up his stirringly passionate masterwork in his own, soft-spoken words.”
FilmmusicMag.com

“With a thematic main theme overflowing with yearning, passion, and hidden malice, Gunning’s symphonic score is simply magnificent, capturing the impassioned love story at the story’s heart with a rich melodic beauty and exuberance while signifying its moments of tension, doubt, and malevolence through a more aggressive musical stance and some finely nuanced measures from solo cello, masterfully played by Moray Welsh. The score’s expressiveness is enthralling. Gunning himself thinks of Rebecca as one of his very best scores and it’s first ever release on album is to be treasured.”
Buysoundtrax.com

“Well, romance is in full bloom. It sounds beautiful and epic, just like a true romance should be. It is a welcome release, a wonderful release in fact with every cue filled with awe and wonder. Top quality all the way and then some.”
SoundtrackGeek.com

“Christopher Gunning’s score for Rebecca is in short an extremely impressive work, especially when you consider it was composed for a television production, and worthy addition to any soundtrack collection. The score has enormous narrative clarity through its precise and memorable themes, powerful orchestrations, excellent crystal clear recording and musically bold handling of the subject matter that translates into a very enjoyable and listenable album that brims with musical drama. This is top notch stuff!”
FilmsonWax.co.uk

“Christopher Gunning pulls out all the stops to turn in one of the most beautiful and intricate scores I’ve heard of late. I’ve been listening to this almost constantly over the past two weeks and every time I play it there are numerous moments where a shiver runs down my spine. This is another impressive release from Caldera Records and certainly one that’s worth adding to your soundtrack collection.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“I get a special kind of feeling inside when a Caldera release comes along. They have specialized in gems that really move me and I can easily name each of their releases from this year because they’ve all been amazing. This is one of my favorite record labels and I’m happy to get a chance to review their scores. “Rebecca” is the kind of score that only Caldera could have released. You don’t hear many scores like this one these days. This is pure orchestral bliss from start to finish… it is one of the most beautiful, dreamy and hypnotic scores I’ve heard in a long long time and also one of those compositions that make me travel back in time. Christopher Gunning gets as romantic as John Barry and paints a musical picture that will last forever. If you love orchestral emotions, run to get this one and treasure it. You’ll get a whole range of feelings from joy to sadness and from love to drama. A storm of beautiful music, turbulent and varied where the notes and instruments dance an eternal romantic waltz and I remain in awe long after the orchestra has left the building.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“Beautiful themes and melodies, an elegant and rich orchestration. I almost fell out of my seat just by listening to the first piece. Do not miss it!”
Underscores.fr

“It is beautiful and romantic music with a wide range from the outrageous to the dramatic. It is refined and elegant and emphasizes the obsession with duality (love/danger).”
MundoBSO.com

The Wind Gods
Music by Pinar Toprak

Winner of the IFMCA Best Documentary Score 2011

“Pinar Toprak’s “The Wind Gods” is a beautifully lush orchestral score, full of excitement and admiration for the sailors. And though the journey ends on a somber note, there are plenty of exciting action cues and noble themes along the way. In the audio commentary, Toprak talks of her love for the ocean, how inspiring the images are, and how majestic the boats are. She successfully translates those feelings into her music. Without ever going over the top, her score is heroic, passionate and exciting. It is, indeed, timeless.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“Caldera once again shows Toprak’s way of catching soaring, excitingly melodic gusts with their release of her sumptuous score for the 2013 American Cup documentary “The Wind Gods.” Given that she’s playing the do-or-die effort of Oracle zillionaire Larry Ellison to win this sport of sailing kings, no expense has been spared in filling The Hollywood Studio Symphony’s canvas to push this music to the listening win. Given lush, exceptionally well-defined themes rhythmically pushing the boats forward (especially well interplayed in the aptly named “12-Minute Cue”), Toprak also beautifully captures the blue environment with contrasting moments of still lyricism, a lushly poetic sensibility that brings to mind Thomas Newman’s bucolic Americana style in the best, competitive way. “The Wind Gods” is as exciting as it is emotional.”
FilmMusicMag.com

“This music flows lightly with all its elegant moments like the beautiful main theme.”
MundoBSO.com

“Sweeping, yet powerful score from composer Pinar Toprak who I am coming to discover that she is a world of talent…”
JMHDigital.com

“The Wind Gods is excellent music, large-scale and rousing and frequently very attractive.”
Movie-Wave.net

“Its large-scale presentation, recorded with the 70+ piece Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by Jerome Leroy, gives it a marvelous scope and presentation, and makes for a completely satisfactory and compelling home listen.”
BuySoundtrax.com

“This music excites me beyond acceptable levels. I am digging this totally inspiring music, and I have no shame in doing so. It’s not a guilty pleasure, it’s the ultimate pleasure where I can just love what I’m doing right now and that’s listening to this gem. I simply love what I’m hearing. It’s a score that I am happily listening to again any day at any time. It’s a score that deserves an official release and now we have it. Enjoy!”
SoundtrackGeek.com

“I’m used to Pinar Toprak’s deep emotional scores so I am very happy to discover here her more adventurous musical side. The furious strings fight with the horns to give us action and suspense and I am having a great time listening to this score. Did I say emotional moments? “The best man to steer the boat” seals the deal for me. How can a heart not sing when it hears such a beautiful cue? This is all about Pinar Toprak and the journey she creates for us as listeners. Once again she has delivered a musical flower to put in an ever growing garden. I hope soon all her releases get the treatment this one got.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

Abel Korzeniowski – Early Works
Music composed by Abel Korzeniowski

IFMCA nomination as ‚Best Compilation Album‘ 2016

“Caldera have compiled and released a most interesting album that explores Abel Korzeniowski’s earlier works for the stage. It’s a fascinating, not always easy but certainly rewarding exploration of the composer’s music. Caldera’s booklet is most helpful in providing some details about the stories, and allowing the composer to add a few comments about the music. It’s a wonderful package that is absolutely worth exploring.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“Each different piece of music from the varied and complex “Early works” collection is a reason to love Abel Korzeniowski’s compositions even more. His early musings are just as wonderful and rewarding as the scores we’ve been listening to for a few years now. I’m grateful to Caldera for this release and for the change to discover the first sprouts of the career of one of my favorite composers.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“Whether you’re a fan of the composer, or just a lover of classical music or scores in general, there really is no excuse for not having this wonderfully produced album in your collection.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“This is a unique opportunity to examine the unpublished so far, the unusual and very interesting works of this Polish composer. For collectors and enthusiasts of music, Abel is a must!”
Filmmusic.pl

“The composer wrote very varied music, ranging from Greek folk both lyrical and harsh, to very beautiful melodies. The minimalist main themes are remarkable,making the compositions unreal and fantastical.”
MundoBSO.com

“Abel Korzeniowski is a fantastic and versatile composer whose music is deeply rooted in melody and emotion. He has an incredible ability to flesh out characters and pull the audience into the story with his masterful writing. This collection of early works is an amazing compilation that allows us a glimpse into the start of his career, and hopefully people who haven’t discovered Abel’s work can use it as a great introduction to his music.”
FilmMusicMedia.com

“It’s all very fascinating, unusual, even challenging material, and Caldera should be commended to bringing these stage play scores to our attention and edification.”
BuySoundtrax.com

“When silence returns, there is an urgency to repeat playing this essential album. Beyond the varied canvas drawn by those five scores, one can think about concepts of beauty, energy, freedom and creativity that spring. The album proofs that Abel Korzenowski is not only a great film score composer, he’s a great composer. We now hope hope that this beautifully produced album will be the first of a kind.”
Underscores.fr

Modigliani
Music composed by Guy Farley

“Guy Farley’s approach reminds you of Desplat: The music is sensitive and moving, the orchestration sleek and stylish with a deep melancholy and a certain kind of innocence. Beautiful music but not recommended if you are chronically depressed.”
Underscores.fr

“It’s a beautiful and intricate score that straddles the line between soundtrack and classical music. If you’ve been unable to add this to your collection, now is the perfect opportunity and if you already own it there is so much added material on display here that you’d be a fool not to pick this edition up.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“The music flows like a quiet and dark river that gathers thoughts and feelings from every area it passes. I will soon run out of ways to compliment the elegance, beauty and sensitivity in Guy Farley’s music. Rarely has a composer been able to affect me in such a way. He can write emptiness in the most fulfilling of ways. If you know how Guy Farley writes, this score will be at the top of the list. If you enjoy beautiful and meaningful orchestral music, even if you’re not film music fan, you will keep this close to your heart. With piano and string sections that can melt ice, with ravishing flute passages and with subtle oriental inserts woven in the fabric of the score to show the opium addiction, “Modigliani” will sit proudly in any music collection. As always, Caldera offers thoughts by the composer at the end of the release and I wish more labels provide this kind of insights.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“The soundtrack was originally released by Milan in 2004 in a 22-track presentation that quickly sold out. A dozen years later and a proper release, carefully resequenced and remastered by Caldera Records, really gives Farley’s score its proper delivery on disc, with 30 tracks, a new arrangement of the main theme for cello and piano that Farley did especially for the album, and a fascinating 18-minute audio commentary by Farley about how he got the job and worked with director Mick Davis on scoring the film. Moreover, the album booklet contains Davis’s own notes on working with Farley, general film and music notes by Gergely Hubai, and Farley’s own handwritten sheet music of the main theme.”
BuySoundtrax.com

“An eclectic score which contains classical and contemporary music.The main theme is very beautiful and finds its variations throughout, describing the development of the main character. Ethnic instruments give the score an additional colour.”
MundoBSO.com

“If ever a score that needed more… here it is. It is wonderful, the additional music makes it a stronger piece. Well done Guy Farley, the score follows with a passion that holds your attention in every note.”
Six Strings Magazine

Under Suspicion
Music composed by Christopher Gunning

“A romantic thriller score of great class. The passion of the main theme which recalls John Barry goes hand in hand with a morbid suspense that is reminiscent of Kilar or Goldsmith. The mix of orchestra and synthesizers is masterfully done. Brilliant!”
Underscores.fr

“It’s a classy thriller score with a melancholy main theme (predominantly performed by strings and winds) and some raw action material inspired by Polish avant-garde composers. There is wonderful writing and orchestrating on display here.”
Synchrotones.Wordpress.com

“A powerful soundtrack with a bright main theme that blends mystery drama and sensuality in the best tradition of black cinema. This main theme is developed with variations and transformations, changing the balance of its three main components, depending on the circumstances, and being supported by subtopics to emphasize the environment of mystery and danger. Gunning also highlights the bleak tone, at times fatalistic, included in both the main subject and at other times, and his beautiful final resolution. A work that is also very elegant.”
MundoBSO.com

“Christopher Gunning delivers a dark and brooding score for Under Suspicion. Gunning turns in a beautiful collection of themes and Caldera Records give it the treatment it so richly deserves. All soundtrack collectors should add this to their library.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“‘Under Suspicion’ is a surprisingly engaging score which stands on its own even without the support of the on screen images. It tells me a story that doesn’t need more to be rewarding.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

The Welts
Music composed by Adrian Konarski

“Composer Adrian Konarski, a highly regarded musician for films, theater and concert in his native Poland, provides a sumptuously classical composition, rich in melancholy while still circulating with a glimpse of hope for the troubled character.”
Buysoundtrax.com

“A well done score. It has a certain level of loveliness with a strong piano presence, that ties it into a grand release and holds your interest throughout.”
Six Strings

“The Welts, which opens the album, is full of bright romance with a delicate orchestration. The other scores are showing the same sensitivity but are quite different in style. Congratulations to Caldera for another strong album!”
Underscores.fr

“I cannot recommend this release enough or tell you how much I love it, it is one of those releases that comes along when you are not expecting it and completely blows you away, please go and buy this asap.”
Movie Music International

“This is a beautiful album and Konarski delivers some incredibly moving themes.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“Caldera Records continues to build a fantastic reputation of finding hidden gems past and present for us to enjoy. The Welts is a wonderful score by Adrian Konarski, it’s such a delicately handled narrative that explores character emotions on the surface as well as deeper. Which is great, because we are learning about our protagonist and who he is currently, and then move deeper to learn what he went through in his past. This album offers some other music from Konarski’s other scores, so we get a nice sampling of what he offers as a composer. If you’re looking for a pure unfiltered musical voice that hasn’t been corrupted by Hollywood temp tracks, The Welts is worth your while.”
FilmMusicMedia.com

“A dramatic and romantic soundtrack with emphasis on the piano which is used to express the inner voice of the protagonist: his desolation and despair, but also his desire for liberation and his need for reconciliation are described in the music. The moving music is very rich in its expressions.”
MundoBSO.com

“Konarski’s music is wonderful, full of European flair. This album serves as a great introduction to this composer, who I personally had not heard of before. I now look forward to hearing more Konarski in future.”
Synchrotones

Guy Farley Film Music Collection
Music composed by Guy Farley

“A very likeable compilation that highlights four facets of Guy Farley’s talent, from choral writing (Anthropoid) to Irish music (Irish Jam), to adventurous lyricism (Tula: The Revolt) and ironic comedy (Dot.com). The whole CD makes for an excellent introduction to the composer’s universe.”
Underscores.fr

“Indeed, the album as a whole is very impressive – four very different scores which share quality in common. It would make a great introduction to the composer – and I’m actually yet to hear an album of his music I didn’t like, so if you share my enthusiasm for this one then it’s certainly a good idea to explore the rest.”
Movie-Wave.net

“Only the coldest of hearts won’t fall in love with ‘Speranza’s Theme (Original)’ from Tula: The Revolt; and ‘Pedro and Elena’ and ‘Peace at Last’ from Dot.com. ‘Speranza’s Theme’ is worthy of the great John Barry when he was at the pinnacle of his career. Whether you’re a fan of Farley’s or a collector of beautiful scores, this is one album you need in your music library.”
ReviewGraveyard

“Have you ever wondered why collections get released and why you should invest the time to listen? This is a great example of why you should. Some of the collected works of an artist never get heard. (…) Guy Farley is a talent and here we get to take that journey to his music and hear it maybe for the first time… thank you!”
Six Strings

“Irish Jam is a lively and fun score with influences from Irish folk music, which is idyllic and peaceful at the same time, whereas Tula is aflowing score which is developed steadily by the composer both dramatically and lyrically, and with a main theme which expresses the main protagonist’s longing for freedom. The music is both violent and beautifully romantic.”
MundoBSO

Adam Resurrected
Music composed by Gabriel Yared

“The composer develops his work in two distinct dramatic ways which don’t intersect but somehow engage in a dialogue that is gaining significance during the film. First there is the music for the apocalypse and horror of Nazi concentration camps; broken music, toxic music which creates an atmosphere where it’s unable to breathe. We fully enter the psyche of the protagonist, who is being driven mad and poisoned. The Kafkaesque nightmare consists of other music as well, which portrays the goodness, dignity and honor of the main character. Although these cues are afflicted and fragile, they are a light in the darkness, the oxygen that keeps the character alive with an emotional main theme.”
MundoBSO

“The man clearly follows his own instinct and has a truly unique musical voice, and I admire that greatly. It’s because of Yared’s unique voice that you can never be too sure where the music will take you. And with Adam Resurrected… well, there are elements I don’t agree with, yet I find myself intrigued (and indeed: immersed) by Yared’s sound palette.”
Synchrotones

“This is one of those scores that feels like it’s over way too quickly. There’s a lot of depth here that make this a soundtrack worth adding to your collection.”
ReviewGraveyard

“Gabriel Yared is an amazing artist and here for ‘Adam Resurrected’ it’s a great challenge to pull off music for a serious film, yet managing to keep us entertained and never loosing the heart of the film. It succeeds as we are drawn into the compassion and strength that is needed. Bravo… and thank you for this wonderful piece!”
Six Strings

“This is almost a concerto for violin, cello and electronic orchestra. It is not easily accessible, sometimes stifling or even oppressive at times, but the writing is precise, to the point of being clinical. Better to be warned.”
Underscores

“It’s a very quiet, introspective score, but one immersed in feeling and humanity, very well preserved and presented on his CD from Caldera. It’s also quite a deft mixture of acoustic soloing and contemplative electronica.”
BuySoundtrax

A Esmorga
Music composed by Zeltia Montes

“Zeltia Montes’s simple, effective minor-key piano score is employed with a discretion which is often in telling, melancholy contrast to the excesses of our three downward-spiraling heroes.”
Hollywood Reporter

“The music speaks of loss, of unreason, but also of hope, of longing for redemption. The music is in its austerity an explanation of the character’s views – and a quite sympathetic look at their characters.”
MundoBSO

“It’s a touching, almost sentimental score that will be warmly embraced by lovers of simple, stripped back scores.”
ReviewGraveyard

“This is an intense work for piano; intimate, precious. The mix of Satie and Sakamoto is slow, subjugating, and addictive. Each note presents a memory, a scratch, an unfathomable sadness, which hope hides behind. You will not be disappointed.”
NylonAndTurtle

“Esmorga’s poignant sound is deceptive when it comes to depicting debauchery awash in sex and violence, making the score an effective, thematic counterpoint that speaks volumes for these ne’er do wells. It’s a yearning score that’s about unspoken bromance, and the ultimately tragic lengths it goes to, all while bringing out a uniquely feminine side to these alpha males. Montes return to her classic pianist roots here for an approach that’s simplicity at its finest, with Caldera’s engaging CD also containing a lengthy interview where Montes reveals her own lifelong musical drive and the reason for her unusual approach to “Esmorga”.”
FilmMusicMag

“A piano – that is all and that is enough for Zeltia Montes who wrote the most minimal and stripped score (which reminds one of Arvo Pärt, Satie and Sakamoto). It is of unfathomable melancholy, almost nocturnal. One will succumb if exposed to it.”
Underscores

“The A ESMORGA score’s cheerless austerity gives it a striking presence through the deliberate, unhurried notes, performed by the composer herself, which conveys an acute sense of intimacy to the film. (…) The music lays a weighty, almost desultory hopelessness as the film winds down the final 24 hours of these men’s lives, accompanied by Montes’s sad epitaph – which becomes a woeful tone poem for despair.”
BuySoundtrax

The Black Prince
Music composed by George Kallis

“The score is richly evocative, with a sublime main theme introduced in “Opening Titles” but reprised powerfully in “The Painting” and meeting its most emotive and affecting elegance in “Back to England,” with additional intriguing variations as well, including especially intricate interplay of various themes in “Assassination Attempt” and “The Sword of Maharaja.” There are several other equally compelling themes, and the delicate use of the ethnic music adds an intriguing color to the material.”
BuySoundtrax

“Pretty much, from start to finish, this is a flawless, beautiful album that never disappoints. There’s no filler, background music here, this is all grade A quality material. It’s emotional, melancholic and downright beautiful. This is one album you’ll get years of listening pleasure out of.”
ReviewGraveyard

“George Kallis is an amazing artist and here “The Black Prince” shows the music can still move you sending you into another world. Strong tones with a harmonious chanting woven within… thank you.”
Six Strings

“The composer wrote a symphonic soundtrack which merges Western music with Indian influences. This marriage has especially dramatic purposes and is a beautiful and delicate creation with a moderate tone of restrained grief that evokes the loss and decline of a kingdom.”
MundoBSO

“For this historical fresco, Kallis first turns to the intimacy and the state of souls of the characters and then links them to the events portrayed in the film. Fragile themes with delicate orchestrations (harp, violin, piano) dominate the album. (…) It is a very nice album.”
Underscores.fr

“Like every Caldera release “The Black Prince” is wonder after wonder, gem after gem with me having a hard time choosing my favourite cue from the score or deciding which one is more beautiful. I can listen to this score randomly starting from any point and the sensation wouldn’t change because magic is everywhere. There’s really nothing more to say except that this is one of the clearest and most beautiful romantic orchestral scores of this year and no matter how you might be feeling one day, listening to it will make that day just a little bit better.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“This is a tremendous work which further establishes George Kallis’s credentials as one of the most exciting and talented young composers to emerge in the film music world in quite some time, and cements his position as a genuine contender for Composer of the Year in 2017. The score is available on CD and as a digital download from producer Stephan Eicke’s German boutique label Caldera, and gets an unequivocal recommendation.”
MovieMusicUK.us

The Italian Key
Music composed by Tuomas Kantelinen

“Overall it’s a wonderfully enchanting and thematically beautiful score that’s well worth adding to your collection.”
ReviewGraveyard.com

“This music, which is especially beautiful, avoids the melodramatic and sweetened approach in favor of an emotional but austere tone. It is an elaborate and classy work.”
MundoBSO.com

“The score can be sweepy and romantic while never overdoing it. It has the right amount of finesse and elegance to make the listening enjoyable and enriching. The Italian Key is a score worth checking out.”
FilmMusicMedia

“Most of the music tends to vacillate between affettuoso (with emotion) and lacrimoso (with tears). But it is a feel good movie after all, so the score thankfully also carries an infusion of hope and yearning, repeated just often enough to make it interesting. The quality was pleasurably consistent throughout the entire album. As heard on screen, the score was absolutely stellar.”
Tracksounds.com

“A very beautiful score for piano and orchestra whose romantic melodies breathe life when Tuomas Kantelinen shows his emotions in a beautiful way. An excellent surprise!”
Underscores.fr

Wild Geese II
Music composed by Roy Budd

“When a independent label such as Caldera Records get the chance to release a score to a film, like “WILD GEESE II” by well-known late great composer Roy Budd… you better believe that is a very great release. I am thrilled it’s here and being able to share the news with you, it’s classic 80′s sound, just what you would imagine it would be… though it goes a little further in it’s power and intrigue. BRAVO!” JMHDigital.com

“With groovy 70′s jazz, Roy Budd does something new with war movie music. The main title sets the tone and is totally exhilarating. The rest of the score is very rhythmic and portrays some bravery that will delight your ears. Too bad the score is so short. This is great film music that we don’t hear anymore.”
Underscores.fr

“The composer keeps the action of the previous film in a score with remarkable main theme. It is a vintage score (…) – and it is wonderful.”
MundoBSO.com

“At last WILD GEESE 2 has been issued on to compact disc, not only is this a fantastic action score, but it is issued on a label that I have much admiration for, CALDERA. The productions values on the release are amazing, the sound is so clear and full, so crisp and fresh, another big pat on the back for CALDERA and another thank you for bringing us this wonderful score.”
John Mansell

Lisa
Music composed by Gabriel Yared

“When you look for words to describe music, it’s hard to find other words than great… perfect or amazing… but when you are talking about composer great Gabriel Yared… those words stand out, here is another stand out piece and Caldera Records brings this to us all… and we should say thank you… THANK YOU!”
JMHDigital.com

“LISA is one of those beautiful and meaningful orchestral scores that will leave a lasting mark. After listening to thousands of film and TV scores over the years, one of my strongest certainties is that when Gabriel Yared writes an orchestral score I will be touched and moved and I will be grateful. I am also grateful once again to the people at Caldera for bringing all these treasures to life and doing justice to compositions that should never be forgotten or ignored. We might not get a lot of releases from them each year but those we do get are, almost always, perfect in every way.”
SoundtrackDreams.com

“This is another jewel discovered by Caldera. Composed in 2001 to illustrate a tragic love set during the Second World War, the score offers a noble and poignant main theme. The emotional power of the strings and woodwinds is expertly used by Yared throughout the album. How can you be unemotional? It’s majestic!”
Underscores.fr

That Good Night
Music composed by Guy Farley

“Guy Farley is one of those hard-working guys (pardon the pun) whose name you hardly ever see in mainstream movies or television. Caldera records have a rich history of releasing Farley’s music that has, quite likely, slipped under anyone’s radar. And the thing is… it’s really great stuff.”
Synchrotones

“Given a nostalgic waltz-structure, Farley’s music is gently impassioned, and imprints upon the listener the earnestness of the character to right the wrongs of his self-centered past. Comprised of a chamber orchestra colored by ethnic instruments such as Spanish guitars and cavaquino, accordion, ethnic percussion, which conveys the Mediterranean flavor of the film’s rural Portuguese setting, carries the emotional storyline with an airy lightness that is both brightly appealing and eerily reflective.”
BuySoundtrax

“This is a delicate work for small classical ensemble, embellished with warm Mediterranean colours and not shying away from sentimentality. It is warm, melodic and melancholic, not very original but very touching.”
Underscores.fr

“Guy Farley never stops amazing me, takes you to a place you recognize and been before… then steps it up to a wonderful place… a beautiful place.”
JMHDigital

“A score with a beautiful main theme that shows both dignity and melancholy. It is an often intimate work, elegant and austere, with Portuguese references when the story demands it.”
MundoBSO

“The composer does everything right and once again I feel the need to say something that I am beginning to think I should open every Caldera review with instead of ending it with it: this is a perfect film music score, and one of those stunningly beautiful compositions that Guy Farley graces us with whenever he gets the chance.”
SoundtrackDreams

Not Afraid, Not Afraid
Music composed by Gabriel Yared

“It is an excellent initiative to exhume this score for a film that was never released. Yared presents a lovely chamber music score, evoking childhood with fondness via memorable melodies, that are both touching and funny, and an instrumentation that leaves us in a sweet nostalgia.”
Underscores

“I think “Not afraid not afraid” is one of Yared’s more experimental and varied compositions as there are moments when the orchestra almost seems to improvise, like in “Fire”; it’s a fascinating standalone listening experience, quiet and light, like a miniature of a film score. I for one I am happy to have a chance to discover it.”
SoundtrackDreams

“I have been enjoying the score “Not Afraid, Not Afraid” by composer Gabriel Yared… It’s subtle, filled with charm and a little perky at times.”
JMHDigital

“The score has a warm main theme that is nostalgic and evocative. The music is warm and friendly and makes it easier to sympathise with a character who isn’t likeable at all.”
MundoBSO

Sunrise
Music composed by Joe Kraemer

“Kraemer’s music is lively, colorful, highly thematic and completely addictive. Bravo!”
Underscores.fr

“It’s necessarily a wall-to-wall but Kraemer keeps it constantly interesting; it’s also necessarily a small ensemble of approximately fifteen live players, but their work is deftly orchestrated and the small size accommodates the music with a very intimate presence, and a gorgeous main theme that opens from a few tentative rays before emerging fully into the glory of its melody – just like a sunrise. […] In its entirety as well as most of its more intimate musical moments, Joe Kraemer’s SUNRISE is a completely captivating work.”
BuySoundtrax

“[SUNRISE] is structured around three central themes, one for the protagonist, delicate and fragile (wife), the other frivolous and self-assured (the lover) and the third one ambiguous (husband). These three themes are developed, creating a narrative for various situations. The score has moments of great intensity.”
MundoBSO

““Sunrise” is a clever blend of orchestral and jazzy, a delightful assortment of symphonic dialogues and surprises and, if you want, a composer out-desplating Alexandre Desplat on his own often quirky orchestral turf. Do not miss this one.”
SoundtrackDreams

“It’s always a joy when we receive the latest score from Caldera Records. I like to clear my schedule so that I can just soak up the music without any distractions. I’d probably stick my neck out and say that this is their finest release to date. Joe Kraemer’s music is uplifting, memorable and energetic – not to mention diverse. A truly beautiful and memorable soundtrack. I don’t know how Caldera can top this one.”
ReviewGraveyard

“A charging rousing score, filled with plenty of high points and great amount of my favorite horns. Joe Kraemer like everything attacked this project and brought it too life and Caldera Records again amazes me, again and again!!”
JMHDigital.com

The Lost Children of Planet X
Music composed by Christopher Young

“Along with this musical tale, which is somewhat bizarre and spectacular, there are eight instrumentals which serve the story. They are psychedelic and it’s very nice music, indeed.”
MundoBSO

“It’s also great to hear another side to Young’s musical talent. We know and love him for his deep, rich, brooding music, but he proves here he can just as easily turn his hand to psychedelic funky weirdness.”
ReviewGraveyard

“A nice tribute to classic sci-fi films, a dash of Forbidden Planet, drop of Forbidden Zone and sprinkled with a little crazy out of this world music! Trust me I have listened to it several times and I get a little more each time… it’s worth it! It’s MADNESS, in a good way!”
JMHDigital

Valley of Shadows
Music composed by Zbigniew Preisner

“Working as a seamless unit with his cinematographer brother Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen, and making majestic use of a melancholy, trance-like score by the great Kieslowski collaborator Zbigniew Preisner, the director shows bold assurance that helps paper over thin stretches in the narrative.”
Hollywood Reporter

“To provide a correspondingly enthralling yet disquieting score, Gulbrandsen enlists Krzysztof Kieślowski favourite Zbigniew Preisner, whose blend of piano and electronic instruments proves just as astutely crafted.”
Screen Daily

“If you are into ambient minimalism, it rarely gets better than this; there’s no drama, no loud moments, just that eternal, sparse flow of sounds. I’ve been missing dearly an album like this. Brian Eno once said that “Ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting”. “Valley of shadows” fits right in.”
Soundtrack Dreams

“Shot in 35mm by the director’s brother Marius Matzow Gulbrandsen using achingly beautiful images that feel as if they’re recalling some forgotten legend of Norse mythology (with a touch of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are”), the film isolates this eerily fair-skinned child in a shadowy landscape of inchoate menace, accompanied by Zbigniew Preisner’s richly realized orchestral score.”
Variety

“It is a minimalist, but beautiful work by Preisner with sustained notes for strings, a male choir and synths, which present a sense of purity, even a certain religiosity or mysticism. Considering the genre, this is quite striking, and I imagine it will fascinate some listeners while it might bore others.”
Underscores.fr

“The composer created a soundtrack with orchestra, synthesizers and with the prominent use of the piano to create an atmosphere that is placid, melancholy and dramatic. The voice of Lisa Gerrard has a magical, gothic air to it, and it helps to provide a sense of mystery. It is slow, atmospheric, at times hazy and lyrical as well as luminous.”
MundoBSO

“This is a beautifully lyrical and mesmerizing work which is as sonically enchanting as it is haunting. The music’s dark and menacing fabric manages to be creepy but evocative, deliriously compelling and yet dangerously foreboding.”
BuySoundtrax

“It’s an album that you can give your full attention to, as what at first appears mellow and ambient, is in fact multilayered and carefully structured. It’s not, however, a soundtrack that you can dip in and out of very easily. This is a score that you need to listen to from start to finish, as some of the themes and motifs grow and shift as the album progresses. It’s a beautifully rich score that is extremely rewarding.”
ReviewGraveyard

“This is a beautifully lyrical and mesmerizing work which is as sonically enchanting as it is haunting. The music’s dark and menacing fabric manages to be creepy but evocative, deliriously compelling and yet dangerously foreboding.”
MusiqueFantastique

The Baby
Music composed by Gerald Fried

“Built around a disturbing theme, which recurs several times in the form of a lullaby, the score sometimes evokes a western rather than a thriller (including the theme of the guitar at the end of the program). It is very well written and orchestrated, and Caldera gives us the opportunity to discover a composer too little known. I adhere!”
Underscores.fr

“Central to the score is a single, strikingly provocative melodic main theme played on cello and on woodwinds and contrasted against a number of sonic colors in its journey through the film; set against this pleasing melody is a chiming music box motif played by a celeste and the use of percussive rattles which are both associated with the titular adult infant. Gradually, the score takes on an unsettling creepiness as the story descends into stranger and more dangerous sonic ground, while remaining a captivating listen throughout. The interaction between the cello and violin – played by renowned musicians Edgar Lustgarten and Anatole Kominsky, respectively – is especially striking here in suggesting the psychological struggles of the main characters. The 46-year old music tracks are nicely remastered, preserving a fine sound despite the inherent smallness of the performing ensemble.”
BuySoundtrax

“The composer’s work is typical for the 70s; it’s a mix of symphonic music and pop melodies, warm and light. The score revolves around a main title that evokes a lullaby, bringing tenderness to the story. It also has a more sinister undercurrent which evolves throughout the film, while there is always an ambiguity between pure horror and black humor. It’s fill of powerful themes.”
MundoBSO

“Scaring us without being scared, showering us with chimes and a dabble of bells. A car seat to baby carriage… innocence takes a backseat, when you close your eyes and hearing this piece it will be in your heart. I think that made sense, if not then just listen to this score. It’s really worth it.”
JMHDigital

“Ah, wonderful, wonderful Caldera Records. They never disappoint. Gerald Fried’s music for The Baby represents a sublime score and an unusually sweet one, considering the movie was marketed as a horror. While it’s a monothematic score, having really only one main theme that is revisited throughout the tracks, Fried has the decency to dress it up and present it in numerous ways so that the listener never tires of it. There are plenty of other minor themes which weave in and out of the tracks too, all of which are worthy of your attention.”
ReviewGraveyard

The History of Eternity
Music composed by Zbigniew Preisner

“The History of Eternity… sweeping with a gliding gentleness and another superb masterpiece by legendary composer Zbigniew Preisner released on Caldera Records. Finding it’s way into your heart, every track brings a moving whisper into the light and we are drawn to see it from the darkness. This album plays heavy on the guitar and the theme that keeps you moving from start to finish and holds my attention.”
JMHDigital

“There’s not a wasted second of music here. The composer expertly weaves his themes (although you have to give Caldera credit for sorting them into in a naturally fluid order that ensures that they build as the album progresses) to become an integral part of the movie experience, yet being strong enough to stand on their own two feet outside of the film.
Another beautiful release from a record label that cares about soundtracks as much as the fans. This is yet another score I’ll be revisiting for years to come.”
Review Graveyard

“It has a beautiful main theme and motifs of similar approaches in their economy, their beautiful nakedness and emotional sense of love for life.”
MundoBSO

“A História Da Eternidade is a typically excellent Preisner score, even if the film itself has some issues. Not quite on the level of Skyggenes Dal, but with much of the same DNA – heartbreaking, high-pitched melody lines, slow and beautiful chord modulations and ‘spacey’ use of a relatively small musical ensemble. Hopefully, this premiere release, and Caldera’s “Preisner project” in general, will allow more people to re-appreciate the composer’s film work, post-Kieslowski.”
Celluloid Tunes

“Two of the three characters in the story play musicians, so music is also an integral part of the film story, but its use as score remains reserved. Midway through a few tracks such as “The Hunt,” “Re-Discover,” “Rain 1,” “Rain 2,” “Arrival Song,” “The Sea,” and “Main Titles Version 2,” the music grows a little livelier and poised, allowing the piano, violin, and guitar to imbue a heartier tone, and by the “End Credits” the melody, if not fully impassioned, emerges confidently in its most enriched resolve. It’s a very interesting score, harboring intimate beauty in its austerity.”
BuySoundtrax

Ambition
Music composed by Leonard Rosenman

“This is an undiscovered gem by Leonard Rosenman. It is an elaborate score, impressionistic at times, far away from conventional approaches to action films or thrillers. It is very sophisticated and exquisitely crafted.”
MundoBSO

“Rosenman’s music here is intricate, multi-layered and perfect for the movie. However, on balance it feels like a disconnected collection of music cues rather than a soundtrack album in its own right. […] I’m pleased that Caldera has managed to acquire the rights to release this as fans of Rosenman’s work will relish the opportunity to finally own it. It’s an important work, just not something that is engaging enough to warrant listening to too often.”
ReviewGraveyard

“Honestly never heard of this film, but know the actors and definitely know the work of this composer. Starting out strong as we take the path of a little innocence, we begin to feel it’s certain strength and musical intentions. Suspense and intrigue are as to follow, nice use of plotting sounds and a theme that hold their own.”
JMHDigital

Birds Do It, Bees Do It
Music composed by Gerald Fried

Oscar nomination ‚Best Original Score‘ 1975

Variety nomination ‚Best Classical Film Music Album‘ 2019

“Only one documentary has ever been Oscar-nominated for its musical score: this 1975 David L. Wolper production on the mating habits of animals, composed by Gerald Fried (who would later win an Emmy for Wolper’s Roots). Fried’s early example of a hybrid score — partly electronic, partly orchestral — served the little-seen doc perfectly.”
Variety

“Fried delivers a mix of classical and experimental music, always surprising and relevant. It’s a delight!”
Underscores.fr

“The contrast between the creepily electronic (“Aphids,” “Fight Aftermath/Wasp Embryo”) and the majestically orchestral (“Chimp Lullaby,” “Elephants and Lions”) and diverse nature in between makes for a very fine and thoroughly delightful listen, bookended by the glittering “Flowers Opening” at the start and the elegant “Waltz of the Grebe” at the conclusion. Highly recommended!”
BuySoundtrax

“What struck me most about this release was how varied and intricate each of the themes were. While not all of them instantly seem to fit with the animals they are depicting this is mainly down to the fact that Fried steers clear of cliches as much as possible. ‘Wasps’ is an obvious exception to this, as the track opens with an eerie buzzing sound. This is another winner from Caldera. Long may they continue to unearth long forgotten gems like this.”
ReviewGraveyard

“Great score, some tracks are little freaky [good way]… I was listening as I worked around my house and at some-point I was immersed in the music I stopped working. It’s been a very long time since I was taken away into the music, very nice.”
JMHDigital

“The composer wrote pure poetry; open and beautiful music in various styles […] There is also more experimental music, avant-garde and electronic, which is unorthodox and tries to capture animals in a musical language.”
MundoBSO

Lost and Love
Music composed by Zbigniew Preisner

“Artists seek to draw us closer to a state of consciousness that only they can evoke. From that deep place, Zbigniew Preisner’s music speaks to us. His music has touched our emotions deeply for decades. His melodies filter the light that breaks the darkness and illuminates the dark path we have to take on our return. Preisner’s ability to connect with the emotional part of our reality is once again manifested by listening to his heartfelt work Lost and Love.”
El Baùl de los Genios

Like with other works by Preisner, one can sense how he aims to reach purity through something beautiful and seemingly simple. (…) The developments are splendid and gratifying.”
Underscores.fr

“The music Preisner wrote to Shi Gu is a typical work of melancholy and beauty, full of veracious emotions, but not without minor traces that suggest melodrama. (…) The high-level quality that Preisner is able to produce for Shi Gu is befitting of one of the best actively writing composers. An absolute masterpiece.”
MainTitles.net

“Stunning theme, with a score that features so much musical character and it needs to be heard. I found myself enjoying each track, from next to next… it was worth it.”
JMHDigital

“Lost and Love is an expressive and engaging work with a sturdy classical structure; its tantalizing melodies evoking both sympathy and strength as the story proceeds along its course.”
BuySoundtrax

“Preisner manages to get under your skin and tug at the heart strings with his themes here, an impressive enough task if you can do it once in a score, but he does it so many times over the course of this album that it starts to feel effortless. It’s pretty obvious that the music is the heart and soul of the movie. If melancholic, beautiful scores are your thing… you’re going to fall in love with Lost and Love. It’s an album you’re very unlikely to tire of hearing and certainly one that will give you years of pleasure.”
ReviewGraveyard

“The composer wrote a beautiful, elegant and refined soundtrack, dramatic, lyrical and intimate. (…) The main theme is remarkable.”
MundoBSO

“There is a hauntingly beautiful musical entity present from the start, the composer’s abundantly melodic and heartrending tone poems filling and overflowing into each other. At first it seems as these are unassuming and simple pieces of music, but they have the ability to fixate and almost hypnotise the listener. There is a slightness and tantalising aura to them and a style and sound that it is impossible not to notice or be affected by.”
John Mansell

Naked/Secrets & Lies
Music composed by Andrew Dickson

“Dickson’s score for Naked is as raw and relentless as the character’s narcissistic sexual appetite, driven by the incessant cyclical tension of Dickson’s harp ostinato. The music from the intense dramedy Secrets & Lies is given a despondently dejected jazz atmosphere which clouds the emotive texture of its melodramatic familial and social discourse, This collection is an affecting group of tone poems for damaged souls and lost compassions. Dickson’s mix of folk and jazz idioms saturates the glimpses of humanity that Leigh explores in these thoughtful films.”
BuySoundtrax.com

“[Naked is a] dramatic soundtrack that starts lyrical and becomes progressively clouded. It darkens and provokes an impression of emptiness and desolation.”
MundoBSO

“As we head to the end of the year, we get this treat and what I call a musical project that we needed from Mike Leigh’s collective works by composer Andrew Dickson. As the music tells a story from each project, I am finding a pleasant jazz feel into strong guitar that is only built up by the rest of the instruments. Then towards the end of the music, it’s subtle yet memorable to the ears and this serves as a solid collection of music.”
JMHDigital

Flame in the Wind/Sheffey
Music composed by Dwight Gustafson

“This is an essential purchase for any lover of quality film music, an unusual but welcomed release, it is the 35th soundtrack CD to be issued by the Caldera label. Well worth adding to your collection.”
Jon Mansell, Movie Music International

“Yet again Caldera Records do what they do best – delivering a wonderful recording to the attention of a much wider audience, with the love and devotion that the scores rightly deserve. Once again the label spoils its loyal fan base.”
Review Graveyard

“This is both an unexpected and delightful release of two scores that are both highly engaging, each in their own way. The first score presents itself as a tone poem for brass and strings, evoking music by Miklos Rozsa, Ernest Gold and Michael J. Lewis for historical epics. The second score consists of romantic, melodic Americana.”
Underscores

“Both of these films contain first rate dramatic, Hollywood-worthy film scores, and you don’t have to be against or for BJU or its politics to discover the symphonic mastery of these compositions. FLAME IN THE WIND is provided with a captivating thematic orientation suitable to its story and focus, with a main theme reflecting Carlos’ search for spiritual truth, contrasted against a darker motif that delineates the terrors of the Inquisition itself.”
BuySoundtrax

“It’s a remarkable score infused with lyrical folk music, featuring a beautiful main theme and a variety of similarly evocative themes.”
MundoBSO

One Potato, Two Potato
Music composed by Gerald Fried

“The composer carefully develops his dramatic score, structuring it around a traditional nursery rhyme with several variations. The conflict of the film is thus transferred to the music.”
MundoBSO

“The Caldera crew have done a remarkable job (I’d be surprised if they hadn’t, this is Caldera after all) of presenting the music in the best way possible. The sound quality of the recording is as perfect as you could hope for, and the tracks are presented in a way lets the music and themes build slowly.”
ReviewGraveyard

“It’s what you would expect from composer Gerald Fried, getting the full on treatment of whimsy and then to serious tones. Gerald Fried and Caldera Records get an A++ and + for this 1964 score, you all need to seek this one… it’s worth it!”
JMHDigital

“It all sounds delicious. Everything is fresh and light, the menu prepared by a real chef. The theme of this highly addictive score stays in your mind for a long time. I take my hat off to Caldera who continues to edit Fried’s works.”
Underscores

“The score makes for a very pleasurable listen; its main theme a pure delight and its more dramatic moments intense and affecting.”
BuySoundtrax

Man at the Top
Music composed by Roy Budd

“The composer developed a warm and pleasant ambience that is in line with other scores for that genre. The main theme is very bright and it is taken full advantage of. The score also has a romantic central theme as well as some 70s music that make it especially dynamic.”
MundoBSO

“Made up of some serious tones, [the score] makes a bold statement and is strong on guitar work. Composer Roy Budd seams to bring the light and reflections at times and holds our attention. Then comes the BOSSA NOVA. Wonderful release. Ah, thank you.”
JMHDigital

“This is a complex and richly layered score that Caldera Records have lovingly brought back to life for soundtrack collectors to enjoy.”
Review Graveyard

“All-in-all, a thoroughly intriguing and very likeable dramatic score.”
BuySoundtrax

Angelica
Music composed by Zbigniew Preisner

“The composer wrote a dramatic and ambient soundtrack that creates a ghostly, mysterious atmosphere. He also imposes on it an entirely different tone which is that of desolate melancholy which is sometimes contained, sometimes outright painful. (…) Everything is balanced with a beautiful and simple main theme that is used beautifully throughout.”
MundoBSO

“There is a simple and delicate sound to this score, which is attractive, mysterious and beguiling. The compact disc is the 38th Caldera release, and it is a release that you should own.”
Jon Mansell, Movie Music International

“A haunting and mysterious score […], ANGELICA by composer great Zbigniew Preisner brings another worthy piece to the already growing catalogue of soundtracks.”
JMHDigital

“The music is richly rewarding as well as being fresh and original. It doesn’t tread where others have been. (…) I know, as with previous releases by Preisner’s, that I am going to be revisiting this for a long time to come. Another wonderful release from Caldera.”
Review Graveyard

Vera Drake/All or Nothing
Music composed by Andrew Dickson

“The composer, for the first time in his 20-year association with Mike Leigh, decided to use a choir in the score to emphasize the conflict Vera’s secret occupation creates. A pretty melody emphasizing violin and harp introduces the first few cues, until darkness sets in and the music becomes fairly gloomy, with a small female choir echoing the tortured sadness of “Sentencing” and a solo guitar beneath flute concluding this score.”
BuySoundtrax

“It’s a beautiful and delicate work that … highlights the characters‘ emotions with elegance.”
MundoBSO

“Representing two very different scores, Andrew Dickson’s music for both Vera Drake and All or Nothing showcase the composer’s ability to conjure up just the right atmosphere to deal with any scenario. (…) Caldera does a wonderful job of presenting these four very different but equally notable scores.”
Review Graveyard

Sostiene Pereira
Music composed by Ennio Morricone

“Gorgeous! (…) Caldera Records got the great opportunity to re-release a classic that is a hard one get your hands on. It’s time for you to seek this one out, it’s glorious piece of cinematic history and will be forever a classic.”
JMH Digital

“One of Ennio Morricone’s best scores.”
MundoBSO

“It is essentially one of the composer’s minimalist scores, however its so deftly arranged that it never seems that austere, its sonic patterns constantly imaginative and interesting, offering a fascinating treat for the ears.”
BuySoundtrax

“Morricone shifts and changes from track to track, which helps to hold the listener’s attention. ‚Chitarre‘, for example, is an interesting duo for Spanish Guitars. And pieces like ‚Manifestazioni‘ manage to wonderfully draw all the score’s influences and styles together in a spectacular fashion.”
Review Graveyard

Fear and Desire/Day of the Fight
Music composed by Gerald Fried

“Bless dear old Caldera Records. You always know a release by them is never going to be a dull affair. Fans of Stanley Kubrick and composer Gerald Fried are in for a treat.”
Review Graveyard

“This score is preserving history not only for the future Kubrick and Fried’s projects, but making themselves known in their respected fields. As for the score itself, we are thrown back into the 50′s with the top down on our Chevrolet Bel Air cruises the strip. Okay I wasn’t there in that time, the score is the tops and you should head over to CALDERA RECORDS!”
JMH Digital

“All three scores are relevant examples of Fried’s creative versatility with small ensembles and are a most welcome addition to the composer’s available film soundtracks.”
BuySoundtrax