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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Farscape: (SubVision/Guy Gross) For the Sci-Fi Channel, Farscape has proven to be a popular series in demand. Along with many of the concurrent sci-fi series on television today, Farscape is a darker, more seductive, and chancy edge on the previous Star Trek dominated genre. And while the Star Trek series still have the funding to score all of its episodes with a moderately-sized orchestra, series such as Farscape have to rely on the composing talents of just a few. And just like the more ambitious stories and characters of the series, the music for Farscape takes a more contemporary and electronically imaginative approach to its attitude and purpose. Appealing to a younger generation of sci-fi fans, Farscape's theme and score continues to edge more towards new age, alternative, and electronica realms rather than the commonly established methods of scoring such shows in the past. Whether or not that approach to scoring appeals to you likely depends heavily on your appreciation of the show. As a Trek fan myself, it took a while before I got used to Christopher Franke's modern application of synthesizers to Babylon 5, and the trend towards even smaller budget television scores continues to lead to more and more bizarre results. The title theme for Farscape defies the traditional majesty of space themes and instead opts for the alternative rock genre, with a singular, repeating alternation of chords performed by keyboards (and probably guitars) and highlighted by various electronica vocals that have been mixed to their extremes. As for many of these scores, mixing is really the key when you're confined to so few resources with which to create adequate sound. In these regards, the difference between the first and second seasons of music is not only noticeable, but a significant change in attitude for the show. The scores by the Australian group SubVision (which consists of Chris Neal, Braedy Neal, and Toby Neal) are an awkward cross between the styles of Chris Franke and Mychael Danna, merging harsh electronic beats and motifs with an almost East Indian or occasionally Arabic tilt, producing a sharper, more exotic sound. The music by Guy Gross represents a more standard use of electronics, which results in a combination of Mark Snow's drawn out underscores and Don Davis' synthesized action scores for small budget films. As someone who has never seen more than five minutes of a Farscape episode (you can call me a "classic" sci-fi fan trying to hold on to Voyager as long as it lasts...), I found it difficult to understand and appreciate this collection of scores. The theme, while simplistic, has great attitude and is by far the most interesting listen on the album. The SubVision cues from the first season often break into nonsensical electric guitar ramblings that do not appeal to me, and the Gross cues, while highly listenable, were more subdued underscore which lack the bite that made the first season, at the very least, interesting. If you are a casual fan of the series and wish to invest in the album, I would suggest listening to the second half first. If you've never seen the series, the album likely won't interest you. I've heard nothing but praise about it, however, from die-hard fanatics of Farscape. The album itself is very well arranged, with suites from a significant number of episodes and superior packaging assembled by Mark Banning. For fans of the Farscape, this is your cue. For others, it will seem like just another fringe element in the spectrum of modern, cost-effective television scoring. **
The insert notes include extensive notes about the series and its music.
Classically trained, I'm best known for my orchestral approach to film scoring albeit often created with samplers. My writing approach is very much dialogue driven. I really enjoy weaving in and around the ups and downs of the spoken word. And as the performances are so great it's a wonderful source of inspiration. I'm also not afraid to call upon the classic genre of science fiction scoring. I find when I deviate too far from the "expected" it draws the viewers attention away from the story telling which must be paramount in everybody's contribution to the film. I first got involved in Farscape when I scored the original 3-minute U.S. trailer. The producers asked me to join the team a few episodes into the second series and I've been loving it ever since. I hope the fans enjoy my contribution and allow it to draw them into the uncharted world of Farscape."
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