Los Angeles, CA. (Top40 Charts/ CineMedia Promotions) - Lakeshore Records will release the first-ever soundtrack for the Emmy AwardT nominated television show, COLD CASE.
Music plays an integral part in the hit CBS series, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Warner Bros. spawning a lot of discussion in fan groups and message boards on the internet. The Lakeshore Records soundtrack album features original music composed by Michael A. Levine, many of the tracks selected by the fans of the Look Again COLD CASE Forum. The recording will be available via iTunes and Amazon
Digital on
September 30, 2008 and in stores on November 11th.
Composer Michael A. Levine won the ASCAP Film and TV Music Award for five years in a row for his work on COLD CASE. His career is as eclectic as his background. Levine was born in Tokyo, raised in the Midwest and schooled in Canada (McGill University), the University of Wisconsin and Boston's Berklee College of Music. Levine moved to New York City where his first job was playing violin on the streets.
Levine would leave the streets behind and began writing music for advertising, combining high-tech sound design with music. He earned the first of two Clio Awards for his work for Mitsubishi Eclipse combining Japanese flute, an operatic soprano, world percussion and electronically processed animal noises. In 1995 Levine would change careers again -scoring the short film CUPIDITY for Keith Thomson. The film would become an award-winning hit after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Besides his TV and independent film work, Levine has served as support composer for Hans Zimmer (SHARK TALE, MATCHSTICK MEN), Harry Gregson-Williams (SHREK 2, VERONICA GUERIN), and Cliff Martinez (WONDERLAND, WICKER PARK).
COLD CASE is a drama about Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), a dedicated female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad, who finds her niche when she's assigned to "cold cases"-crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's interrogating witnesses whose lives and circumstances have since changed, making use of today's new science and finding fresh clues to solve cases that were previously unsolvable-all of which appeals to this smart, driven detective. She's also prepared for the consequences-that her work will open up old wounds and may lead suspects to commit new crimes.
"Every episode has a unique theme. As we get to know the victim, the theme deepens emotionally, climaxing at the murder scene that takes place just before the final montage," describes Levine.
Although each episode jumps back in forth in time, Levine's music usually doesn't directly acknowledge the period, leaving that to licensed music. Levine says, "I see my role as providing timeless continuity - the sonic equivalent of the show's tagline, 'Hope lives...because the evidence never dies.' Like the cops on the show, my most important job is to be a voice for the victim."
In a show in which murder is never glamorized, but always presented as tragedy, being a voice for the victim usually means providing a near-operatic score for his or her death. And, as Executive Producer Jonathan Littman, says, "No one does death better than Michael Levine."
COLD CASE debuted in 2003 and stars Kathryn Morris, John Finn, Danny Pino, Thom Barry, Jeremy Ratchford, and Tracie Thoms. It airs Sunday nights at 9PM on CBS. The new season will begin airing on September 28th.
The COLD CASE original soundtrack on Lakeshore Records will be available on iTunes and Amazon Digital on September 30th and in stores on November 11, 2008.
