WIDER THAN THE SKY SOUNDTRACK STORY
by
Janie Price
Wider Than The Sky is a semi-autobiographical short film, written around a body of songs that the composer, scriptwriter, co-producer Janie Price (aka Bird) co-wrote with various musical friends including Grammy Award winning John Paul White (The Civil Wars) and multi award winning Hal Lindes (Dire Straits). The songs were originally produced by legendary producer Mike Hedges (The Cure, Dido, U2) just before Covid hit and spun the world momentarily off it’s axis..(or at least that’s what it felt like for an artist who’d spent 4 years working on a project only to watch it grind to an indefinite halt..)
Fast forward to 2021 and surrounded by the dust and rubble of the building site that was to become Price’s new base in Italy, she decided something needed to be done to showcase the music she had spent years working on. She as an artist, a reluctant and ghostly figure in the world of social media, the music often cinematic in feel, it felt like it begged a different sort of way to release and promote it, a REAL story…a film? So, zero time scriptwriter Price decided to write what would become her first script.. Wider Than The Sky – a ten minute long story about hope, magic and the power of our imagination, the title inspired by Price’s favourite poet Emily Dickinson.
Amazingly, film festival darlings EMU films (Catch Me Daddy, Jawbone, Benediction, Medusa Deluxe) offered to produce the film, and just like that a new creative project and a home for at least a few of her songs was being built. Price re-composed and recorded sections of the songs to make what has become the film’s main instrumental sound track with the help of long time collaborator, sound designer, programmer and fellow composer Pete Davis. Orchestral parts originally recorded at Abbey Road and guest session appearances from Russ Paul (Dolly Parton), Martin Ditcham (Sade), Mikey Rowe (Sheryl Crow) among others this is a soundtrack to listen closely to. Mixed in 5.1 and Atmos for both it’s theatrical and music releases.
To be released on all formats, the Wider Than The Sky THE SOUNDTRACK will comprise all film music score full pieces and themes plus the original versions of the four songs the film is based on – The Tides (Price/White) What the Night Knows (Price/Swinnen) She’ll Turn To Stone (Price/Lindes) and She’s Like A Rainbow (Price/White). Bonus material to include original song writing sessions approx. 2min each, The Tides and She’s Like a Rainbow.
MORE ABOUT THE SOUNDTRACK COMPOSER:
Janie Price aka “Bird” is a half English, half Irish singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
She started her classical music training on cello aged six and consequently played in UK youth orchestras before beginning her professional career aged 18 with her first
recording session composing and recording strings for a UK rap act.
This heralded the start of a session career which saw her singing and playing cello with numerous signed artists, notably doing a world tour for internationally acclaimed
violinist Vanessa Mae and composing and recording cello for the UK hit artists Just Jack and Emeli Sande. She also performed in numerous t.v. programmes/pop videos/radio shows and festivals both nationally and internationally.
Bird launched her first album “The Insides” to critical acclaim in the UK:
"Bird’s thoughtful, sophisticated, catchy and lusciously
produced songs…"****(Daily Telegraph)
“Sounding like Bjork crossed with Rickie Lee Jones, Price
has come up trumps with a collection of lush atmospheric
tunes.” **** (Daily Express)
“Sparkling debut album…bursting with original ideas…Watch
his space.” *****(The Sun)
Stands out from the other budding Katie Meluas by dint of
her imaginatively constructed songs…One to watch.”
*****The Mail
"A flying start." (Rip and Burn Magazine)
"It's a strong debut."(Gay Times)
"The Insides is an album you need in your record
collection."(Q Magazine)
Subsequently, she went on to develop her style signing to EMI publishing and the independent Copenhagen based label Music For Dreams where she made her second album recorded entirely using only vocals and a cello. The initial digital release of the album “Girl and a Cello” saw a number 9 position in the alternative charts on iTunes France.
She also developed her career as a professional song writer and composer for other artists and projects. She co-wrote a song on platinum selling Danish hit artist Aura’s album “Columbine” and co-wrote the theme tune for popular Friday night t.v. show “Den Nogne Sundhed”, also in Denmark.
She has worked with DJ Kenneth Bager cowriting two tracks on his acclaimed album. She has also collaborated with a number of other DJ’s including Tin Tin Out,Ante Perry and Valentin Huedo. Her 4th album “Beat” was comprised entirely of remixes of her critically acclaimed 3rd album “Figments of Our Imagination” produced by legendary producer Chris Kimsey (Rolling Stones, Killing Joke, Marillion)
Price was invited to star in a 6 episode t.v.programme for Sky Arts, “Art of Survival” filmed playing her musical compositions across Europe. She also wrote her first book (based on her filmed adventures), published by Beautiful Books.
Most recently she entered the Swiss Eurovision finals with her cowrite “Secrets and Lies” for Chiara Dubey, as well as co-writing and performing on two Number 1 gold certified chart topping Hooverphonic albums.
She is currently mixing material worked on over the past five years with another legendary producer Mike Hedges (The Cure, U2, Dido), some of which features in her first film debut as scriptwriter, co-producer and composer, “Wider Than The Sky”, the rest of which she hopes will become her fifth album release in the near future. She has written with and continues to write and collaborate with many house hold names in the world of music including James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers), Andy Dunlop (Travis), Ally McErlaine (Texas), Shelly Poole (Alisha’s Attic), John Paul White (The Civil Wars) Hal Lindes (Dire Straits) and is currently working on a new film script and soundtrack more details to be announced.
