Original score to a new British horror film by the pioneering UK electronic research lab responsible for the ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Quatermass’ soundtracks / sound effects.
Astonishingly considering their 50 year career scoring for radio and television, this is the first time The Radiophonic Workshop have ever scored a feature film for theatrical release, or collaborated on a major score together. They’ve risen to the challenge admirably, concocting a soundtrack that mixes pastoral flute with dread synth tones and bowed percussion that connects this to England’s hidden reverse of Coil, as much as the masters of Italian Giallo music.
Housed in a beautiful 6-panel sleeve designed by Julian House (Ghost Box Records/Children Of Alice), the soundtrack includes all the cues from the feature film, as well as 9 bonus tracks.
The soundtrack features sound elements and drones from the Delia Derbyshire archives, the pioneering producer of the original Doctor Who signature tune. These sound elements, discovered in boxes of tapes in the late composer’s attic, have been restored and used in the foundations of the soundtrack and sound design.
https://radiophonicworkshop.bandcamp.com/track/verse-1-and-main-titles
‘POSSUM’ is the directorial debut of Matthew Holness (best known for co-writing and playing the title role in ‘Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace’, plus appearances in ‘Toast of London’. The film stars Sean Harris and Alun Armstrong, telling the story of a disgraced children’s puppeteer who returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured him his entire life.
“This soundtrack a testament to The Radiophonic Workshop’s mastery of sound. At once unnerving, atmospheric, and deeply moving.” Matthew Holness (Writer & Director)
The Radiophonic Workshop maintain this is amongst the most significant work of their career: “The unearthly sounds of this form of radiophonic music are well-suited to atmospheres of paranoia, fear and haunting. In the best tradition of horror and suspense, this soundtrack adds to the extraordinarily claustrophobic atmosphere between the two central characters with dark scampering and threatening moans.”
Tracklist:
‘POSSUM’ – Film Soundtrack
1 ‘Verse 1 and Main Titles’ (02:53)
2 ‘Arrival Home’ (01:04)
3 ‘Smoke Balloons’ (01:49)
4 ‘Buried’ (01:21)
5 ‘Verse 2, Possum Sting and Undercurrent’ (00:43)
6 ‘Going In?’ (00:44)
7 ‘A Demonstration’ (00:32)
8 ‘Legs 1 and Forest 1’ (01:49)
9 ‘Legs 2 and Rumble’ (00:51)
10 ‘Forest 2 and Bag Opening’ (01:23)
11 ‘Marshland 1 / Anxiety’ (01:08)
12 ‘Marshland 2 / Verse 3 and Nightmare 1 / Bedfellows’ (03:34)
13 ‘The Fox Story’ (02:20)
14 ‘The Fox Story’ (alternative) (02:20)
15 ‘The Barracks’ (05:13)
16 ‘Newspaper / Stairs’ (02:18)
17 ‘Storybook’ (01:01)
18 ‘Helpless’ (00:32)
19 ‘The Photograph and Fox Return’ (01:30)
20 ‘Back from the Dead / Verse 4’ (00:37)
21 ‘Nightmare 2’ (03:14)
22 ‘Someone at the Door’ (00:52)
23 ‘News Report’ (01:12)
24 ‘Searching’ (01:14)
25 ‘Cracking Up’ (01:01)
26 ‘Pursuit’ (05:58)
27 ‘Verse 5 / Breakdown’ (01:01)
28 ‘Behind the Door / Mummy and Daddy / Possum-Man’ (02:29)
29 ‘Devastation’ (02:01)
POSSUM – Film Soundtrack – Early Mixes and Alternatives
30 ‘Arrival Home and A Demonstration’ (alternative) (01:33)
31 ‘The Fox Story’ (alternative 2) (02:13)
32 ‘The Barracks’ (alternative) (06:03)
33 ‘Storybook’ (alternative) (01:06)
34 ‘Helpless’ (alternative) (00:35)
35 ‘Pursuit’ (alternative) (05:56)
36 ‘Mummy and Daddy’ (alternative) (01:17)
37 ‘Devastation’ (alternative) (00:33)
38 ‘Opening Titles’ (early mix) (01:26)
