Image Image Image Image Image
Scroll to Top

To Top

Featured Projects

Atlantic Heart

By The Insects

On 13, Apr 2016 | In | By The Insects

Atlantic Heart

‘Atlantic Heart’ is the debut feature film from Writer/Director Robbie McCallum. It received its world premiere recently at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

AH image 3

It’s a wonderfully warm emotional and sometimes sad film, beautifully written by Robbie.

Working on the soundtrack was a lot of fun. We decided on a very minimal acoustic approach for the score using a variety of stringed instruments – guitars, ukeleles, zithers, kantele and harps.

http://www.atlanticheart.com/

AH 4

 

 

No Comments
By The Insects

On 13, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In | By The Insects

Creep

This was a great film to be involved in – a visceral, blood-soaked and extremely violent HORROR movie.

creep new 2

Written and directed by Christopher Smith, the film tells the story of Kate (played by Franka Potente) who unwittingly gets trapped overnight on the London Underground.

The main challenge was to create a score that could sonically live within this claustrophobic, confined environment – with its maze of reverberant tunnels, drains and Victorian sewers.

new creep 6

No Comments
By The Insects

On 13, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In | By The Insects

Owning Mahowny

Based on the best-selling 1987 book ‘Stung’ by journalist Gary Ross, ‘Owning Mahowny’ tells the true-life story of banker Brian Molowny, who embezzled over $10 million from his employers in just 18 months to support his gambling habit.

Directed by Richard Kwietniowski, this was Phillip Seymour Hoffmans first lead role, wonderfully supported by Minnie Driver and John Hurt.

“Outside of the wonderfully nuanced score by the Insects, much of Owning Mahowny takes its cue from Hoffman’s portrayal.” The Digital Fix

Owning 1

We shared writing duties with former associate Richard Grassby Lewis and the score features the inimitable trumpet playing of John Hassell.

No Comments
By The Insects

On 13, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In | By The Insects

XX XY

This is the opening Titles sequence from Austin Chicks’ directorial debut  “XX XY”, featuring a young Mark Ruffalo. The film is a New York indie naturalistic ‘rites of passage’ movie  – with the tag line “There’s no room for honesty in a healthy relationship”.

The featured song “La soleil et revenu” was co-written by the Insects and Alison Moyet. It has a certain ‘joie de vivre’ quality which ironically juxtaposes with the grittier realism of the movie.

XX XY new

Given the naturalism of the movie, Austin didn’t want us to score the movie in a conventional sense – the brief was simply to provide a number of tracks which ‘fitted’ certain scenes. Most of the tracks play within the context of the movie, as background to parties, restaurants, bars, apartments.

No Comments
By The Insects

On 12, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In | By The Insects

Love & Death on Long Island

“Love and Death on Long Island” was based on a novel by Gilbert Adair, beautifully translated into a wry, sometimes black comedy by director Richard Kwietniowski. Great leading performances from John Hurt and Jason Priestley.

L&D 3

The score was a collaboration between  The Insects and our former associate Richard Grassby Lewis – augmented by some terrific string arrangements by Simon Hale.

L&D 4

No Comments
By The Insects

On 12, Dec 2013 | No Comments | In | By The Insects

44 Inch Chest

44 2

From the writers of Sexy Beast, this is a dark and surreal black-humoured tale of infidelity and revenge.
From director Malcolm Venville and with a truly stellar British ensemble cast – Ray Winstone John Hurt Ian McShane Tom Wilkinson Stephen Dillane and Joane Whalley

We teamed up with Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack for this one – under the name 100 Suns – and contributed two tracks to Angelo Badalamenti’s score.

44 5

One of the cues provides a latinesque backdrop to a scene featuring Steven Berkoff and Meredith(Ian McShane) on a profane, frenetic and coke-fuelled evening in a Mayfair casino.

44 1

Our other contribution is a jazzy tripped out noir composition, featuring Andy Sheppard on saxophone – this plays over a particularly lewd and graphic monologue from Meredith, describing an evening of gay seduction!

44 3

By The Insects

On 12, Dec 2013 | In | By The Insects

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb

Directed and written by the late Dave Borthwick, this was a ground-breaking movie using real actors in stop-frame animation. Quay brothers meets David Lynch meets Bristol late 80’s animation. Everything shot on film – no CGI.

The music was from our previous incarnation as the ‘Startled Insects’  – the score is darkly ambient, sometimes quirky, sometimes humorous – and has a Balkan twist in the tail.

Tom 1

“This is a weird film that blends live-action footage with stop-motion claymation set in a world of dark back alleys; high tech labs, and swampy landscapes of garbage ruins.”
Fringe Video Fanzine Issue #002

Tom 3

DOP Dave Riddet and Frank Passingham went onto great success with Aardman Animation.