Antarctica (Vangelis album)

Antarctica is a soundtrack album by the Greek electronic composer Vangelis, released in 1983. It is the score of the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica ("Nankyoku Monogatari", lit. "South Pole Story") directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara,[2] and was nominated by the Japan Academy for "Best Music Score".

Antarctica
Film score by Vangelis
Released	1983 (1983)
Studio	Nemo Studios, London[1]
Genre	Electronic, film score
Length	45:29
Label	Polydor
Producer	Vangelis
Vangelis chronology
Chariots of Fire (1981) Antarctica (1983) Soil Festivities (1984)

Overview

For years, the soundtrack album was only available in Japan, appearing in other countries as a rare and expensive import, when in 1988 Polydor finally decided to release the album worldwide.

There are two different CD covers, one predominantly white and the other depicting a frame from the film with the dogs. In each CD, the unused cover serves as the back of the booklet.

Composition

Synthesisers of "Theme from Antarctica" conjure cold and desolation, but also a bright landscape not lacking in beauty. "Antarctica Echoes" has minimal melody showing the vastness of the landscape. "Song of White" is cold-sounding, while "The Other Side of Antartica" has a sinister sound. "Deliverance" is the theme that plays at the end of the film.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

Jim Brenholts of Allmusic described it as a very good "dynamic and dramatic set" of music, "conveying feelings of angst, isolation, and even desolation", but "does not convey the iciness that listeners would expect".

Track listing

All music is composed by Vangelis.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Theme from Antarctica"	7:29
2.	"Antarctica Echoes"	5:58
3.	"Kinematic"	3:50
4.	"Song of White"	5:17
5.	"Life of Antarctica"	5:59
6.	"Memory of Antarctica"	5:30
7.	"Other Side of Antarctica"	6:56
8.	"Deliverance"	4:30

Personnel

• Vangelis – composer of all instruments[1]

Production

• Vangelis – producer, arranger, sleeve design[1]
• Raine Shine – engineer
• Alwyn Clayden – sleeve design

References

1. Sleeve note from the 1988 Polydor album edition. Retrieved on August 22, 2016
2. "Rediscover Antartica". uDiscover. September 28, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
3. Brenholts, Jim. Antarctica at AllMusic