New Release || 2FM030 Orchestral Hybrids: Reflection, Tension & Drama

Posted on Jan 10, 2018

We've had a good run of upbeat, cheery albums: corporate motivation, quirky character portraits and swaggering American rock have all had their turn, but now it's time to go a little darker.

2FM030 Orchestral Hybrids: Reflection, Tension and Drama is the latest album from 2nd Foundation Music, and it will keep you on tenterhooks. Written by our very own Bradley Farmer, this collection of orchestra-synth hybrid underscore tracks is full of eerie atmospheres and ticking, pulsing beds, struck through with heart-rending strings and tragic brass. Disover eerie, cold textures, dark tragedy and unnerving waves of sound. Because we recorded all of the orchestral instruments live, we've lost none of the emotion from Bradley's writing, and the contrast between the electric and the organic makes for gripping, tense music.

It's a fine line writing for underscores: too little interest and the music falls flat, too much and it becomes a distraction from the on-screen events. We've toed that line with unique, otherworldly sounds and only brief swells of orchestral melody - perfect for moments of heightened tension and emotion.

The brooding, reflective material, suchas "Inner Foreboding", will illustrate moments of torturous introspection, whereas tracks such as "Solving the Enigma" and "Hopeful Energy" are motivational, productive tracks which could easily portray collaboration. Although the album is aimed at TV drama of all stripes, many tracks would be suitable for investigative documentaries and some for corporate use, and will help bring focus to tense scenes and important plot points.

We recorded the orchestral element of this album at the Tom Tom Studios, Budapest over the last year, and synths were later programmed by Bradley and Maestro Music UK's Wes Hicks. The synth element was programmed before the sessions to give the orchestra a feel for the final tracks, and was then stripped out and reimagined with the real instruments. Bradley found a stark improvement in focus and clarity with the live musicians, allowing him to be more flexible with reworking the programming.

Because we've recorded in stems, the balance of live to electronic can be tailored precisely to your needs, and the live orchestra will work well even with minimal electronic accompaniment. We also offer a range of versions for each track, so there will be a mix that is suitable for your project.

For a deeper insight into the making of the album, please watch the video:

To use this music on a commercial project, please get in touch with our distributors. The album is also available to purchase on CD Baby.

Happy listening - stay tuned for our next album, due at the beginning of February...