From Edwin Wendler's Facebook page:
"Today, I am very lucky to announce the soundtrack album release of my music for the movie, Unnatural, on Varèse Sarabande Records. First and foremost, I’d like to thank Peter Hackman for his cheerful can-do attitude and his masterful problem-solving skills, every step of the way. Supervising Peter at Varèse Sarabande was one of the most experienced producers in the field of indie album releases, the amazing Cary E. Mansfield. I would like to thank Varèse’s CEO, Darren Blumenthal, for allowing this project to move forward. Huge thanks to the movie’s producer, Ron Carlson, and its director, Hank Braxtan, for being so supportive of the idea of a soundtrack album. Thank you to After Dark Films for giving us the fastest turnaround for an artwork approval ever. It can take weeks or months; they did it within two hours so we could meet our deadline. A million thanks to the very-patient Alan L Dull for working quickly and precisely on the album’s layout and design. Many thanks to the wonderful Mark Curry for making my WAV files sound fantastic, and to Chas Ferry for exporting the final master with his incredible attention to detail.
On a personal note, it is not lost on me how thrilling it is, as an avid soundtrack collector, to have a soundtrack album of my music released on THE Varèse Sarabande record label. I have been a fan of their releases ever since I was old enough to go to a record store, and I own hundreds of them. Luck is something that can easily run out. Today, I am very grateful to have had it in spades, on this project, thanks to some wonderful people.
The music itself is creepy, scary, and very aggressive in certain places. If you are a fan of horror music, I hope to have composed something worthy of your collection.
UNNATURAL (the movie) will be released in theaters October 16. The digital soundtrack album comes out the same day, with a physical CD release to follow soon thereafter. I plan on signing every single booklet, with a little note of appreciation."
From the official press release, distributed by Krakower Poling PR:
VARÈSE SARABANDE RECORDS TO RELEASE
UNNATURAL – ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
Featuring Original Music Composed By Edwin Wendler
(October 12, 2015– Los Angeles, CA) –Varèse Sarabande will release UNNATURAL – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally and as a limited edition CD on October 16, 2015. The album features the original music created by composer Edwin Wendler (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE, TALES OF HALLOWEEN).
To get the emotion behind the film just right, Wendler composed a main theme, which, in the words of the composer, is “quietly relentless” and “designed to express loneliness and isolation.” The Alaskan wilderness is a character that drives the movie along with the actors. For Wendler, the UNNATURAL score is “a chilling trip to some dark, musical places, with the most aggressive music I have ever written.” It was very important to Wendler to create cohesion throughout this striking score. Elements of the main theme can be heard during the action music so that “on a subliminal level, there is a thematic consistency, even in material which, on the surface, has nothing to do with the main theme.”
Before Edwin Wendler started composing music, he spent his early years in the Vienna Boys’ Choir where he toured the world, singing in hundreds of concerts and dozens of opera performances. He earned Certificates in Film Scoring and Screenwriting from UCLA Extension in 2000, and was accepted into the prestigious ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop in 2004. In 2010, Wendler won a “Best Score” award at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, for his epic score, AZUREUS RISING. Wendler also composed additional music for the box office hit, NON-STOP, starring Liam Neeson.
He also worked as an arranger, programmer, and orchestrator on movies such as THE NICE GUYS, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, UNKNOWN, LITTLE FOCKERS, THE LOSERS and INTO THE BLUE. Wendler’s television credits include arranging on the 2006 Showtime series, SLEEPER CELL: AMERICAN TERROR, as well as composing additional music for NBC’s popular reality series, FEAR FACTOR. Mr. Wendler’s feature film credits as a composer include THE INTERIOR, CHRISTMAS WITH A CAPITAL C, ESCAPE, TALES OF HALLOWEEN AND I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE.
UNNATURAL tells the story of a photographer and his friends who set out in the dead of winter for the Alaskan wilderness to take advantage of the limited, but beautiful daylight. They are met by an experienced hunter and local lodge owner who instills fear within the group by telling them the legend of Maneater, a bear that has fangs and claws sharper than man-made metal. This epic tall tale quickly becomes our group’s real, living nightmare. Nearby, a bioengineering company has genetically altered a polar bear so it can better survive climate change, but the end result is a relentless, deadly, man-eating machine, escaping from the lab and killing everything in its way.
Given the intense plot, Wendler was careful when creating the tonal palette for the movie. “I wanted the music for UNNATURAL to be as cold and unforgiving as the location of the movie: the Alaskan wilderness.” In order to achieve this feat, Wendler picked sounds that felt like they fit in the environment such as wooden percussion instruments, odd vocals, a banged-up piano, and icy-cold electronics.
After Dark Films presents UNNATURAL in theatres nationwide on October 16, 2015. Varèse Sarabande will release the UNNATURAL – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally and as a limited edition CD on October 16, 2015. Every CD purchase will include an extra booklet signed by composer Edwin Wendler.
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ABOUT VARÈSE SARABANDE RECORDS
Founded in 1978, Varèse Sarabande is the most prolific producer of film music in the world, releasing the highest quality soundtracks from the world’s greatest composers. From current box office hits and top television series to the classics of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Varèse Sarabande’s catalog includes albums from practically every composer in every era, covering all of film history; from Bernard Herrmann, Alex North and Jerry Goldsmith to Alexandre Desplat, Michael Giacchino and Brian Tyler.
Varèse Sarabande releases deluxe and expanded editions of special soundtracks for the film music aficionado. The Varèse Vintage imprint specializes in releasing new and re-issued albums by classic pop, jazz and country artists. Varèse Sarabande Records is distributed by Universal Music Group.
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