Each cover looks like they’ve been airbrushed by a magic wand. The seams, the tattoo patterns, and the little cracks making their down the skull-like forehead tell so much without a single word accompanying them. Imperfections never looked so perfect.

As fans count down the days until the long-awaited seventh episode of the Star Wars saga, they’ll have something else to look forward to as the first six will be released as commemorative Blu-ray steelbooks for a limited time on November 10, with pre-orders beginning on August 7. Each film comes with beautiful new character packaging that include Darth Maul for The Phantom Menace, Yoda for Attack of the Clones, General Grievous for Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader for A New Hope, an Imperial stormtrooper for The Empire Strikes Back, and Emperor Palpatine for Return of the Jedi. Star Wars: The Complete Saga will also be released in newly-repackaged artwork on October 13.

In addition to the collectible steelbook packaging, each Blu-ray disc features existing audio commentary with George Lucas and the film crew as well as audio commentary from archival interviews with the cast and crew.

The Complete Saga includes all six feature films on Blu-ray, along with three additional discs containing more than 40 hours of previously-released extensive special features.

The French-German duo Dear Strange revives the spirit of New Wave with modern Electronica in a most captivating way on the debut album “Lonely Heroes.”

Some music just pulls the listener in from the very start. Dear Strange's epic Electro-anthem “Unicorn” is such a rare specimen which had the entire Out-Of-Line-staff hooked instantaneously. Now, the duo has completed work on the eagerly awaited debut and it is nothing short of a revelation. The powerful voice of Dorian E. reminds of Wave-legends like Siouxsie Sioux and envelops the listener in a maelstrom of emotions, while sound wizard Romain Frequency re-invents the feeling of the dark side of the Eighties with Minimal-Electro- and club-sound-elements coming from an armada of synthesizers. Walking a tight line between catchiness and atmosphere, retro-feeling and modernity, vivid emotions and explicit coolness, Dear Strange create a postmodern-futuristic scheme for Pop music with substantial depth. From the mighty Dark-Wave-prowess of the previously mentioned “The Unicorn”, via the fusion of French-Pop, German New Wave and modern club sounds in the German-language tune “Licht” to the breezy dance sound of the title track – Dear Strange always manage to impress, overwhelm and captivate, yet always remain accessible and full of floor-filling spirit. “Lonely Heroes” is the New-Wave-sound of the future!

1. The Unicorn

2. Lonely Heroes

3. Dystopia

4. I Can See Through This

5. Licht

6. Strangers As We Are

7. Between The Sunsets

8. Hand Full Of Nothing

9. Hysteria

10. Sweeter Than This

11. Minima Moralia

Solvent's sixth full-length LP, New Ways: Music from the Documentary I Dream of Wires, to receive a Deluxe Edition reissue, to coincide with I Dream Of Wires’ 2015 Netflix/iTunes/DVD release. This expanded edition features all-new artwork, and contains a full 74 minutes of additional bonus material, including previously unreleased Solvent music from the film, and new remixes from artists who were interviewed for the film, including Wrangler (feat Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder), Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey), Orphx, Martial Canterel, and more.

For the past few years, Solvent's obsession with synthesizers and electronic music has taken him on a new path, a journey deep into the world of modular synthesizers. Serving as producer, co-writer and interviewer for I Dream of Wires, a documentary about the history, demise and resurgence of the modular synthesizer, Solvent's Jason Amm has played a pivotal role in creating one of the most talked-about and revered electronic music documentaries in recent years. I Dream of Wires features interviews with influential electronic musicians including Trent Reznor, Gary Numan, Morton Subotnick, Vince Clarke, James Holden and Carl Craig, and after a long run of festival screenings, is set to debut August on iTunes and Netflix.

Before he came on board as producer, Solvent was commissioned by I Dream of Wires' director to create an original soundtrack for the film. Solvent took on the soundtrack LP as a challenge; determined to expand his synthesis palette with the new possibilities of modular, but with a firm focus on completing an engaging body of work that would stand on it’s own outside of the film. The result is New Ways, heard prominently throughout the film, and created, programmed and composed entirely on modular synthesizer systems. Through some generous loans, Solvent was given access to several large-format modulars during the course of the album, including a classic vintage Moog System 15. But the real revelation came from his own newly-acquired, contemporary Eurorack system; for the first time in many years, Solvent found himself thinking outside the "vintage synth" box.

The album title is not only a continuation of I Dream of Wires' nod to Numan. New Ways also pertains to Solvent's all-new modular synthesizer toolkit, introducing many new forms of synthesis to his arsenal of electronic sound. New Ways is Solvent's return to instrumental, headphone electronica. From the harsh, IDM/hiphop hybrid of Burn The Tables, to the Radiophonic menace of Sender, Solvent showcases the modular synthesizer as perhaps the ultimate tool for noisy, alien soundscapes. Alternately, Solvent's penchant for sweet, heartbreaking melodies can be heard clearly alongside the intricate modular sound design on standout cuts King Vincent, Pattern Recognition, and LPGs Over Hawaii. New Ways also includes I Dream of Wires' theme song, Themogene, a soaring piece of epic synthesizer minimalism that aptly opens the film.

Tracklist

Part 1: New Ways

01. Themogene (I Dream Of Wires Theme)

02. Transfer Function

03. Quantimations

04. Sender

05. Wow

06. Elephant Generators

07. Burn The Tables

08. Pattern Recognition

09. King Vincent

10. Bucket Brigade

11. LPGs over Hawaii

12. Transfer Function (reprise)

Part 2: Bonus Tracks + Remixes

13. Subharmonics

14. Clustering

15. Hadron

16. Small and Efficient

17. ModDub

18. Interstitial C

19. King Vincent (Wrangler remix)

20. Sender (Interval remix)

21. Elephant Generators (Chris Carter remix)

22. Burn The Tables (Orphx remix)

23. Quantimations (Bronze Teeth remix)

24. King Vincent (Martial Canterel remix)

25. Fasten

26. Tassels

In the late spring of 1982 an electro-pop band from Canada calling themselves Land of Giants released an independent 12" single called Cannibal Dolls / Seven Men. Land of Giants featured the talents of Henryck Jesiak, John Tucker, Anya Varda and Marc Wonnacott. The single went on to receive respectable radio play on college radio (where it reached #1) and on alternative radio stations in Canada and abroad. John Peel even played it on his BBC show!

The Toronto-based label Artoffact Records, who have also reissued vinyl with Canadian luminaries such as Front Line Assembly, Cevin Key, Psyche, Rational Youth, and Of Tanz Victims, will reissue Land of Giants' complete original works on vinyl this October.

In the 1980s, although interest in Land of Giants included the likes of producers Rusty Egan (Visage) and Midge Ure (Ultravox), the band never released any material beyond the original 2-track 12". Several tracks were recorded, however, amongst which a collaboration with Kenny McLean of Platinum Blond is a high-light. These tracks eventually made it onto a compilation CD, self-released by the band in 2008 but have yet to see a vinyl issue.

After its initial success as a dance floor hit, the original single garnered a small but extremely loyal following around the world, and little did the band know they would be considered pioneers of the "Cold Wave / Minimal Electronic" scene more than 30 years later. To the band's surprise, when they self-released their CD in 2008, praise came from the likes of Pitchfork, NOW Magazine, and Trendland.

The vinyl reissue on Artoffact Records is remastered and will also include 8 tracks that have never appeared on vinyl. A white vinyl edition limited to 100 copies will also be available.

The next edition of the Film Music & Sound Seminar will focus on 'British Film Music' and will take place on Thursday 22 October 2015 from 9h30 a.m. to 4h30 p.m.

Film Fest Gent annualy organises the Film Music Seminar in collaboration with the University College Gent, School of Arts and curated by dr. Martine Huvenne. Year after year, famous and important professionals of the film music industry teach participants about film music or sound design.

The first part of the seminar will be a conversation with composer George Fenton. We will focus on his longlasting collaboration with director Ken Loach, among other directors. The second part we will invite several British composers for a debate concerning the difference between collaborations for British and North American productions. Dr. Martine Huvenne will be leading the debate.

Dr. Martine Huvenne is researcher and lecturer sound and music for film at the Faculty of Audiovisual Arts of the School of Arts Gent, University College Ghent and LUCA School of Arts. She completed her PhD on “Sound as Inner Movement in the Transfer of Experience in film: a Phenomenological Approach” at the University of Amsterdam. During the years following a Laban training course with Rob Struyf (who himself was trained by Kurt Jooss), she organized dance workshops exploring the interaction between music/composition and movement /composition.

Martine Huvenne is also curator and co-organizer of the Ghent Film Fest’s annual seminar on music and sound design in film. She coordinates the curriculum development for a European Master of Arts in Sound (www.emasound.org) which is intended to start in August 2015.

Film Music & Sound Seminar- Thursday 22 October 2015 - 9:30 - Kinepolis

Tickets (€15 / €20)

GREAT BRITISH FILM MUSIC - Saturday 24 October 2015 - 20:00 - Bijloke

Tickets (€20 / €30)