Track listing
- The Wanderer (Main Title) [1:22]
- Yanaba's Theme [1:32]
- Inno per l'Errante (Hymn for the Wanderer) [2:54]
- There Used to Be Frontiers [0:56]
- Ivory Cowboy [1:06]
- The Mission [1:00]
- The Apparition [2:12]
- Waiting Around to Die / End Credits [1:42]
- Wingless Sting for Spirit of the Frontier [0:18]
- Main Theme for Spirit of the Frontier [1:28]
- Lakeside / "There's a Man...." [2:08]
- A Blood-Soaked Plain [2:12]
- Forest Encounter [1:38]
- Welcome to the Frontier (The Trailer Music) [0:44]
- Opening ("Main Title" First Demo) [0:24]
- The Wanderer ("Main Title" Second Demo) [0:38]
- Trackdown ("The Mission" Demo) [0:28]
- Ambiance - The Old West (Preview Track) [1:20]
- The Wanderer (Laconic Style) (Preview Track) [2:18]
- Wanderer's Rest (Preview Track) [2:50]
- The Wanderer (Spurs Style) (Preview Track) [1:20]
- Mellow Cowboy (Preview Track) [1:28]
- A Song of the Frontier (Demo) [0:29]
- Western Twang [3:08]
Spirit of the Frontier is our attempt at a Western epic, shot across Dartmoor, from Spring 2011. The film was our longest to date, and follows a mercenary, Edmund Cash, on his journey across the old frontier in search of a wanted man. We were inspired by the visual splendour of Dartmoor itself, which served as a substitute for the wilds of the American Old West. To prepare for scoring duties on the film, I listened to a fair amount of Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt and Ennio Morricone.
The score is directly inspired by Morricone in several areas. The back-beat to the main theme (The Wanderer, or Cash's Theme) is a homage to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ("Main Title"), and "Inno per l'Errante" was my humble attempt at emulating the great composer's style. The three-note motif established at the beginning of the opening track (the Spirit Theme) was inspired by the soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption. "Yanaba's Theme" plays during the first meeting with the Tracker (named Yanaba in supplementary material), and is briefly referenced at the end of "The Mission" (track six). The film version is included in expanded form as track eleven ("Lakeside / There's a Man....") Tracks three and five are album-only renditions of the main theme.
I originally planned to include a cover version of Van Zandt's "Waitin' Around to Die" over the final scene and credits, although as a no-budget production we were unable to ensure the rights to this; my score cue for this section references the song, if only in title alone, and constitutes a mellow piano playing of the Wanderer Theme. Tracks nine and ten are, respectively, an unused opening sting (in the style of previous introductory "Wingless Stings") and a new album version of the main theme. A variation of the latter was used for the film's trailer, and is included as track fourteen ("Welcome to the Frontier").
Tracks fifteen to seventeen are demo versions of previous cues, and the following five tracks are "Previews"; demos and explorations of the main theme and instrumentation created prior to principal photography. The album finishes with two further unused demo tracks.
The score is directly inspired by Morricone in several areas. The back-beat to the main theme (The Wanderer, or Cash's Theme) is a homage to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ("Main Title"), and "Inno per l'Errante" was my humble attempt at emulating the great composer's style. The three-note motif established at the beginning of the opening track (the Spirit Theme) was inspired by the soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption. "Yanaba's Theme" plays during the first meeting with the Tracker (named Yanaba in supplementary material), and is briefly referenced at the end of "The Mission" (track six). The film version is included in expanded form as track eleven ("Lakeside / There's a Man....") Tracks three and five are album-only renditions of the main theme.
I originally planned to include a cover version of Van Zandt's "Waitin' Around to Die" over the final scene and credits, although as a no-budget production we were unable to ensure the rights to this; my score cue for this section references the song, if only in title alone, and constitutes a mellow piano playing of the Wanderer Theme. Tracks nine and ten are, respectively, an unused opening sting (in the style of previous introductory "Wingless Stings") and a new album version of the main theme. A variation of the latter was used for the film's trailer, and is included as track fourteen ("Welcome to the Frontier").
Tracks fifteen to seventeen are demo versions of previous cues, and the following five tracks are "Previews"; demos and explorations of the main theme and instrumentation created prior to principal photography. The album finishes with two further unused demo tracks.