| Musique de film |
When the highly protectionist European cinema takes center stage, there are always music tracks that have contributed to the success of the films. This is especially true when it comes to the 1960s and 1970s, during which many films, thanks to their quality and originality, managed to internationalize themselves in this period. Since then, only a few rare films have succeeded internationally, mainly for their aesthetics, as the storylines have become increasingly uninteresting.
The sound of the 1970s in Europe resonates as a joyful and festive period, which indeed it was. Therefore, “The Belgian Soundtrack” can bring back memories of your bell-bottom pants and apple-green mini skirts if you’re having a themed party with friends, as this album is quite danceable. For Europeans, you will likely recognize most of the music without necessarily identifying the films as Belgian. Cha-cha-cha, bolero, pop music – it’s all there.
“The Belgian Soundtrack” was born out of a fortuitous adventure. Former film journalist Jan Temmerman contacted us one day, offering a treasure trove of vintage original soundtrack albums he had discovered in his attic”, says Robin Broos. “With 650 feature films, most of them unknown titles, we embarked on an extraordinary quest – listening to each one, totaling an impressive 29,250 minutes. It was like watching the original Star Wars trilogy 78 times!”
What began as a quest quickly turned into an intriguing investigation fueled by curiosity. Along the way, Broos and Peeters uncovered dozens of treasures, delved into the stories of obscure composers and musicians, and witnessed a series of enigmatic films. “We encountered an abundance of (in)decent nudity that we could never have imagined”, laughs Tom Peeters. The result of their explorations is “The Belgian Soundtrack,” a carefully curated collection of funky, melodic, and catchy tracks, each created exclusively for the big screen and featuring an unexpected Belgian connection.
Therefore, you can acquire a particularly surprising and high-quality audio document, which is a favorite of the editorial teams at Bayou Blue Radio and Paris-Move. I especially recommend the track “Dancing” by Gerard Mores.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, September 22nd 2023
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