Woodland Hills, CA (Top40 Charts/ CinMedia Music) - Answering the demand of aspiring chefs of all abilities that have been lobbying composer
Craig Marks to release the music from Food Network's popular primetime series Iron Chef
America and The Next Iron Chef, the soundtrack was released today by CMS Media on CD and as a digital download available from www.ironchefmusic.com, iTunes, Amazon and other online retail outlets.
In addition to composing and producing the Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef soundtrack that fans wish to play at their own Iron Chef competitions as well as for personal enjoyment, Marks played acoustic, electric and fretless guitars, dulcimer, and balalaika along with programming and performing all the orchestra parts. He was accompanied by internationally acclaimed cellist Tina Guo and Dave Norwoods on tabla and doumbek.
Like a master chef who converts food into art, Marks slices and dices a sumptuous feast of musical delight that expertly blends exotic textures, percussion-rich rhythmscapes and mellifluous melodies that are exquisitely seasoned with pinches from a panoramic palate of global cultures. The ingredients in his kitchen include bombastic beats that vacillate between energetic marching band, robotically militaristic and rhythmically astute; dramatic orchestral horns and sweeping symphonic string swatches that are sometimes somber and tense, and other times inspiringly invigorating; and beautiful, mood-altering melodies that stir a gamut of emotions from pensive to passionate, rousing to reflective, and sensitive to sentimental.
Most of the tracks find Marks creating on a massive scale that serve as the opening themes to both television shows, introduce the competitors and special ingredients ("Shiitake Showdown," "Marmalade Skies," "Exotic Fusion," "Nine Chefs Enter," "Test Of Wills," "Chairman Rising" and "Allez Cuisine!"), and set the stage for combative competition, intense intrigue, adventurous suspense, and for the chosen, elation and victory. Other cuts like "Sorbet For The Soul," "Four Course Tour de Force," "Portobello Mellow (Quite Ripe)" and "Gastronomial Equation" are far more soothing and genteel, meandering into New Age-y, meditative and contemplative settings. Mirroring the shows' tendency to infuse savory flavorings from around the world, Marks ventures into world music territory on excursions through Latin America ("Flamenco Flambe"), India ("Tabla Tandoor"), and Asia ("Exploring the Subcontinent"). Also meriting attention is the dynamically expansive "White House Garden - A National Challenge," composed for First Lady Michelle Obama's appearance on Iron Chef America.
Fervent fans have made Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef appointment viewing for nine and three seasons respectively. The shows appeal to a rabidly devout and diverse fan base that has anointed host Alton Brown and an iconic figurehead simply known as The Chairman into worshipped culinary deities on series that niftily navigate the fine line between over-the-top camp and genuinely gripping dramatic television. Playing along with the larger-than-life, tongue-in-cheek personalities of the shows is the original music by Marks, who also composes the scores for A & E's Intervention, ESPN's SportsCenter and ABC's SuperNanny. Additional information about Marks is available at www.cinemediamusic.com.
