New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Six soundtracks featuring original music by composer
Blake Neely have been released this summer/fall. From La-La-Land Records in conjunction with WaterTower
Music are the soundtracks from four of his recent television series. THE FLASH: Season 2, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: Season 1, and SUPERGIRL: Season 1 soundtracks have recently been released, with ARROW: Season 4 currently available digitally, coming out on CD October 11, 2016. Also available are the soundtracks for BLINDSPOT: Season 1 and SERENA - the documentary about tennis great Serena Williams.
"From the first second I scored with the bag in Times
Square to the last scene of the season, BLINDSPOT Season 1 has been an adventure. It has made me stretch as a composer, programmer, sound curator and musical storyteller," Neely stated excitedly. "Each episode was another 'dare' to see how far we could push the score to amp the story and shock the senses." Although it's different than the hard cranking action and hand-to-hand combat cues Neely is used to, he found inspiration each week by the raw emotion that is the essence of the show - Jane's plight to find her identity. "It is a different type of score for me, and is always fun to write. With every episode yielding new sounds and themes, it was a challenge to choose the best representation of the season in one album."
One of the main goals on for every television series Neely scored was to craft a sound that would feel separate, but equal. Each piece of the DC universe would sound unique without sacrificing each show's own identity. What started as a lighter tone with a new life for
Oliver and Felicity quickly changed with the arrival of
Damien Darhk in the newly named Star City. As ARROW Season 4 got under way, Ray Palmer was presumed dead, Thea was infected with blood lust from her Lazarus Pit resur- rection, Anarky was running rampant, and all bets were off. "The season was full of action and emotion, a proposal and a break up, Merlyn defending his new status as Ra's al Guhl,
Oliver meeting his son, and all of us (including me) finally learning who was in the grave," Neely stated. "It wouldn't be ARROW without the twists and turns, dark and light, or the relationship of what fans call 'Olicity.'"
When starting on THE FLASH Season 2,
Blake thought it was intimidating. "I knew Zoom was coming. And I had heard rumblings about Earth-2, but add to that time travel, time remnants, wraiths, multi- verses, King Shark, dopplegangers, Hawkgirl, Vandal
Savage and tons more metahumans, it can be a lot to absorb and represent musically," Neely stated. He concluded, "Looking back on the season, it was so much fun, exciting, at times mind-bending, but always fulfilling to watch a show in its sophomore season become even better than the season prior and grow into the mega-hit that it is now. Out of fourteen hours of music from the twenty-three episodes, I've hopefully put together an album that makes you remember some of your favorite moments."
"When I was told we were launching the ultimate superhero spin-off series, I was a bit nervous," Neely stated. "Already working on ARROW, THE FLASH, and SUPERGIRL, a fourth series of this size was quite daunting. I realized that many of the characters would be bringing pre-existing themes with them, but the challenge then became how to pull them all together in one super team."
Blake realized the key to tying everything together for LEGENDS OF TOMORROW Season 1 was the ringleader, Rip Hunter. "The show would be lighter, more rock-and- roll, at times even a circus. I never dreamed it would also be so emotional, so mind-bending, and so fun. It remains a wonderful adventure for me musically."
With SUPERGIRL Season 1 Neely took a totally different approach. "My first thought was not 'awesome!' rather, it was a daunting question of 'how will we do all of these?'" Neely remembers back fondly, "Although the score quickly evolved into a less traditional orchestral sound and more of a hybrid electronic/ orchestral score, the aim was always to give Kara a classic sound and a very simple but hopefully memorable theme." Neely wanted to keep building on the DC Comics sound just incase they had crossover episodes. "As with other crossover episodes I've scored, combining their themes was a challenging, but fun exercise in mash-ups. As with any Greg Berlanti show, heart is always the grounding force."
From a fictional supergirl to a real-life superwoman, the final release is SERENA, an intimate look into the life of tennis superstar and successful businesswoman Serena Williams during this year and 2015. The EPIX documentary, provides an insight into the on and off-court pressures that come with being the world's top-ranked player, which includes close-up glimpses into her life as a designer and businesswoman, not just an athlete. "Few people in the world have made such a huge impact on a profession as Serena Williams," said Neely. "I was honored to collaborate again with my friend, Ryan White, on his amazing film. SERENA captures not just a sports legend's record-breaking career, but also gives an intimate look at an incredibly diverse entrepreneur and real-life superhero."
Blake Neely is an award-winning composer, whose work spans both film and television. Neely has scored more than twenty television series, including RESURRECTION, THE MENTALIST, BROTHERS & SISTERS, GOLDEN BOY, ELI STONE, and POLITICAL ANIMALS. Among his film credits are LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, THE WEDDING DATE, and SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA: MISSION OF HOPE. He has received three Emmy® Award nominations for his scores to ABC's PAN AM, the acclaimed HBO mini-series THE PACIFIC and for his main title theme for the series EVERWOOD. His recent documentary work includes CNN's highly acclaimed THE SIXTIES and THE SEVENTIES and HBO Documentary Films THE CASE AGAINST 8.
The soundtracks for THE FLASH: Season 2, LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, and SUPERGIRL are all currently available on CD from La-La Land Records. BLINDSPOT is available on CD from La-La Land Records, who will release ARROW: Season 4 on October 11, 2016. SERENA is currently available from Cow On The Wall Records.
