'Lost Without You' Soundtrack Release
The soundtrack to 'Lost Without You' is now available on my Spotify and Bandcamp.
Spotify:
Bandcamp:
This was a fun short film shot in the summer of '24 in Bristol as a collaborative project with various talented colleagues from the BAFTA Connect scheme.
The premise of the film was to illustrate the main character's complete and utter loss of control and panic as she realised she had lost the most precious thing in her life, which we find out at the end of the film was to put it simply, her phone.
Discussions with the director led to the idea of the music channelling the experimental spirit of late-night 90s left-field television such as Brass Eye combined with the chaotic and unusual sound-world of the Safdie Brothers (Uncut Gems)
So I used a combination of analogue synths, foley sounds from the location of the film (traffic lights beeping, city centre ambience and footsteps) and various tape manipulation techniques to create a surreal, other-worldy feel to the score.
The music on this reel is the moment the character finds her phone and the feeling terms from panic to a kind of blissful utopian calm.
It was a pleasure working with all the team on it.
@chloe.kilby created the wonderful poster themed around a phone screen and was kind enough to adapt it and let me use it as the artwork for the EP too.
And the ever-wonderful and friendly team @nimrodsound very skillfully enhanced the production sound and provided a great dub mix.
Crew: (there were lots of other people involved, so sorry if I've missed people out as I have no definitive list!)
Starring: @ricemad
Screenplay by @lolcov
Directed by @petermarsden_
Edited by @chloe.kilby
DOP: @brendanswiftdop
Camera Assistant @beccamundycamera
Shoot assistance and all round help from @harrisonwoodfilm
Music by me
Mixtape of Sounds That Shaped Me - 'Nomad Discology' Series
Oliver Harris kindly got in touch last year after seeing a great film I’d scored to ask me to come up with a mixtape; an hour or two of music/sound, old and new, that I felt had shaped me for his wonderful Nomad Discology series:
https://www.nomad-discology.com/6
He's done an mix of my selections, released today, you can hear it at The Nomad Discology Website and read about why I made the choices I did.
I really enjoyed putting it together, although as I say on the website, it was very hard to siphon the mix down as there’s so much music and sounds that have affected me in powerful ways over the years. Thanks very much for Oli for getting me involved, and here’s what he has to say about why he did! I hope you enjoy if you listen.
“Bringing in the New Year for Nomad Discology with a mix by the brilliant @jameswarburtonmusic
I first heard James’ work at @peckhamfilmmakers when showing ‘The Sun is up Forever’ by @_charlenejones and was blown away by its dynamic and bold tones.
His scoring and his work takes influence from the worlds of drone, noise, ambient, electronica and contemporary orchestral creating an evocative unique sound world.
Thank you for the selections James, it’s a mix I felt really embodies the depth and darkness that a composer needs to find in their work so thank you for sharing them with us.”
'The Sun Is Up Forever' Soundtrack Release
Very pleased to the say the soundtrack for ‘The Sun Is Up Forever’ is released on Spotify, other streaming services and Bandcamp today:
Spotify:
Bandcamp:
This was a very enjoyable and highly collaborative project which involved working closely with the director Charlene to craft the music to help tell her story as effectively as possible.
Very happy with how it turned out and was a privilege to be asked to work on such a personal film.
The composition process involved a long period of exploration of different ways to process my piano, synths and various sounds from the natural world relative to the film through tape and other mediums, which were then arranged to picture until we found the appropriate emotional resonance for the story. Charlene was keen for the soundtrack to be atmospheric and to unfold slowly, leaving space for the viewer, which hopefully we achieved.
The Sun Is Up Forever:
On a hot summer’s day, Freya a young daughter seeks to soak up the sun but finds her thoughts are preoccupied with her mother at home.
A short film by @oldhallfilms in association with the @bfinetwork with funds from the National Lottery.
Written and directed by @_charlenejones
Starring @chloelouiseatkinson_ alongside Liz Thompson with @milliemae_acting_
and @might.be.billy
Produced by @menna_morgan_ and @margotdouglas
Executive producer - Keith Farrell @oldhallfilms
BFI Network Talent Executive - Benjamin Taylor
BFI Network Project Administrator - Niamh Coogan
Casting Director- @jadeemcc
Script Editor - Sarah Golding
DoP - @georgehaydockdop
1st AC - @martinwelsby
2nd AC - Joanna Mottram
Camera Trainee - @megthehuman_
Script Supervisor - @ericamurgia94
DIT - @ricardobattaglia
Stills Photographer - @a.coleborn
Gaffer - @a.coleborn
Spark - @narrenschyff
Spark - @scottdixon.cinematography
Sound Recordist - @gregscholesaudio
Production Designer - @ruta_creative_design
Art Department Assistants - Orla Lawn, @isthisluis @adamfdouglas2001
Costume Designer - @oliviarowland
HMU - @helenasmythe_hmua
1st AD - Alison McGuigan
Runners - @ella.vincenti, Seamus Farrell, Sam Gresty, Charlie Vjestica, Will Grant
Chaperone - @jo_ryder_
Stunt Coordinator - @kenanalifd
Editor - @dom_old
Sound Designer - @mabrodie
Composer - @jameswarburtonmusic
Colourist - @colourbymegwan
Colour Producer - Olivia Jessop @electric.theatre.collective
Online Editor - Jonny Moongate
Audio Description by - @bronte_james
Graphic Designer - @tasharghh
Camera Kit - @promotionhire
Lighting Kit - @tunstallfilmservices @drop_city_ltd @e.motionpicturesuk
'Mayfly' Short Film Festival Run Ends At UCLA
The remarkable sci-fi short film 'Mayfly' that I was honoured to be asked to score has recently completed its successful festival run culminating in a screening for UCLA's “Imagining Indigenous Cinema: New Voices, New Visions” program, where we had the privilege of sharing our work with a diverse audience.
My approach for the composition process was to take inspiration from the subject matter and story of the film - the creation of human-like robots with a one-day life-span (the same duration as the Mayfly)
I tried to imagine how it would sound to travel slowly through the interweaving strands of DNA as the "humans" were created - the shifting of time, uncertainty about where one strand ends and the next begins, keen that the music should feel like a tapestry and puzzle of cross-patch networks and systems blending into one another. I also hoped to represent the emotional longing the robots feel as they discover how they and their memories have been artificially created and how that fact impacts their understanding of existence and longing for a soul.
The process involved trying to reflect the technological part of the robots by creating sounds for the score as much as possible from one synthesizer; the Korg Minilogue XD processed through tape machines, then using my piano to layer simple melodies on top to reflect the humanity.
You can hear the score here, mastered by the wonderful Guy Davie:
Spotify:
Bandcamp:
Score for NBCUniversal's "Faceless"
I recently had the pleasure of working with What’s The Story Sounds? creating the original music for their new NBCUniversal true-crime podcast ‘Faceless’ – 7 x 30′ episodes released October 2022.
I created a lot of original sounds for the cues by recording the Taishogoto Japanese harp in various ways, and processing it through a number of Eurorack modules to find some unusual sounds and textures.
'Puff'
A short film I recently scored 'Puff' has been selected for Frightfest and will be showing at Leicester Square Cineworld across the weekend of 27th August.
Congratulations to @zarasymesfilm and the whole team who were all a pleasure to work with.
PUFF
Inspired by the theme 'The Five Senses’, a young pregnant woman dealing with anxiety and a constant sense that she is in danger struggles to get a good night sleep.
Made in participation with the BFI Network x BAFTA Crew scheme.
Starring: Victoria Emslie / @monhublot & Sam Benjamin / @sambenjaminnow
Writer/Director: Zara Symes / @zarasymesfilm
DOP: David Cawley / @davidcawleydop
Editor: Chloe Kilby / @chloe.kilby
Composer: James Warburton / @jameswarburtonmusic
Production Designer: Qingling Zhang / @qinglingart
Sound Designer: Ines Adriana / @_inesadriana_
Colourist: Vanya Tomova / @vanya.colour
HMUA: Lily Simmonds / @lilysimmonds_mua
Producer: Jasmine Morrison / @jasminmorrison, Zara Symes / @zarasymesfilm
‘A Moment of Calm’ from Ambient EP - Released via EMI PM
Looping Piano + Analogue Synths + Tape
Listen to the EP here: https://rcrft.co/reel/JamesWarburton/Minimalistambient
An amazing atmospheric, dystopian folk-horror short film that I recently scored.
(Please note: since release there has been an ongoing scriptwriters credit dispute, which the crew were unaware of when working on the film. If anyone has an issue with me hosting the film here, please just contact me directly on email, thank you)
Quote from the Directors:
“James captured organic sounds from the trees, branches and rivers of his local forest, stretching and distorting them through old tape decks to create a sense of the forest “breathing.” We quickly felt we both trusted James implicitly and allowed him the creative freedom to find the film’s voice and elevate the tone”