Isles Of Wonder
With the final chime of the 23 tonne bell still resonating around the Olympic Park and the stadium audience beginning to head home, the true echoes of the Opening Ceremony can be heard the world over as the event’s phenomenal musical score – produced by Underworld’s Rick Smith – gets a digital release the minute the event finishes.
Featuring many of the highlights of July 27th’s jaw-dropping show, including reworked tracks by the Chemical Brothers, F buttons, Blanck Mass, Arctic Monkeys, Emeli Sandé and Mike Oldfield as well as two huge new specially commissioned pieces by Underworld (the fifteen minute Pandemonium section soundtrack And I Will Kiss and Caliban’s Dream, the musical announcement of the Olympic torch’s arrival in the stadium).
Talking about the ideas that forged the music on Isles of Wonder, Rick says, “Music is Britain’s cultural heartbeat; it’s a perpetual act of revolutionary thought. From William Blake to the Beatles via the Clash and the Chemical Brothers, the soundtrack to our lives fizzes and hums all around us like a stray signal from a radio dial that your internal antenna just can’t help but tune into.”
The soundtrack is released as soon as the Ceremony finishes on all major digital platforms. A physical release via Decca Records will be available on August 6th. The soundtrack is split into two sections – the first represents the music from the main show; the second is the soundtrack to the athletes parade. It features reworked versions of Underworld classics (many of them by Scribble collaborator High Contrast) alongside a set of handpicked tracks that chosen specifically for the event.
The full Isles of Wonder CD tracklistings are:
CD1 – Isles of Wonder
1) Frank Turner – I Still Believe
2) Four Nations Choirs – Jerusalem, Flower of Scotland, Danny Boy, Bread of Heaven
3) LSO On Track Orchestra & François-Xavier Roth – Nimrod
4) Underworld feat. Dame Evelyn Glennie and the Pandemonium Drummers – And I Will Kiss
5) Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells / In Dulci Jubilo
6) LSO – Chariots of Fire
7) Blanck Mass & LSO – Sundowner
8) Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers – Radio Edit
9) A.R. Rahman feat. Jaspreet Jasz – Nimma Nimma
10) Emeli Sandé – Heaven
11) Emeli Sandé – Abide With Me
12) Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Live)
13) Arctic Monkeys – Come Together (Live)
14) Underworld feat. Dockhead Choir, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Only Men Aloud, Elizabeth Roberts, Esme Smith and Alex Trimble – Caliban’s Dream
CD2 – Welcome
1) Chemical Brothers – Galvanize
2) High Contrast – Moon Watcher
3) Underworld – Always Loved A Film – Instrumental
4) Underworld – Dark & Long (Dark Train) (Remix)
5) Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls
6) Underworld – Minneapolis (High Contrast Remix)
7) High Contrast – Reach
8) High Contrast – Ghost Dance
9) Underworld – Confusion – The Waitress (Darren Price & High Contrast Remix)
10) Wretch 32 feat. L – Traktor
11) F Buttons – Olympians (High Contrast Remix)
12) High Contrast – Can’t Stop This Fire
13) Underworld – Moon In Water (Instrumental Remix)
14) Underworld – Crocodile (High Contrast Remix)
15) U2 – Where the Streets Have No Name (High Contrast Remix)
16) High Contrast – For Years
17) Underworld – Dirty Epic (Darren Price & High Contrast Remix)
18) High Contrast – The Long Way Home
19) Underworld – Dark & Long (Darren Price & High Contrast Remix)
20) Underworld – Rez (High Contrast Remix)
21) David Bowie – Heroes
22) Chemical Brothers – Galvanize