If you’re at all interested in how music, film, books and art are created and consumed (and have an hour and a half to spare) I really recommend watching this excellent documentary PressPausePlay from House Of Radon (it’s nothing to do with me but I found it a fascinating watch!). Some great interviews with Seth Godin, Bill Drummond, Hank Shocklee, Moby and many more.

You can actually download the film for free directly from the filmmakers’ website www.presspauseplay.com and then donate whatever amount  you feel you should (and if you enjoy it, I urge you do).

2011 was a good year for lots of things; these were a handful of my favourites, just thought of on the spur of the moment (so I’ve probably missed loads of other great things). Have a great 2012!

Breaking Bad / Dangermouse & Norah Jones ‘Black’
The best TV series since the Sopranos, Breaking Bad features an amazing cast and script, coming to a dizzying finale in Season 4 and was perfectly matched with the awesome Dangermouse/Norah Jones track ‘Black’ over the ending.

Drive
Nicolas Winding Refn’s haunting, violent and highly stylised movie Drive is the sort of film where minutes pass by with little dialogue or action, but after the film finishes it stays with you for days. Ryan Gosling’s driver is a masterclass in understatement and the 80s styled tracks on the soundtrack fit like a glove as did Cliff Martinez’s ever-subtle score.

Ludovico Einaudi
Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi has been recording music since the late 80s but 2011 saw him gain recognition with his music being used on adverts, TV shows and trailers. All of his work is a stunning exercise in restraint and emotion but if you need somewhere to start, 2011′s Islands -- Essential Einaudi compiles some beautiful moments of his sparse and minimal melodic style.

Daft Punk: Tron Legacy OST
I know, technically 2010 but I only heard it properly this year. Lots of nice dark and moody John Carpenter style synths.

PJ Harvey: Let England Shake
One of my musical heroes writes an album that perfectly captures the zeitgeist.

A great new video from Christopher King at www.endless-echo.com that features some of the music from my royalty free collections. The short film is an inspirational story about former pro boxer “terrifying” Tony Pollard and the help he received from the YMCA:

“Tony Pollard may have abandoned some of his healthy habits after quitting his pro boxing career 25 years ago, but he never forgot how to get back on his feet. He just needed the right place and the right support. The YMCA was all that.”

The music tracks featured are Spring Harvest, April Showers and  The Falling Snow from volumes 3 and 5 of my royalty free music collections:

Royalty Free Collection Vol. 3

Royalty Free Collection Vol.5

My instrumental piano track Cursed is featured in a new teaser trailer for upcoming horror film Screen by director David Paul Baker.

Screen will be having some exclusive screenings at drive-in theatres in 2012. Watch the teaser trailer for the movie on the right and you can also find more details about the movie and sign up for the mailing list at:

http://www.screen-movie.com

Cursed is also available as an mp3 download and  can be licensed at low cost for use in your own films, trailers and videos from my online music shop:

http://www.thebluemask.com/shop/cursed

I’ve just released a new collection of royalty free music available from my website store. Royalty-Free Film & Documentary Music Vol. 6: Dark Matter is a collection of 17 tracks of atmospheric music ideal for documentaries with dark subject matter, e.g. crime, investigation, conspiracy, betrayal, intrigue etc.  It could also be useful for films and trailers needing a soundtrack with dark music and textures.

You can watch the promo clip on the right which features short extracts from each of the 17 tracks to give you an idea of the style of music. Or head to the store to hear full length previews of all the tracks where you can buy the collection in mp3 or wav format for £39.99:

http://www.thebluemask.com/shop/royalty-free-film-documentary-music-vol-6-dark-matter/

All my royalty free music collections include a license which means you can use the music in as many of your films, documentaries and videos as you like. The license covers use on Youtube, Vimeo or Facebook videos, websites, trailers, DVDs etc. (full details of the licensing info is in the store here). And if you buy all 6 volumes of royalty free music, you’ll automatically receive a 30% discount on the total price, saving you £72.

Another beautiful time lapse film from Eric Hines, this one’s called Fall Timelapse Collection and features my track Outpost 31.

Outpost 31 is a dark and atmospheric instrumental track with an epic, atmospheric, icy winter feel. You can download the track or license it for use in your own films, trailers and videos from my online music store here:

www.thebluemask.com/shop/outpost-31/

Some more great time lapse work featuring my music, this time from photographer and timelapse cinematographer Eric Hines in his short film called A Summer of Sunsets and Dark Skies. Eric’s film is a beautiful collection of time lapse pieces shot between late June and early August, 2011, in Eastern Wyoming and Western Nebraska. The film has also been entered into the Chronos Film Festival – good luck Eric, it’s a really beautifully shot film!

Follow Eric on:

plus.google.com/​111297688846219234682/​posts

facebook.com/​EricHinesPhotography

twitter.com/​EricHinesPhotos

Eric licensed my piano track Byzantine from my collection Royalty-Free Film & Documentary Music Vol. 1: Piano & Atmospheric Beds which is also available for use in your own films, videos and trailers.

Here’s a short clip from episode 2 of Evolution: The Grand Experiment that I finished scoring earlier this year.

The show features some stunning nature footage and underwater photography (seen in the video here) and the soundtrack includes more orchestral arrangements as well as acoustic guitar, piano and atmospheric ambient music.

You can see more video clips and hear some music from the previous episode here.

My orchestral action track Titan has just been used in the latest US promo trailers for ABC’s new reality TV show Take The Money And Run (see video on the right).

Titan is a dramatic orchestral action music track that is also available to download and license for use in your own films, trailers and videos from my website shop:

www.thebluemask.com/shop/titan

Here’s a nice new video from 3D graphic artist Dylan Gauld featuring my ambient music track Antarctica.

Growth is the outcome of a year’s worth of Dylan’s collaboration with mathematicians to develop new ways of visualising mathematical models to predict the growth and development of cancer cells.

More info can be found on Dylan’s website at www.dylangauld.co.uk

Antarctica is a 7 and a half minute ambient track of slowly evolving atmospheric organic soundscapes and minimal piano. You can download or license the track for use in your own film or documentary here:

http://www.thebluemask.com/shop/antarctica/