Empyrean Robin Foster
Album info
Album-Release:
2016
HRA-Release:
10.02.2017
Album including Album cover Booklet (PDF)
- 1 Hercules Climbs the White Mountain 03:53
- 2 Electronic Weapons 03:02
- 3 Everlast (feat. Ndidi O) 03:23
- 4 Roma 03:34
- 5 Argentina 02:52
- 6 Empyrean 04:50
- 7 Vauban 02:52
- 8 Man on Fire 03:44
- 9 The Hardest Party (feat. Pamela Hute) 07:11
- 10 In Ghent 03:54
- 11 The Hardest Party (feat. Pamela Hute) [Archive Remix] (Bonus Track) 06:03
- 12 Everlast (Nebaon) [feat. Madelyn Ann] (Bonus Track) 03:22
Info for Empyrean
British film composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robin Foster’s intensely brooding music brings an intangible but undeniable tension, packed with lush cinematic textures, electronic loops and airy synths, all driven by waves of guitars. Hints of Talk Talk, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, New Order and even The Smiths can be detected as Foster’s music floats back and forth between subtlety and intensity. Other influences include his passion for cinema; film directors such as Michael Mann, Ridley Scott and David Lynch, film score composer Ennio Morricone and director/composer John Carpenter among others are a huge inspiration to his "cinematic post-rock".
Following his 2008 debut album, ‘Life Is Elsewhere’, and its 2011 follow-up ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’ (featuring collaborations with singers Dave Pen of Archive/BirdPen and Ndidi O), Foster wanted his third studio album to pay homage to the remote area of north-western France where he lives. Inspired by the natural beauty and isolation of Brittany’s Crozon peninsula and its beautiful and isolated coastline, ‘PenInsular’ was his "postcard from the edge of the world" and was recorded in Robin’s studio in Camaret and mixed by Jim Spencer in Manchester (New Order, Oasis, The Vaccines). Foster then formed the duo We Are Bodies with Dave Pen and their self-titled debut album was released in early 2015 via Membran/Sony.
Another close collaboration, with Oscar nominated British writer/film director Sean Ellis, has led to several soundtracks for film and TV. Foster’s soundtrack for Ellis’ third feature film, ‘Metro Manila’, was nominated for the 2014 World Soundtrack Awards public choice award, while their relationship has continued with ‘Anthropoid’ (starring Jamie Dornan & Cillian Murphy), which was released worldwide in 2016. Foster has also recently scored the original music to the hugely successful French film ‘Good Luck Algeria’ (‘Good Luck Sam’ in the UK), directed by Farid Bentoumi. Foster’s brand new studio album, ‘Empyrean’, follows on from ‘PenInsular’ as a primarily instrumental work, although it does feature the vocal talent of singer Pamela Hute (on the single ‘The Hardest Party’) as well as Ndidi O. Once again mixed by Jim Spencer and mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios, Foster describes ‘Empyrean’ as his “photographic memories of instances in time”. ‘Empyrean’ is preceded by the EP ‘The Hardest Party’. Aside from its title track, it features a cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ translated into the Breton language by Madelyn Ann (who also sings this version of the Kate Bush classic), the unreleased ‘Vadorlust’, ‘The Hardest Party - Anonymous Bob Remix’ and a cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’ (featuring Christian Geisselmann), which has been part of Foster’s live set.
Robin Foster, vocals, all instruments
Robin Foster
Hypnotic and hugely appealing, Foster’s intensely brooding instrumentals bring an intangible but undeniable tension, packed with lush cinematic textures, electronic loops, airy synths and all driven by waves of guitars.
Hints of Talk Talk, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Radiohead, New Order or even The Smiths can be noted as can his passion for cinema, film directors such as Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice), Ridley Scott (Bladerunner), David Lynch, film score composer Ennio Morricone (For a few dollars more) amongst others are an inspiration to his “cinematic post-rock”.
It's fitting that he has been providing soundtracks from his albums for popular US shows One Tree Hill, HBO, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Criminal Minds, French TV shows and has penned tracks for global brands such as Hugo Boss, Barclays, Le Coq Sportif, Septwolves, Sundek, Kenneth Cole and most recently Cartier.
After the critically acclaimed debut album “Life Is Elsewhere” in 2008 Robin went on to release “Where do we go from here?” at the end of 2011, featuring exciting collaborations with singer Dave Pen (BirdPen and Archive) and Ndidi O. Critics once again heralded the album, and Robin spent the next year touring the album to captivated audiences all over France, Belgium and Germany.
His close collaboration with Oscar nominated British writer/film director Sean Ellis has lead to soundtracks for prestigious global brand names such as Hugo Boss and Cartier. Following the success of his second album Robin turned his attention to penning the soundtrack to Ellis’ award winning film, Metro Manila. The action thriller recently won the highly prestigious Audience World Dramatic award at this year's Sundance Film Festival, USA (January 2013) followed by 3 BIFA awards and a BAFTA nomination. Empire magazine has described the film as, ‘one of the best films of the festival, poetic, authentic and damn near perfect’.
Upon completion of the Metro Manila soundtrack Robin got down to work on a new project, this time much more personal: ‘PenInsular’, mixed by Jim Spencer in Manchester (New Order, Oasis, The Vaccines), is named after the remote Crozon peninsula in western France, and often refers to the savage landscape (Pen Had, Pen Hir, Kerloc’h). Robin calls this album, which perfectly captures the essence of this beautiful and isolated coast, his ‘postcard from the edge of the world’.
Robin is currently completing his fourth studio album and the new project with Archive frontman Dave Pen, "We Are Bodies"once again produced by Robin and mixed by Jim Spencer.
Robin Foster's soundtrack to Metro Manila was recently nominated for the audience award at this years prestigious World Soundtrack Awards 2014, making it to the last five out of over a hundred films, including many Hollywood blockbusters ...which is quite cool isn't it ;)
Booklet for Empyrean