As Late Night Tales moves into a new decade, the long awaited chapter from The Cinematic Orchestra greets us with style. Following editions from behemoths of rock Arctic Monkeys and Snow Patrol, The Cinematic Orchestra's selection sees a return to a more typical Late Night compiler. Their association with the series reaches back to the inclusion of'Channel 1 Suite' from their debut album 'Motion' on Zero 7's memorable 2002 compilation. With track selection and order seeing many revisions since the inception of the project, we arrive in 2010 with one of the most defined Late Night Tales yet to come in the 23 title strong series.
They aren't called The Cinematic Orchestra for nothing. Jason Swinscoe has been living and breathing soundtracks for many years (the last one was his epic effort for Disney, 'The Crimson Wing'). You suspect that he'd manage to turn a trip to Sainsbury's into a Homeric odyssey fit for string sections and harp players, such is his aptitude for the gallant, the grand and the plain groovy.
The Cinematic Orchestra are now on their fourth original album (not including live recordings, remixes and, of course, contributions to soundtracks) and third country, having relocated to New York after spending spells in the UK and France and these days can be found in Fort Greene, a Brooklyn neighbourhood with a grand musical heritage. You can hear some of these influences seep out, gently guiding you through. Eddie Gale, whose obscure jazz classic 'The Rain' is featured here, was also a native of Fort Greene.
There are also some known quantities. The delectable Björk's 'Joga' is present and correct while Swinscoe's affection for the double bass, here provided by Danny Thompson, is clearly evident on Nick Drake's 'Three Hours'. The marvellous Shuggie Otis also makes an appearance with the musically stunning and grammatically interesting 'Aht Uh Mi Hed', while Sebastien Tellier's 'La Ritournelle', already regarded as a modern classic, doffs its cap in the direction of Mr. Swinscoe. The compilation would not be complete without some soundtrack content - Burt Bacharach's 'South American Getaway' from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, appears in a heavily re-edited form, while the strangely familiar 'Electric Counterpoint' by Steve Reich drops the temperature a tad.
The Cinematic Orchestra – Late Night Tales, track list:
1 Flying Lotus - Anties Harp
2 Nick Drake - Three Hours
3 Eddie Gale - The Rain
4 Terry Callier - You're Gonna Miss Your Candyman
5 The Freedom Sounds feat Wayne Henderson - Behold The Day
6 DJ food - Living Beats
7 Shuggie Otis - Aht Uh Mi Hed
8 Thom Yorke - Black Swan
9 The Cinematic Orchestra - Restaurant
10 Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint
11 Bjork - Joga
12 Imogen Heap - Cumulus
13 St Germain - Rose Rouge
14 Songstress - Sea Line Woman
15 Sebastian Tellier - La Ratournelle
16 Burial - Dog Shelter
17 Burt Bacharach - South American Gataway
18 The Cinematic Orchestra ft Fontella Bass - Talking About Freedom (EXCLUSIVE COVER VERSION)
19 Will Self - The Happy Detective Part 3
