From the Press Release:
Lakeshore Records will release four volumes of music from the hit NBC television series HANNIBAL, composed by Brian Reitzell (Lost in Translation, “Boss”).
The HANNIBAL SEASON ONE Volumes 1 & 2 soundtrack will be available digitally on August 5th and on CD September 2nd. The HANNIBAL SEASON TWO Volumes 1 & 2 Original TV Soundtracks will be available digitally on September 2nd and on CD September 27rd.
“Visually it’s so artfully done and quite fantastical so I see it like an opera staging; otherwise, I might be more disturbed,” said Reitzell of HANNIBAL. “Listening to the music alone is scarier than in the context of the show.”
One of the most memorable instruments from the first season of the show is a bullroarer. Reitzell describes it as “an aboriginal instrument. Every continent on Earth has a form of bullroarer — it’s the oldest instrument known to man.” The one he uses, he got from eBay for $5. The instrument is spun around your head and creates a low hum that has movement in space and not just sound. It was recorded in surround sound for the series. “So when you listen to it, it spins around your head, and it’s really powerful.”
Over the last decade and a half, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and music supervisor Brian Reitzell has been on a mission to further elevate the layer that music adds to a film’s life. He has created his own unique method of scoring films, drawing equally from his experience as a recording and touring musician with bands such as Redd Kross and Air and his massive knowledge of recorded music.
Acting as both music supervisor and composer, he often blurs the lines between score, source music, and sound design. His vision is to create a seamless landscape of songs, score, and found music for each soundtrack. Brian’s explorations of new sounds add unique character to visual images. He often has instruments custom built or even invented for individual film scores and wholeheartedly embraces the Brian Eno philosophy of the recording studio as his instrument. Brian has thrived on collaborations with musicians from outside the Hollywood film composer network and has worked with some of today’s most acclaimed musical artists including Air, Richard James (Aphex Twin), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Elliott Smith, Britt Daniel (Spoon), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Explosions In The Sky, Fever Ray, Robert Plant, Daniel Lopatin, and Ensemble Matheus.
One of the most fascinating literary characters comes to life on television for the first time: psychiatrist-turned-serial-killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. In this drama we see where his incredible story begins. “Hannibal,” based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ classic novels, is from Gaumont International Television in association with Sony Pictures Television Networks and airs on NBC in the U.S. The series was developed for television by Bryan Fuller, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer.
The Hannibal Lecter character is known as a gourmet chef with a penchant for using unusual ingrediants. Episodes from the first season were named after elements in French cuisine and the second season from Japanese haute cuisine. “Scoring is very similar to cooking,” explained Reitzell, “except with music you can throw all the spices into the pot and then take them out one by one to see what flavors arise out of uncommon combinations. If you put too much white pepper in your sauce, it’s very hard to take it out, but with Protools you just delete the white pepper.”
You can check out the artwork for Season One Volumes 1 & 2 below; Season Two’s hasn’t been released yet. All four volumes are available for pre-order now.
Season 7 of “Hannibal” will air in the spring of 2015. Look for lots more soon!