Khanate, Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Gas +More On Soundtrack Of Doom

Environmental causes seem to go hand-in-hand with music events. But finally, someone has matched environmental doom with a doom metal and dark ambient electronica soundtrack! And, finally I have a name for one of my favorite genres of music - a class of music that I haven't been able to categorize under a single name until today - music for the soundtrack of environmental doom! It's perfect! What other category could so perfectly link Khanate with Gas, Brian Eno with Arve Henriksen, and Mogwai with Sigur Ros or Lamb? I'd love to own this soundtrack, especially if it were on gatefold double vinyl! I think this tracklist is in order of appearance:“Torching Koroviev”Written by Stephen O’Malley, James Plotkin, Alan Dubin and Tim WyskidaPerformed by KhanateCourtesy of Southern Lord Recordings“Chiaro”Written by Arve Henriksen, Jan Bang and Audun KleivePerformed by Arve HenriksenCourtesy of Rune GrammofonBy arrangement with Woodwork Music“Charred”Written and performed by ToadliquorCourtesy of Southern Lord Recordings“Continental”Written and performed by Robin Guthrie“No. 5” from ZauberbergWritten by Wolfgang VoigtPerformed by GasCourtesy of Kompakt Germany“Lullabye For Christie”Written by Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim WhitePerformed by Dirty ThreeCourtesy of Touch an Go Records“White Lake”Written by Erik Skodvin and Otto TotlandPerformed by Deaf CenterCourtesy of Type Recordings Ltd.“A Stream With Bright Fish”Written by Brian Eno and Harold BuddPerformed by ?Courtesy of ?“Svefn G Englar”Written by Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason, Georg Holm and Kjartan SveinssonPerformed by Sigur RósCourtesy of Geffen RecordsUnder license from Universal Music Enterprises“No. 3” from ZauberbergWritten by Wolfgang VoigtPerformed by GasCourtesy of Kompakt Germany“Avalon”Written by Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason, Georg Holm and Kjartan SveinssonPerformed by Sigur RósCourtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS“The White Arcades”Written and performed by Harold BuddCourtesy of Rykodisc“Flugufrelsarinn”Written by Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason, Georg Holm and Kjartan SveinssonPerformed by Sigur RósCourtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS“Sigur 3”Written by Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason, Georg Holm and Kjartan SveinssonPerformed by Sigur RósCourtesy of Geffen RecordsUnder license from Universal Music Enterprises“Ny Batteri”Written by Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason, Georg Holm and Kjartan SveinssonPerformed by Sigur RósCourtesy of Fat Cat/PIAS/Smekkleysa SM ehf“Otterley”Written by ?Performed by Cocteau TwinsCourtesy of ?“Mondlied”Written by Jörg BurgerPerformed by TriolaCourtesy of Kompakt Germany“Wasted Years”Written and performed by Ulf LohmannCourtesy of Kompakt Germany“Mogwai Fear Satan”Written by Dominic Aitchison, Stuart Braithwaite and Martin BullochPerformed by MogwaiCourtesy of Chemikal Underground Records“Soft Mistake”Written by Andrew Barlow and Louise Rhodes RaderPerformed by LambCourtesy of Mercury Records LimitedUnder license from Universal Music Enterprises“Auto Rock”Written by Francis Barry BurnsPerformed by MogwaiCourtesy of Matador Records/PIAS Recordings“Politik”Written by Guy Berryman, Will Champion, Chris Martin and Jon BucklandPerformed by ColdplayCourtesy of Capitol RecordsDoom metal By Khanate - "Pieces of Quiet" from their live DVD:What bizarre indie-noir film would compile such a ghastly selection you ask? None. This is the soundtrack for the new Leonardo DiCaprio film that opens in LA and NYC on August 17th! It's a documentary called The 11th Hour.... DUN DUN DUNNNN!According to the 11th Hour website:

Leonardo DiCaprio's "The 11th Hour" is a feature length documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and their impact on the planet. The 11th Hour documents the cumulative impact of these actions upon the planet's life systems and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.

Here is the super scary trailer for 11th Hour:The film will be in theatres nationwide starting on August 24th. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are sad that they weren't hand chosen by Leonardo for the soundtrack, but they are still totally behind the movie and its message. On the RHCP website, they are encouraging people to go see it! Shepard Fairy is also down with the campaign, he designed a great poster for the campaign to help raise funds and awareness. (I think this print is far superior to his Zeitgeist artwork) The official synopsis of the movie including credits:

“The 11th Hour” is the last moment when change is possible. The film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment -- how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet and people.Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, and written and directed by Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour is produced by Leila Conners Petersen, Brian Gerber and Chuck Castleberry.

Yep, this is an excellent category of music here. The soundtrack is going to give me chills long after the effects of the movie are forgotten. Khanate is amazing. Khanate is the band that Steven O'Malley pioneered long before he joined forces with Greg Andersen to form Sunn O))). Gas is the musical guise of Wolfgang Voigt who co-founded Kompakt Records in Germany. He is an experimental electronic musician who creates dense, hypnotic soundscapes with layer and layers of pulsing ambient noise. I doubt Sigur Ros, Mogwai, or Coldplay need an introduction to MOG readers, but for any band on the soundtrack that you are not familiar with, I left the record label info intact so that it would be easy to look them up. Kompakt is such a fantastic label for experimental electronica and minimal techno where Southern Lord is the label for experimental metal... The other labels are probably fairly familiar to most.For more info about the movie or the environmental causes that it champions/sponsors, visit the 11th Hour Action website - great site, way better than anything I saw linked to Live Earth...The Warner Bros 11th Hour Movie websiteLeonardo DiCaprio's youTube Channel for the 11th Hour has a bunch of super informative videos and interviewsI guess this makes Leo the top eco-celebrity right now. Just in time too, Al Gore was already fading in the collective conscious, while Cheryl Crow and Daryl Hannah are so beyond keeping up with.