Decoded Magazine presents Phil Kieran

To celebrate Phil Kieran’s first-ever original soundtrack for Netflix feature film ‘Nightride’, released 6th May via Phil Kieran Recordings (PKR). Phil dropped in with an exclusive mix for Decoded Magazine.

The film is a tense, darkly humoured, one-take thriller. Driven by the protagonists’ love for each other; while the world around them closes in, a drug dealer (Moe Dunford, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) desperately drives around Belfast trying to complete one last deal before going straight.  

The soundtrack album mirrors the storyline’s dense atmosphere, after all Phil wanted to create music that ‘you could listen to with your eyes closed and imagine the story’. A year in the making, this was a passion project of trial and error, with Phil finally sticking with the concept of designing ‘a coherent body of music, something that was as much a standalone album as just a musical accompaniment to a cue sheet’.  

The synth-wave, electro noir of the opening ‘Nightride Theme’ gives way to the creeping, rolling futurism of ‘The Thief’, a track already described as ‘Bladerunner-esque’. The slowly pulsing, haunting contours of ‘It’s all Gone Wrong’ sharpen into the stabbing synths of ‘Delorean Discord’, chiming techno of ‘Hells Bells’ and the meaty breaks and hi-hat heavy ‘The Magic shop’. The final track ‘All About the Balance’ by Phil’s live-act Le Carousel is a beautiful redemption song featuring vocals by Jess Brien and Jolene O’Hara.

Speaking of his move into composing for film, Phil Kieran says, ‘Its a natural transition, DJing involves giving shape and a voice to a night, creating continuum and momentum. The best DJs bring people on a journey, curating emotions. We create atmospheres; sometimes hypnotic or transcendent, other times its chaotic or euphoric. They’re both forms of storytelling. When I’m DJing I love playing longer sets, they have room for a narrative to play out’.  ‘Nightride’ is a stirring soundtrack but it’s recognisably a dancefloor album straight out of the Phil Kieran owner’s manual.   Jump in and enjoy the ride!

Tracklisting

1 – Phil Kieran – Nightride Theme (Opening)
2 – DJ Koze – Drone Me Up (&ME Remix)
3 – Phil Kieran Before & After Life (Mano Le Tough Remix)
4 – Mass Density Human – Dancing In Space (Hardway Bros Amorphous Remix0
5 – Galaxy Lane – Take Off
6 – Phil Kieran – Troy Theme
7 – Phil Kieran – Getting Away
8 – Phil Kieran – Delorean Discord
9 – Michael Mayer – Higher
10 –  Phil Kieran – Scream
11 – LiloCox – Ritmo & Melodia
12 – Burglar Tom – Your Silent Face
13 – Phil Kieran –  Unreleased
14 – Echowolf – Zustand
15 – Phil Kieran – Hells Bells
16 –  Phil Kieran – Nightride Theme (Original Mix)

Watch: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81553860
stream / download: Nightride Soundtrack | Nightride Soundtrack by Phil Kieran | Phil Kieran (bandcamp.com)


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About the Author

Loves long walks along the beach, holding hands and romantic 80's power ballads, partial to electronic music and likes to make the odd mix or two.