Antarctica (Vangelis album)


Antarctica is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1983. It is the score of the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara, and was nominated by the Japan Academy for "Best Music Score".

Overview

For years, the soundtrack album was only available in Japan, appearing in other countries as a rare and expensive import, when in 1988 Polydor finally decided to release the album worldwide.
There are two different CD covers, one predominantly white and the other depicting a frame from the film with the dogs. In each CD, the unused cover serves as the back of the booklet.

Composition

Synthesisers of "Theme from Antarctica" conjure cold and desolation, but also a bright landscape not lacking in beauty. "Antarctica Echoes" has minimal melody showing the vastness of the landscape. "Song of White" is cold-sounding, while "The Other Side of Antartica" has a sinister sound. "Deliverance" is the theme that plays at the end of the film.

Reception

Jim Brenholts of Allmusic described it as a very good "dynamic and dramatic set" of music, "conveying feelings of angst, isolation, and even desolation", but "does not convey the iciness that listeners would expect".

Track listing

Personnel

;Production