The Quantum Suicide of Sophie Miller

Album Cover What are the odds? And thus beings The Quantum Suicide of Sophie Miller, which tells the story of Dr. Sophie Miller, a neurotic and introverted physics professor who, consumed by repressed guilt and afflicted with a self-imposed incapacity to assign meaning to interpersonal relationships, is compelled to multiple suicide attempts in pursuit of an absurdly rational scientific quest: to either prove by her life or disprove by her death a concurrently fantastic and infinitely alluring theory--quantum immortality. On the surface, quantum immortality is merely the theoretical byproduct of a mathematical oddity of particle physics, but for Sophie and others who understand its philosophical implications, it calls into question our perception of time, mortality, and our very notion of reality. For Sophie, her quest is greater than just a dispassionate pursuit, but rather the inevitable result of a long chain of causality, a potential vindication of her own stubborn rationality, and an apology to herself and to her family for what she believes and what she could not bring herself to believe. Far more than just a science-fiction drama, The Quantum Suicide of Sophie Miller is the immensely intimate psychological portrait of a character pushed to the brink by incomprehensible family tragedy, an examination of the conflation of science, philosophy, and religion, and a philosophical treatise on our belief in the afterlife and how it informs the relationships we build in our own lives and the choices it compels us to make.

Track Rating Listen / Download
01 Physics ★★★★★ MP3 FLAC
02 Lavender ★★★☆☆ MP3 FLAC
03 Bill ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
04 Winkley ★★★☆☆ MP3 FLAC
05 Hamlet ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
06 Everett ★★★☆☆ MP3 FLAC
07 Alice ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
08 David ★★★☆☆ MP3 FLAC
09 Sophie ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
10 Eternity ★★★★★ MP3 FLAC
11 Laboratory ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC

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Creating the soundtrack for The Quantum Suicide of Sophie Miller has been a uniquely challenging experience. As our protagonist explains, true randomness does not exist beyond the quantum world; the musical challenge was to compose a score that reiterates this concept. The approach was twofold: draw heavily on musical references, and utilize character-centric themes.

Nearly every piece is built upon a specific genre, inspiration, or concept. This is generally done via chord progressions, instrumentations, and/or melodic intervals. The most obvious example is the diegetic use of Ave Maria in Hamlet. Elsewhere you’ll find remnants of and allusions to Buddhist chant, It Is Well With My Soul, the circle of 4ths/5ths, and many more. By drawing on traditional sacred music and various mathematical patterns, the soundtrack embodies the themes of religion and science.

In addition to every track drawing on carefully chosen thematic material, each is also tightly correlated with a given character (or pseudo-character). The actual score heard while viewing the film is an amalgamation of these various tracks: combined, intercut, and overlaid to reinforce the actions and intentions of the players in any given scene. The soundtrack before you is unique in that it’s not a simple copy-and-paste of the film’s score; instead, it’s a collection of the major themes that comprise the film’s music. Every flourish you hear on this album appears in the film; likewise, nearly every note in the film is recorded on this collection. However, these flourishes and notes will not align; what you’ll hear on this album is the original per-character source material, from which the film score is derived.

It’s been a real pleasure to again collaborate with RiverBend Films; I hope you enjoy listening to this album as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it!


The Artist

Album Cover From the critically-acclaimed creators of "The Receipt" (2008) comes the "The Artist", an independent film which tells the story of Alex, a comic-book connoisseur who is entering his final year of college. Through a psychology class he meets, and falls for Rebecca, and as his relationship with her grows, he discovers that hiding beneath her soft, caring surface is a troubled past and signs of continued anguish. Reminded of buried trauma from his own past, Alex begins to confuse past and present, fantasy and reality, and weaves for himself a delusion wherein he comes to believe that he is the real-life hero from his comic-book sketches. As delusions unravel and reality sets in, "The Artist" becomes a story of star-crossed lovers, secrets revealed, the enduring pain of loss, and the encapsulating psychological hold the powerful wield over the powerless.

Track Rating Listen / Download
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC

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The Artist - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the second full-length score composed and orchestrated by Kyle Ringgenberg. It's eerily dark music features 31 original tracks, with orchestration ranging from solo piano to full orchestra. All music is composed, orchestrated, mixed, and mastered by Kyle Ringgenberg. It is published under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License. This means you are permitted to distribute & remix the content of the album so long as you attribute the original source & share any derivative works under the same license. The proceeds from all album sales are used only to cover the production costs. All additional revenue is donated to a charity of the composer's choice.


The Receipt

Album Cover The Receipt tells the story of two college seniors, Evie and Norah, who as they enter their final year of college begin to feel the weight of uncertainty about their respective futures. By a happy chance, and some instigating on the part of Norah, Evie suddenly falls for Thomas, a recent college graduate working at a resort restaurant for the summer as a waiter. The new relationship begins to make the shy Evie more open and outgoing, but as she spends more and more time with Thomas, Norah, nervous about her and Evie's futures and about the prospect of her friendship with Evie collapsing, becomes jealous and insecure, leading to conflict and betrayal. The Receipt is a story of friendship, romance, loyalty, forgiveness, and coming to realize who we are and becoming comfortable with ourselves and with those who care about us.

Track Rating Listen / Download
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC
TODO ★★★★☆ MP3 FLAC

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This is the first feature film, produced entirely by University of Virginia students, to have a full length original soundtrack. At over fifty minutes of music, this album represents the same percentage of score to film as one would find in a typical Hollywood film. Recurring themes parallel the moods and personalities of the three primary characters, orchestrated principally on a small chamber orchestra. The capstone piece, "In Any Way I Can", summarizes the bonds of friendship between Norah and Evie and features a full sized orchestra accompanying the vocal talents of Annie and Elyse Steingold. All music was composed, orchestrated, and mixed by Kyle Ringgenberg.