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Capturing the alien landscape of Egor Abramenko's 2020 film "Sputnik," composer Oleg Karpachev utilizes the haunting aspects of earthly instruments to bring haunting sounds to Egor's bleak vision. While the film is three years old at this point, this is the first time the soundtrack has been released, so those clamoring to own this wonderful and eerie soundtrack have had their prayers answered. And for those that haven't caught the film (and therefore heard this fantastic audio), Cold Spring has brought this to our ears and opened up a new world (both literally and figuratively).

Cold Spring has been making more strides into the soundtrack world lately, and it's really paying off. Outside of connecting music fans to movies that share an aesthetic and vibe, it's also exposing these fans to many artists/composers that they may have never heard before. Karpachev's Sputnik is a lush, synth and string based composition that captures the essence of space from the jump (even with its title..."Space"). But to adequately capture the sci-fi horror of "Sputnik," he needs to add more tension and other varied elements. Thankfully, he's well prepared for this, and quickly adds differing atmospheres and textures to his work. Utilizing propulsive notes or dark, brooding synth squalls, Karpachev is able to build tension and terror just by taking the composition on a perpendicular turn. Even without the film playing in front of the listener, one can understand what is being presented on-screen just by the audio cues and emotions alone. Playing a soundtrack while being unfamiliar with the film to which it's attached can often be difficult; one loses half of the vital information attached to the work in question. However, this can often be overcome by more intensely written compositions that focus much of the emotion instead of feeling like filler score. This is definitely easier to find on independent movies, as they eschew the unfortunately pervasive approach of using well known songs to set the mood vs score, writing, and cinematography (but that's another story for another day). Karpachev's Sputnik is a little more difficult, as the songs are very short and there is a fair amount of fading in/out between, but overall, the engaging tones and textures presented play very well as one's personal soundtrack for the day, and will get spun again and again.

Stark, brooding, and lush, Oleg Karpachev's soundtrack to 2020's "Sputnik" is a great composition that helps to build atmosphere, tension, and drama. Even without the accompanying film, the soundtrack is great to listen to and certainly will sell a number of listeners on the film itself. Available now on Cold Spring, this will make a fitting soundtrack to the winter ahea