David Bridie- Original Soundtrack for the TV-Series RAN (Remote Area Nurse)


The best soundtracks are the ones that outside of accompanying the film do stand up individually. This might be easier achieved by scores for movies than the ones for television as often those rely far heavier on incidental music rather than compositions. This TV-soundtrack, written for the Australian series about a young nurse sent to the remoteness of the Torres Strait Islands, finds another way of making it on its own- it's a little cultural exploration of this part of Melanesia, comprised of more than 100 islands situated inbetween the top north of Australia and New Guinea.
Although prolific musician David Bridie is credited with the musical directorship of this album (in fact he is more like the recording engineer and arranger), it is actually a various artists-album. The majority of the tracks are carried by chants, instrumental and choral pieces recorded with traditional artists of which notably dancer/choreographer Albert David (chants and dancing rhythms) and singer/guitarist/ukulele-player King Kabu should be named. Additional performers are The Triffids' 'Evil' Graham Lee on pedal steel guitar, acclaimed Torres Strait Island-songwriter Seaman Dan, two assembled choirs and Pius Wasi, Ben Hakalitz and Tim Cole, members of Not Drowning Waving of which Bridie is a founding member also. The NDW-connection is obvious throughout this album as references can be made to their album Tabaran, which explored the musical culture of Papua New Guinea with some added enhancement by the band.
RAN has that same principle: traditional music from the area, in some cases augmented to a higher, little more melancholic level through the use of keyboards without getting too schmaltzy or losing the authenticity of the music. Bridie has the good sense to know where and when he can add his treatments, letting the music breathe through clear recordings, add a little soundeffect here and there (the bush, church bells, the sea) but mostly to be the guide through the fascinating variety of music these islands have spawned over the years. That is this soundtracks major strength- not only do we hear the so popular stringband music but several varieties in choral music- the descending tonality of Tag Mauki, call and response-chant and even the ole Halleluja pass by. There's percussive dance, the lone sound of a bamboo flutes, folksong and even speed ukelele. The short pedal steel-track It Hurts here (And There) doesn't sound out of place here either. Only the remix of Oro, the opening theme leans too close to Deep Forest-like tendencies and sounds out of sync with the natural rest. There's 27 tracks, most clocking in below 3 minutes and yet it doesn't feel like it's a chopped up affair. The momentum doesn't get broken, just replaced with the next movement.
You don't have to be an anthropologist or to know anything about the music to enjoy it. The music is easygoing and as colourful as the many snapshots you can make of the Torres Strait Islands themselves. Some people might say that the additions Bridie has made to the music are superfluous and that the original recordings he made will stand up to this album at any time; that might be but the fusion of western technique with traditional music on this particular album has just given more depth to the composition as well as a more enhanced aural pleasure for the occupational interested listener- here you can feel the waves roll off your feet and since the sea is such a vital part of these peoples lives, the more accurate the total picture becomes.
See, it's not even necessary to mention the TV-series.