2013 Synchrotones Awards – The Nominees

2013 Synchrotones’ Soundtrack Awards

Synchrotones’ Soundtrack Reviews celebrates what it believes are the best scores and composers of 2013. Find out who got nominated; and certainly stay tuned to find out who wins the first and yet uncoveted Synchrotones’ Soundtrack Awards. The winners will be announced on January 3, 2014.

Article by Pete Simons

Synchrotones announces its first (and hopefully annual) soundtrack awards for achievements in film- and film-related music. As the site only went live earlier this year, I am a bit short on categories and, indeed, reviews. I will try to catch up as soon as possible, where necessary.

I believe 2013 has been a great year for film music enthusiast. Not only have we seen the release (and re-release) of many great scores; there have also been a number of wonderful concerts around the globe. James Horner in Vienna; Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton-tour; Ilan Eshkeri’s The Snowman and the Snowdog concerts; Patrick Doyle at the Barbican, and so on. To top it off, the BBC celebrated film music all through the month September with a magnificent 3-part documentary presented by Neil Brand, concerts and (some very honest) composer interviews.

The nominees, listed alphabetically (unless I got confused…):

Romantic/Dramatic Score

– Austenland (Ilan Eshkeri)
– The Great Gatsby (Craig Armstrong)
– Romeo & Juliet (Abel Korzeniowski)
– Saving Mr. Banks (Thomas Newman)
– Summer in February (Benjamin Wallfisch)

Action/Adventure/Sci-fi Score
– 47 Ronin (Ilan Eshkeri)
– Gravity (Steven Price)
– Now You See Me (Brian Tyler)
– Rush (Hans Zimmer)
– Star Trek: Into Darkness (Michael Giacchino)

Animation & Young Audience

– The Croods (Alan Silvestri)
– Epic (Danny Elfman)
– Frozen (Christophe Beck)
– Planes (Mark Mancina)
– Zipi & Zape (Fernando Velazquez)

Television Score

– Arrow (Blake Neeley)
– Broadchurch (Olafur Arnalds)
– Frozen Planet (George Fenton)
– The Paradise (Maurizio Malagnini)
– Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope (Blake Neeley)

Trailer Album

– End Game (Full Tilt)
– Existence (Audiomachine)
– Tree of Life (Audiomachine)
– Dream Cinema (Larry Groupe)

Individual Cue

– “Beth’s Theme” from “Broadchurch” (Olafur Arnalds)
– “Big Idea” from “The Croods” (Alan Silvestri)
– “Breaking Through” from “Tree of Life” (Audiomachine)
– “Blood & Stone”, single (Audiomachine)
– “Copperhead Main Title” from “Copperhead” (Laurent Eyquem)
– “The Crypt (Part 1 and 2)” from “Romeo & Juliet” (Abel Korzeniowski)
– “Don’t Let Go” from “Gravity” (Steven Price)
– “February 1, 2003” from “Space Shuttle Columbia” (Blake Neeley)
– “The Forest River” from “The Desolation of Smaug” (Howard Shore)
– “Iron Man 3” from “Iron Man 3” (Brian Tyler)
– “Lamorma” from “Summer in February” (Benjamin Wallfisch)
– “Leafmen” from “Epic” (Danny Elfman)
– “Lost But Won” from “Rush” (Hans Zimmer)
– “A New Season” from “Winnie Mandela” (Laurent Eyquem)
– “Niin The Memory Hunter” from “Remember Me” (Olivier Deriviere)
– “Now You See Me” from “Now You See Me” (Brian Tyler)
– “The Paradise Lovebirds” from “The Paradise” (Maurizio Malagnini)
– “Planes” from “Planes” (Mark Mancina)
– “Romanze” from “Austenland” (Ilan Eshkeri)
– “The San Fran Hustle” from “Star Trek Into Darkness” (Michael Giacchino)
– “Saving Mr Banks End Title” from “Saving Mr Banks” (Thomas Newman)
– “Sent Here for a Reason” from “Man of Steel” (Hans Zimmer)
– “Seppuku” from “47 Ronin” (Ilan Eshkeri)
– “Stress Relief” from “Generation Iron” (Jeff Rona)
– “Zero Injuries Sustained” from “Elysium” (Ryan Amon)

Composer of the Year

– Audiomachine (Tree of Life, Existence, Blood & Stone)
– Abel Korzeniowski (Escape from Tomorrow, Romeo & Juliet)
– Blake Neely (Arrow, Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope)
– Brian Tyler (Now You See Me, Iron Man 3, Thor 2)
– Craig Armstrong (The Great Gatsby)
– Fernando Velazquez (The Last Days, Mama, Zip & Zap)
– Ilan Eshkeri (Austenland, Justin & The Knights of Valor, 47 Ronin)
– Laurent Eyquem (Copperhead, Winnie Mandela)
– Marco Beltrami (Carrie, A Good Day to Die Hard, Snowpiercer, Warm Bodies, The Wolverine, World War Z)
– Steven Price (Gravity, The World’s End)

The winners will be announced on Friday, January 3rd, 2014.

Notable omissions – There are a number of other scores that I greatly enjoyed this year, but that I haven’t been able to squeeze into a neat ‘top 5′. Sarah Class’ beautiful tv score for “Africa” for example. Also games scores such as Patrick Doyle’s “Puppeteer” and Olivier Deriviere’s “Remember Me“. Marco Beltrami’s “World War Z” and Ryan Amon’s “Elysium” just missed out on a spot in the Action category; whilst it also pains me leave Jeff Rona’s excellent “Generation Iron” and John Williams’ “The Book Thief” out of the running.

Also note that were the selection is concerned, I based it on the release date of the album. I am aware that George Fenton’s “Frozen Planet” and Maurizio Malagnini’s “The Paradise” were written for shows that aired prior to 2013, but their respective soundtrack releases only took place this year.

(c) 2013 Synchrotones.