Listen & tracks

3 of 25 tracks have a preview · 20 works · 50:29

1 Free Falling Cezary Skubiszewski 4:08
2 Gemma Calculates Cezary Skubiszewski 2:19
3 Yellow Envelope Clairanne Browne 4:11
4 On the Staircase Cezary Skubiszewski 2:26
5 Doris Cezary Skubiszewski 2:04
6 School Bullies Cezary Skubiszewski 3:43
7 The Party Cezary Skubiszewski 3:29
8 The Axe Cezary Skubiszewski 2:00
9 Placid Bossa 2 Cezary Skubiszewski 2:17
10 Placid Lake Cezary Skubiszewski 2:32
11 Life is Super Dooper Cezary Skubiszewski :59
12 The Chase Cezary Skubiszewski 2:01
13 Dr. Freud Cezary Skubiszewski 1:53
14 Transformation Cezary Skubiszewski 2:05
15 Radio One Cezary Skubiszewski 4:24
16 Sylvia Cezary Skubiszewski 1:11
17 Insurance Heaven Cezary Skubiszewski 1:23
18 Placid on the Bike Cezary Skubiszewski 2:24
19 On the Roof Cezary Skubiszewski 1:08
20 Placid Bossa Cezary Skubiszewski 3:52

The main motive, Placid Bossa, returns in many guises across the film. Skubiszewski worked with recording engineer Andy Baldwin and his son Jan to give the music an alternative, youthful ambience.

Unused cues, a full synopsis and the composer’s own notes make the album a generous companion to the picture.

In the artist’s words

I tried to create sounds that had an alternative ambience and that could reflect the contemporary and youthful feel of the film. I decided that recording engineer and producer Andy Baldwin would be the perfect choice to help me in achieving this goal. Also my son Jan assisted in this project.

The main musical motive is Placid Bossa. It appears in different arrangements right through the film. For some arrangements I experimented with the voices, bass clarinet, electric violin (Placid Bossa 2 – when naked Rick tries to seduce Gemma by acting like a dog), guitars, woodwinds, double bass and both acoustic and electronic drums.

The Party accompanies the school party sequence where the main aim was to evoke a fun, party atmosphere. The band is supported by the brass.

I made a few attempts to create the right sound for School Bullies. I wanted to discover a sound that would give the impression that the band is just holding on, so I contrasted their aggressive behaviour with a quirky waltz. The combination served to defuse the meanness of the bullies with a sort of comedic element. The riffs between the organ, cello, guitar and pizzicato violin help to set the mood.

Life is Super Dooper had to sound like an amateur recording, like student film music. Acoustic guitar is augmented by the synthesizer playing the orchestral, triumphant part, to accompany the first prize-winning film.

The tracks with a characteristically electronic sound are On the Staircase (Gemma is having a crisis), Gemma Calculates (Gemma is preparing the lethal dose), Insurance Heaven (office music) and Placid on the Bike – each reflecting the ambience of his new life. The world he enters is slick, technological and sometimes bland. Violins and a cello play the music for Dr. Freud (Placid has the Freudian conversation with his alter-ego) and On the Roof, a scene where Placid explains to Gemma the truth about what happened on the roof.

The strings are also used in The Chase (after the screening of Life is Super Dooper version 2, everyone is shocked and Placid is chased by the school bullies), Transformation (recovered Placid leaves the hospital, changes his image and gets a job at Icarus Insurance), Sylvia (in a delicate arrangement with the marimba and organ and dedicated to Placid’s mother and a tender moment between them) and together with the brass section in Doris (Placid and Gemma are having Martinis and dancing).

Yellow Envelope is a song played in the pub where Placid is spotted by his old enemies – the school bullies. On the other hand, you’ll hear some of Radio One coming from a radio in the film but only if you listen very carefully!

Free Falling is a song based on the Placid Bossa and there is also some vocal work on The Axe, when Gemma throws an axe down to Placid to fend off the bullies.

Placid Lake is the first piece of music I composed for this film and despite the fact that it didn’t make the final cut it deserves to be included in this CD.

— Cezary Skubiszewski

Reviews

this underrated master delivers a wildly eclectic mix ... the soundtrack has a wonderful ebb and flow to it, and the rich, harnessing vocals of [Jacket] add to its rich tapestry.

— Erin Free, Filmink

Cezary Skubiszewski has done it again, with a soundtrack that fits the film like a silk glove. The music is a treat to listen to ... 10/10 stars

— Australian Soundtracks

Artists

Cezary Skubiszewski

conductor, piano and organ

Cezary Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian screen composer whose film and television scores move freely between orchestra, jazz and popular styles, and have earned him major national awards.

Andy Baldwyn

composer

Andy Baldwyn is a composer, recording engineer and mixing engineer whose credits appear on Australian film soundtrack albums.

Clairanne Browne

composer

Clairanne Browne is an Australian vocalist and composer. She is best known as lead singer of the Melbourne soul band Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, and as a member of the ensemble Jacket.

Jules Pascoe

composer

Jan Skubiszewski

composer

Jan Skubiszewski is an Australian composer, producer and guitarist. His work spans film and television soundtracks, studio production, and the Melbourne ensemble Jacket.