Field Music announce ‘Music For Drifters’ release

After first being commissioned to compose a new cinematic score for the 1929 documentary Drifters back in 2013, Field Music have decided to give it a full official release.

‘Music For Drifters’ - which was created to accompany the John Grierson film following a herring fishing fleet from the Shetland Islands to the North Sea - was first performed as part of a screening at Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival, before being given a limited edition run as part of this year’s Record Store Day. Now, after revisiting the recordings, the band have decided to release it in full on 24th July through Memphis Industries.

Speaking of the completely instrumental soundtrack, the group’s David Brewis have said: “I suppose we had some idea before we started that we’d write slow, spacious, atmospheric music in a classically “cinematic” style but the film just isn’t like that at all - it’s full of movement and collage and jump-cuts.

“We realised that if we echoed the rhythm, the momentum on-screen, then we could make something which fit the film and also sounded like us. Some sections solidified into something “composed” quite quickly and some sections have stayed quite spontaneous.”

The band - which, for this project, includes the original line-up of Peter and David Brewis alongside Andrew Moore - will also be performing the score live this June.

JUNE
27 Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea

Listen to ‘Casting Out Pts 2 and 3’ - the first of four excerpts made available so far - below.