A new album of Keshco instrumentals has just been released, gratis, via the
Free Music Archive and
Bandcamp. Why on Earth is this?
When we embarked on the whole free music/creative commons enterprise, we were hoping that, in lieu of any financial earnings, we would instead get the warm glow of discovering that fellow creative types had used our tunes to soundtrack their films. This would potentially have the nice knock-on effect of seeing what are effectively promo videos for songs we are too busy to make videos for. This has been proved correct, and we've been delighted by the many and varied uses people have found for our music. However, most of our tracks feature singing in some form. We thought it would be a good idea to set out our stall a little clearer.
The selections on
Filmmaker's Reference Kit Volume 1 are all instrumental; the human voice is banished in order that potential editors can avoid wading through song after song. This collection comprises different types of incidental music - themes, idents, backing tracks. Suggested genres are given in the track titles. The selections are offered under the "attribution" licence, so can be freely remixed and used so long as we're mentioned as the original artistes.
The tracks herein involve compositions from all four members of Keshco. Some of the backing tracks started life on our previous releases
Now,
Freaks At A Wake and
The Blood, The Horror; but you won't have heard them in this form. At last, you can hear the full suspense-laden thwacks and tingles of
Serpico Goes To Shanghai, the severely funky
Going Dutch, and the starkly spooky
Shadowplay, freshened with new layers and unburdened by vocals. Let your mind go where it wants to.
Notable tracks include the downbeat piano meditation
London Hope, and the chaotic slide action of
The Speed Demon Theme.
Remixing took place in Andy's living room, using favoured free tools Buzz and Goldwave, in spare moments between the day job and the evening job.
Do let us know if you use any bits in your productions - we'd love to see the results and share them with fellow Keshcologists. Also, what would you find useful in the forthcoming Volume 2?
