Capcom® Partners with Sumthing Else Music Works to Release Video Game Soundtrack Catalog in North America

Sumthing Else Music Works, the premier label dedicated to licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, is delighted to announce that it has entered into a multiple-title licensing partnership with Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, to release the original soundtrack albums for best-selling franchises including Bionic Commando®,Resident Evil®, Dead Rising, Street Fighter® and Monster Hunter. Under the terms of the agreement, Sumthing Else Music Works will license Capcom's catalog for distribution on digital and physical formats in North America. Physical CDs will be distributed by Sumthing Distribution and digital releases will be available on Sumthing Digital http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102575607968&s=77&e=001JDmSPbYLuqw6XCAbp7mZhFJdnE1vrQHTcwLhz26tlH_cEObplmaNnEAtmrWNhEmGpCCqff5208OyZgF-HJmySPj4AzniV2DGSLnXGQFZIL31arfR0lDk9w== and iTunes®.

"We are very excited to partner with Capcom in bringing their video game soundtracks to the North American market," said Andy Uterano, President of Sumthing Else Music Works. "Our mission as a label is to support and enhance the lifestyle experience of the gamer by offering the latest and greatest soundtracks so they can enjoy and revisit their favorite gaming moments through the music."

Building on its reputation as the industry leader for licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, the deal with Capcom further expands Sumthing's growing list of partnerships with the world's top video game developers and publishers and continues its tradition as a distributor of high quality entertainment products for the gaming consumer.

The deal announced today with Capcom includes the following titles: Bionic Commando®, Resident Evil® 5, Street Fighter® IV, Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, Dark Void, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, and Spyborgs.

Wheelman? Video Game Soundtrack Features Original Musica by Rod Abernethy and Rednote Audio

Rod Abernethy and Rednote Audio (www.rednoteaudio.com) announce their involvement in the production of the authentic and edgy score for Wheelman?, the highly-anticipated driving game starring action-film megastar as an expert driver for hire. Wheelman is developed by Midway Studios - Newcastle Ltd in close association with Vin Diesel's video game production company Tigon Studios and is being published worldwide by Ubisoft® and Midway.

Combining spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline, Wheelman provides an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride through the winding streets of Barcelona, Spain. To enhance the experience of over-the-top car chases in this stylish setting, Rod Abernethy and Rednote Audio created the majority of the game's intense hybrid score blending Flamenco guitars, modern electronica and hi-octane orchestral music into a heart-pounding audio experience that matches the gameplay and on-screen sequences.

"Working on Wheelman was a very rewarding experience," said composer Rod Abernethy. "My goal with Wheelman was to create a cinematic, hard-hitting score that has a traditional Spanish feel with a powerful, modern style."

Wheelman is expected to ship to retailers March 24, 2009, in North America and has a scheduled street date of March 27, 2009, in Europe. Wheelman will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and for Windows PC. For more information on Wheelman, please visit http://www.wheelmangame.com/.

Rod Abernethy is known worldwide for his cutting-edge approach to composition, placing him at the top of the interactive composer A-list. He has created award winning scores for over 50 video games including Blacksite: Area 51, Star Trek: Legacy, Blazing Angels I & II, Transformers, Dead Head Fred, Silent Hunter 4 and The Hobbit that won G.A.N.G.'s Best Soundtrack of the Year Award in 2003. Most recently Rod helped develop the music and co-produced the live orchestral sessions for EA's sci-fi survival horror opus, Dead Space. His video game work includes collaboration with Harry Gregson-Williams on Flushed Away and veteran film composer Elmer Bernstein on the Wild Wild West: The Steel Assassin. Rod has recorded in major studios around the world for record industry giants Warner Bros., Elektra, Atlantic, and MCA Records and collaborated with legendary producers Paul Rothchild (The Doors, Bonnie Raitt), John Anthony (Roxy Music, Queen) and David Lord (Peter Gabriel, Tori Amos, Tears for Fears, The Pretenders). For more information visit www.rednoteaudio.com.

Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi has confirmed his attendance to V International Film Music Festival "City of Úbeda".

Best know for his collaborations with prominent filmmaker and Ghibli's animation studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, Joe Hisaishi is one of the most influential figures in the Japanese film industry and the creative genius behind over a hundred film scores.

His prolific career encompasses not only some of the very hallmarks of Anime since the early 1980s -such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1983), Princess Mononoke (1997) or the Academy Award-winning film Spirited Away (2001)- but also a number of succesful film and TV productions like Hon? no Arupen Rozu (1985) and most of Takeshi Kitano's-directed features including Sonatine (1993), Kikujiro (1999) and Brother (2000).

A versatile artist, Joe Hisaishi has further successfully developed a solo career as performer, music producer and record label owner in addition to working as an arranger, head of orchestra and occassional film director.

His talent has been widely recognized as the recepient of countless international honors including five Japanese Film Academy Awards, the Annie Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award and the Hong Kong Film Awards, among many other.

After writing last year's critically acclaimed score for Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, 2009 sees Joe Hisaishi returning to solo form with a new album -Another Piano Stories - The End of the World- as well as writing music to the French production Sunny et l'éléphant plus two more films in Japan: I'd Rather Be a Shellfish and the Academy Award-winning Picture in Foreign Language Departures.

A first-timer in Spain, Joe Hisaishi's presence in the Úbeda Film Music Festival is a luxury that few film music fans can miss!

The International Film Music Festival "City of Úbeda" is proud to announce composer Michael Giacchino's attendance at the event

The BSOSpirit Society, organizer of the International Film Music Festival "City of Úbeda", has confirmed that the American composer Michael Giacchino will be part of its V edition, to be held between July 16 and 19. The involvement of the this year's Oscar Awards musical director makes the Úbeda Festival looks even more distinguished, thus increasing its interest for film music enthusiasts and the general audience.

Michael Giacchino has become one of the most acknowledged film and TV composers in recent years. Born in New Jersey in 1967, it is through his partnership with Pixar Animation that he has been presented with prominent awards and nominations. In 2007 Ratatouille received an Academy Award nomination and ended up winning the Grammy Award, thus following the footsteps of his 2004 Grammy Award-winning score for The Incredibles. In the field of television, his renowned score for Lost has earned him both critical acclaim and honors like the 2006 ASCAP Award (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and an Emmy-Award for Best Dramatic Underscore for a Television Series in 2005.

Giacchino first caught the attention of the audience more than a decade ago for his extraordinary scores for videogames such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and the Medal of Honor series, which was a World War II simulation game created by Steven Spielberg for Dreamorks Interactive. John Williams himself praised the score that the American composer wrote for the Jurassic saga.

As of today, Michael Giacchino's latest film projects -Star Trek and Land of the Lost, both based on the popular television series - have created great anticipation. In addition, next June will see the release of Pixar's new film - Up - whose score has also been written by Úbeda's new guest.

The organization of the V International Film Music Festival "City of Úbeda" is happy to have been able to have one of the most talented and internationally- celebrated composers of this generation sign up for the event, and it hopes this will contribute to making Úbeda, once again, the most significant film music gathering in Spain.

Claudio Simonetti will attend the V International Film Music Festival "City of Ubeda"

It's quite obvious that Claudio Simonetti is just not the type of composer that you've grown accustomed to seeing in previous editions of the Festival.

We did already point out, both in our message board and through our official website, that this year we are trying to offer a wide range of options in order to satisfy all types of film music enthusiasts.

Claudio will certainly bring an entirely new angle to the event. He will talk about his experience with Goblin and, furthermore, he will share with us anecdotes about working with one of the most visionary and relevant European filmmakers: master Dario Argento.

Claudio will surely speak about writing music for horror films, thus offering another take on the genre along with that of his fellow colleague Christopher Young.

For further information about Simonetti, please visit the section devoted to our guests and don?t forget to try these other links also:

http://www.simonetti.org/

http://www.daemonia.it/

www.myspace.com/claudiosimonetti

www.myspace.com/daemonia

http://www.deepred.it/

http://www.goblin.org/

IFMCA announces its 2008 nominees for Scoring Excellence

WALL-E, the Pixar movie about a lone robot left on Earth, garnered the most nominations for the fifth annual International Film Music Critics Association Awards for Excellence. The animated film was nominated for four awards: Film Score of the Year, Best Score for an Animated Film, Best Film Composition (for "Define Dancing") and Composer of the Year for Thomas Newman (who also scored REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and TOWELHEAD in 2008).
Also nominated for Film Score of the Year are the acclaimed THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON by Alexandre Desplat; the highest grossing movie of the year, THE DARK KNIGHT by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer; the Abu Ghraib prison documentary STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE by Danny Elfman and the first score by veteran film composer John Williams in three years, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

Danny Elfman received the most individual nominations this year with seven: Composer of the Year; Film Score of the Year and Best Documentary Score for STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE; Best Drama Score for MILK; Best Action/Adventure Score and Best Individual Cue for WANTED ("Success Montage"); and Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Score for HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY.

In the category of Breakout Composer, the Association took notice of scores by up-and-coming composers Paul Cantelon (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and W.), Andrew Lockington (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and CITY OF EMBER), Nico Muhly (THE READER), Max Richter (WALTZ WITH BASHIR) and Atli Örvarsson (BABYLON A.D. and VANTAGE POINT).

The nominations by the IMFCA, which has members from around the world, reflect the Association?s global perspective. International score nominees include the latest Hayao Miyazaki animated film GAKE NO UE NO PONYO (PONYO ON THE CLIFF) by Joe Hisaishi, the comedy BIENVENUE CHEZ LES CH?TIS by Philippe Rombi, and the made-for-television movie PANE E LIBERTÀ by Ennio Morricone.

The International Film Music Critics will announce the winners of their 5th Annual Awards on February 18, 2009.

FILM CATEGORIES:

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat
- The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams
- Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman
- Wall-E, music by Thomas Newman

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- Alexandre Desplat
- Danny Elfman
- James Newton Howard
- Thomas Newman
- John Powell

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- Paul Cantelon, The Other Boleyn Girl and W.
- Andrew Lockington, Journey to the Center of the Earth and City of Ember
- Nico Muhly, The Reader
- Max Richter, Waltz with Bashir
- Atli Örvarsson, Babylon A.D. and Vantage Point

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, music by James Horner
- Che, music by Alberto Iglesias
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat
- Defiance, music by James Newton Howard
- Milk, music by Danny Elfman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
- Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis, music by Philippe Rombi
- Burn After Reading, music by Carter Burwell
- Fool's Gold, music by George Fenton
- Leatherheads, music by Randy Newman
- Tropic Thunder, music by Theodore Shapiro

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
- The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer
- Hancock, music by John Powell
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams
- Speed Racer, music by Michael Giacchino
- Wanted, music by Danny Elfman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, music by Harry Gregson-Williams
- City of Ember, music by Andrew Lockington
- Hellboy II: The Golden Army, music by Danny Elfman
- Inkheart, music by Javier Navarrete
- The Spiderwick Chronicles, music by James Horner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
- The Happening, music by James Newton Howard
- Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In), music by Johan Söderqvist
- Mirrors, music by Javier Navarrete
- Twilight, music by Carter Burwell
- Valkyrie, music by John Ottman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
- Bolt, music by John Powell
- Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff), music by Joe Hisaishi
- Horton Hears a Who!, music by John Powell
- Wall-E, music by Thomas Newman
- Waltz with Bashir, music by Max Richter

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos, music by The Cinematic Orchestra
- Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father, music by Kurt Kuenne
- Night, music by Cezary Skubiszewski
- Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman
- Tabarly, music by Yann Tiersen

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
- Cloverfield: "Roar! Overture", music by Michael Giacchino
- The Happening: "Be With You", music by James Newton Howard
- Valkyrie: "They'll Remember You" music by John Ottman and Lior Rosner
- Wall-E: "Define Dancing", music by Thomas Newman and Peter Gabriel
- Wanted: "Success Montage", music by Danny Elfman

OTHER CATEGORIES:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
- Battlestar Galactica (Season 4), music by Bear McCreary
- John Adams, music by Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli
- Merlin, music by Robert Lane
- Lost (Season 4), music by Michael Giacchino
- Pane e Libertà, music by Ennio Morricone

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
- Afrika, music by Wataru Hokoyama
- Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, music by Knut Avenstroup Haugen
- Gears of War 2, music by Steve Jablonsky
- Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, music by Chris Tilton
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, music by Mark Griskey

BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
- Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, music by Jerry Goldsmith; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)
- Body Double, music by Pino Donaggio; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)
- The Boys from Brazil, music by Jerry Goldsmith; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)
- Heavy Metal, music by Elmer Bernstein; produced by Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)
- The Matrix: The Deluxe Edition, music by Don Davis; produced by Don Davis and Robert Townson (Varèse Sarabande)

BEST RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
- El Cid, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine, produced by James Fitzpatrick (Tadlow)
- The Kentuckian/Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, music by Bernard Herrmann; conducted William Stromberg; produced by Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg (Tribute Film Classics)
- Odna (Alone), music by Dmitri Shostakovich; conducted by Mark Fitzgerald, produced by Hans-Bernhard Bätzing (Naxos)
- She, music by Max Steiner; conducted William Stromberg; produced by Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg (Tribute Film Classics)
- An Unfinished Life - Piano Sketches, music by Christopher Young; performed by Dave Guili, produced by Flavio Motalla and Christopher Young (BSX)

BEST COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET
- Gangs of New York/The Journey of Natty Gann/The Scarlet Letter, music by Elmer Bernstein; produced by Robert Townson (Varèse Sarabande)
- Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection, music by John Williams; produced by Laurent Bouzereau (Concord)
- Le Cinéma de Georges Delerue, music by Georges Delerue; produced by Stéphane Lerouge (Universal Music France)
- MGM Soundtrack Treasury, various composers; produced by Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)
- Superman: The Music, various composers; produced by Mike Matessino and Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
- Film Score Monthly
- Intrada
- La-La Land
- MovieScore Media
- Varèse Sarabande

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.
The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct "Film Music Critics Jury" by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a regular contributor to filmmusicradio.com and filmmusicmag.com, and the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media.

Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 50 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Dario Marianelli's ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard's LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams' MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino's THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of past awards, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org/ or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.

Halo Trilogy - The Complete Original Soundtracks released

Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, presents Halo Trilogy -The Complete Original Soundtracks featuring the award-winning original music scores by Bungie Audio Director Martin O'Donnell and Co-Composer Michael Salvatori plus four preview tracks from the forthcoming real-time strategy game Halo Wars, composed by Ensemble Studios Audio Director Stephen Rippy.

Halo Trilogy - The Complete Original Soundtracks is released Dec. 2, 2008, to retail outlets through Nile Rodgers' Sumthing Else Music Works record label http://www.sumthing.com/, and for digital download at http://www.sumthingdigital.com/.

Halo Trilogy - The Complete Original Soundtracks contents:
Disc 1 -Halo: Combat Evolved Original Soundtrack.
Disc 2 -Halo 2 Original Soundtrack Volume Two.
Disc 3 -Halo Wars Bonus DVD; Four preview tracks from the upcoming soundtrack presented in 5.1. A behind-the-scenes look at the recording sessions set to the Halo Wars main theme music. "Five Long Years" Opening cinematic of the Halo Wars campaign.
Disc 4 -Halo 3 Original Soundtrack.
Disc 5 -Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (cont'd).

Originally created by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the Halo franchise is exclusive to the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment systems and is optimized for the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. Halo 3 was released in 37 countries and 17 languages. To date, more than 24.8 million copies of the games in the Halo trilogy have been sold worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.halo3.com/.

Based on the legendary Halo universe, Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game for the Xbox 360 developed by Ensemble Studios. In campaign mode, command the armies of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire, with familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Halo Wars immerses players in an early period of the storied Halo universe, allowing you to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox. For more information visit http://www.halowars.com/.