Interview with Chris Franke from 2001

[rattymouse]

I haven't heard a single decent soundtrack though. Terribly cliched orchestral work as far as I see. A huge waste of time and money.

I made an mp3 cdr out of the music here http://archive.firstones.com/musicofb5/music.html and seriously, there is nothing worthwhile, except for one electronic song. The orchestral stuff is totally useless, but I really like some of his other works, albums like Klemania, Raven, The London Concert and The Celestine Prophecy.

This "discussion" is about the soundtracks. I find his few solo albums to be quite good.

[JD]

*blather snipped*

Names withheld to protect the innocent. All pulled from the archives.




Purchased the soundtrack to Universal Soldier some years ago and was hugely disappointed. Have never yet gone near any of the Babylon stuff and have no plans to do so in the immediate century.....



It's a shame he's (Franke) gone down this road musically IMHO



Great yet more of Chriszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz music...sorry, not for me




Such a waste from a once talented individual. He is a crushing bore now.



"Such a waste from a once talented individual "



Couldn't agree more !



the powerful lure of the hollow wood dollar, it doth dull and temper even the greatest talent.......



I haven't heard a single decent soundtrack though. Terribly cliched orchestral work as far as I see. A huge waste of time and money.

Jeez are you really this stupid ?? once again you ignored the questions and produced pointless evidence in greater proportions ....so again in response to your post I quote from my last post :

***What difference does this make ? how many Hollywood directors or producers are included in this "VAST MAJORITY" you speak of ? Why does the opinion of a small amount of TD fans decide whether everything he has done and achieved post TD, including substantial wealth and a CV that most composers would kill for, make his career "wasted" ****

Answer that point please, dont do anything else ...Answer the question above and stop making an utter winner of yourself.

[Pertou]

Btw the idea wasn't to start a 'who looks better' thread....it's just the most up to date photo of Chris I've seen

This one is from 2004




Note to JD. Will you please be so kind and stop your defamatory rhetorics, immediately!

[timer]

This looks quite a heated debate ! please try and not insult each other !

[Michael66]

Which DJ was it who was quoted as saying he tries not to ever meet his heroes because he's always disappointed with the real person ??? was it John Peel ?

Yes I think it was Jon Peel after David Bowie completely ignored him at a party or something like that!

Btw. Christian Rosenkreuz was the founder of the Rosicrucian order and if you look at the Mars Polaris artwork there's Rosicrucian symbology in the seven spheres or globes of the inlay print. Quote from here: "The seven Globes, A to G, inclusive, are the field of Evolution. The Moon is the field of Disintegration."
You'll also find our old friend, the land of Hyperborea there in this text. But reading to much of this stuff makes my head hurt ...

And I remember this is a thread about the master of darkness, Chris Franke ...

Need a beer now.

[rattymouse]

*blather snipped*

Names withheld to protect the innocent. All pulled from the archives.




Purchased the soundtrack to Universal Soldier some years ago and was hugely disappointed. Have never yet gone near any of the Babylon stuff and have no plans to do so in the immediate century.....



It's a shame he's (Franke) gone down this road musically IMHO



Great yet more of Chriszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz music...sorry, not for me




Such a waste from a once talented individual. He is a crushing bore now.



"Such a waste from a once talented individual "



Couldn't agree more !



the powerful lure of the hollow wood dollar, it doth dull and temper even the greatest talent.......



I haven't heard a single decent soundtrack though. Terribly cliched orchestral work as far as I see. A huge waste of time and money.

Jeez are you really this stupid ?? once again you ignored the questions and produced pointless evidence in greater proportions ....so again in response to your post I quote from my last post :

***What difference does this make ? how many Hollywood directors or producers are included in this "VAST MAJORITY" you speak of ? Why does the opinion of a small amount of TD fans decide whether everything he has done and achieved post TD, including substantial wealth and a CV that most composers would kill for, make his career "wasted" ****

Answer that point please, dont do anything else ...Answer the question above and stop making an utter winner of yourself.

Answer: All the difference in the WORLD.

[JD]

*blather snipped*

Names withheld to protect the innocent. All pulled from the archives.




Purchased the soundtrack to Universal Soldier some years ago and was hugely disappointed. Have never yet gone near any of the Babylon stuff and have no plans to do so in the immediate century.....



It's a shame he's (Franke) gone down this road musically IMHO



Great yet more of Chriszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz music...sorry, not for me




Such a waste from a once talented individual. He is a crushing bore now.



"Such a waste from a once talented individual "



Couldn't agree more !



the powerful lure of the hollow wood dollar, it doth dull and temper even the greatest talent.......



I haven't heard a single decent soundtrack though. Terribly cliched orchestral work as far as I see. A huge waste of time and money.

Jeez are you really this stupid ?? once again you ignored the questions and produced pointless evidence in greater proportions ....so again in response to your post I quote from my last post :

***What difference does this make ? how many Hollywood directors or producers are included in this "VAST MAJORITY" you speak of ? Why does the opinion of a small amount of TD fans decide whether everything he has done and achieved post TD, including substantial wealth and a CV that most composers would kill for, make his career "wasted" ****

Answer that point please, dont do anything else ...Answer the question above and stop making an utter winner of yourself.

Answer: All the difference in the WORLD.

Why does the opinion of these fans decide whether every thing he has done and achieved post TD, including substantial wealth and a CV that most composers would kill for, make his career "wasted" ?

[Pertou]

Which DJ was it who was quoted as saying he tries not to ever meet his heroes because he's always disappointed with the real person ??? was it John Peel ?

Yes I think it was Jon Peel after David Bowie completely ignored him at a party or something like that!

Btw. Christian Rosenkreuz was the founder of the Rosicrucian order and if you look at the Mars Polaris artwork there's Rosicrucian symbology in the seven spheres or globes of the inlay print. Quote from here: "The seven Globes, A to G, inclusive, are the field of Evolution. The Moon is the field of Disintegration."
You'll also find our old friend, the land of Hyperborea there in this text. But reading to much of this stuff makes my head hurt ...

And I remember this is a thread about the master of darkness, Chris Franke ...

Need a beer now.

I understood the beer thing, the rest is 'Mornington' to me!

[Michael66]

Regarding his music, IMHO Chris Franke had one substantial creative moment post-TD, and that's "Frost Ruby" from "Perry Rhodan: Pax Terra" ... The rest, I wouldn't buy again.

[24db]

Btw the idea wasn't to start a 'who looks better' thread....it's just the most up to date photo of Chris I've seen

This one is from 2004

Nice one Jacob. Btw the quote about not meeting your heroes comes from John Peel, he did meet Edgar and Monica and they got on well. The full quote and article is on my blog

[JD]

Regarding his music, IMHO Chris Franke had one substantial creative moment post-TD, and that's "Frost Ruby" from "Perry Rhodan: Pax Terra" ... The rest, I wouldn't buy again.

I think there have been more. 'Universal Soldier' in its day was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first mostly Virtual Orchestra scores done for film. He created a sound that was copied widely in films and documentaries for years.
Babylon 5 had some wonderful themes too , also Music for Films 1+2...but before we all judge his soundtrack music, try to remember that these guys not only have to work to stupid deadlines, they are also at the mercy of directors who have a specific idea for the music and often want to compose the music themself but using the hands of the composer.

[24db]

Regarding his music, IMHO Chris Franke had one substantial creative moment post-TD, and that's "Frost Ruby" from "Perry Rhodan: Pax Terra" ... The rest, I wouldn't buy again.

I think there have been more. 'Universal Soldier' in its day was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first mostly Virtual Orchestra scores done for film. He created a sound that was copied widely in films and documentaries for years.
Babylon 5 had some wonderful themes too , also Music for Films 1+2...but before we all judge his soundtrack music, try to remember that these guys not only have to work to stupid deadlines, they are also at the mercy of directors who have a specific idea for the music and often want to compose the music themself but using the hands of the composer.

Chris's big 'idea' was to post process ALL of the orchestra, firstly to record them tutti (all at once) and then get everyone to do their parts again (solo)...each part was then processed through various filters (Wave frame), synths or effects to make the music more dramatic...carefully mix them, and then and only then to add the electronics (if the score needed it). No comment from me about the outcome of this process, however it was something new, and strangely enough the only person who was working even approximately in the same way was Chris's old friend Hans Zimmer.

[JD]

Regarding his music, IMHO Chris Franke had one substantial creative moment post-TD, and that's "Frost Ruby" from "Perry Rhodan: Pax Terra" ... The rest, I wouldn't buy again.

I think there have been more. 'Universal Soldier' in its day was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first mostly Virtual Orchestra scores done for film. He created a sound that was copied widely in films and documentaries for years.
Babylon 5 had some wonderful themes too , also Music for Films 1+2...but before we all judge his soundtrack music, try to remember that these guys not only have to work to stupid deadlines, they are also at the mercy of directors who have a specific idea for the music and often want to compose the music themself but using the hands of the composer.

Chris's big 'idea' was to post process ALL of the orchestra, firstly to record them tutti (all at once) and then get everyone to do their parts again (solo)...each part was then processed through various filters (Wave frame), synths or effects to make the music more dramatic...carefully mix them, and then and only then to add the electronics (if the score needed it). No comment from me about the outcome of this process, however it was something new, and strangely enough the only person who was working even approximately in the same way was Chris's old friend Hans Zimmer.

do you happen to have this interview in your archive ? be interested in reading it ?
I really liked the end result because it sounded synthetic and exact enough to be almost electronic ...

[24db]

I think there have been more. 'Universal Soldier' in its day was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first mostly Virtual Orchestra scores done for film. He created a sound that was copied widely in films and documentaries for years.
Babylon 5 had some wonderful themes too , also Music for Films 1+2...but before we all judge his soundtrack music, try to remember that these guys not only have to work to stupid deadlines, they are also at the mercy of directors who have a specific idea for the music and often want to compose the music themself but using the hands of the composer.

Chris's big 'idea' was to post process ALL of the orchestra, firstly to record them tutti (all at once) and then get everyone to do their parts again (solo)...each part was then processed through various filters (Wave frame), synths or effects to make the music more dramatic...carefully mix them, and then and only then to add the electronics (if the score needed it). No comment from me about the outcome of this process, however it was something new, and strangely enough the only person who was working even approximately in the same way was Chris's old friend Hans Zimmer.

do you happen to have this interview in your archive ? be interested in reading it ?
I really liked the end result because it sounded synthetic and exact enough to be almost electronic ...

No sorry JD, it's a private Audio interview with Chris (circa 1991/92), I'd like to transcribe it one day, but it's long, something like 45 or 50 minutes. Last time I tried something similar was with another recording (also with Chris) made on the morning of the Dominion concert in 1982, to cut a long story short it took ages and the final word file was over 24 pages long....Chris's 'unusual' English also didn't help.

Getting back to that interview, it's interesting to hear Chris's comments on not only leaving TD, his move to the States, working in Hollywood (some of the projects he tried to win...and lost), his recording processes...but the real clincher (for me) was that he 'planned' to do only one thing at a time...BUT...then to change and only do live work...and then only to do solo albums. Sadly you can see that never happened. For me, it's the great 'what if' that sadly will never be answered...or at least...so far!

[JD]

Chris's big 'idea' was to post process ALL of the orchestra, firstly to record them tutti (all at once) and then get everyone to do their parts again (solo)...each part was then processed through various filters (Wave frame), synths or effects to make the music more dramatic...carefully mix them, and then and only then to add the electronics (if the score needed it). No comment from me about the outcome of this process, however it was something new, and strangely enough the only person who was working even approximately in the same way was Chris's old friend Hans Zimmer.

do you happen to have this interview in your archive ? be interested in reading it ?
I really liked the end result because it sounded synthetic and exact enough to be almost electronic ...

No sorry JD, it's a private Audio interview with Chris (circa 1991/92), I'd like to transcribe it one day, but it's long, something like 45 or 50 minutes. Last time I tried something similar was with another recording (also with Chris) made on the morning of the Dominion concert in 1982, to cut a long story short it took ages and the final word file was over 24 pages long....Chris's 'unusual' English also didn't help.

Getting back to that interview, it's interesting to hear Chris's comments on not only leaving TD, his move to the States, working in Hollywood (some of the projects he tried to win...and lost), his recording processes...but the real clincher (for me) was that he 'planned' to do only one thing at a time...BUT...then to change and only do live work...and then only to do solo albums. Sadly you can see that never happened. For me, it's the great 'what if' that sadly will never be answered...or at least...so far!

I heard that Mark Shreeve sent his first Redshift CD to Chris to see if Sonic Images would release it like they did with Nocturne, but he apparently just said 'nah, its all been done before, there's no market for it anymore'. so I wouldnt hold any hopes that one day Chris will turn back to sequencer based TD type music ....unless of course he tries to cash in on it one day ...if you can really cash in on this kind of music anymore anyway ?