Alain Goraguer - La Planete Sauvage (Fantastic Planet OST)
This is the psychedelic OST to René Laloux’s cult classic, La Planaete Sauvage - The Fantastic Planet or, more accurately, The Wild Planet. Goraguer is a composer worth paying attention to, whose credits include working with and orchestrating many albums for Serge Gainsbourg in the 60s. That should give you enough of a rough idea of his arrangements in general, but with La Planete Sauvage, Goraguer reached a creative peak. This score is both progressive (in a 70s rock way) whilst being laden with a funk vibe. The result is a dense and trippy affair which combines impeccably with the surrealistic realisation of the film; which itself has a Terry Giliam-esque quality but avoids Gilliam’s obscure, non-linear experimentation and is less manifestly comedic. The music is driven by electric synthesisers and a heavy dollop of wah-wah guitar producing a majestic slab of 70’s experimental prog that oozes cool, slow grooves whilst maintaining a tense foreboding atmosphere. Being a soundtrack, the record has a repetitive quality through references back to key themes, but the strength of these key pieces only adds to the enjoyment. Approaching La Planete Sauvage, I’d strongly recommend watching the film first. Of course, the music stands confidently alone, but it was specifically composed to accompany the film, and so it is only fair to listen to it in its intended habitat.
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