Some things have certain smells that have the capacity to transport to a very specific place. Be it your mother’s cooking or the perfume of the one you shared your first kiss with, you can go to a specific memory and relive it over and over. How about the cinema? Can the smell of stale popcorn, artificial butter flavoring and dirty carpets take you some place?
The same thing happens with sounds and music. Film scores have been part of cinema ever since sound was incorporated into the reel. Can you imagine Indiana Jones fighting Nazis without John Williams’ score in the background? Or Marty McFly riding his skateboard without Alan Silvestri’s fanfare doing its magic?
No film without music can work the same, and film scores are such an integral part of the medium that they embody an identity that’s easily recognizable. A very specific one. Mentioning “the 80s” feels restricted, so let’s call it an offshoot of the “New Hollywood”. This is when film scores started having specific themes, John Williams becoming the pioneer of the concept.
That part of cinema (and in some cases TV) has a specific sound. One sound that’s iconic, endurable, and definitely eternal. It’s what childhood sounds like for many of us. It’s what our dreams sound like.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, one man has taken this passion to a whole new level. His name is Damián Mahler, and whenever he’s not composing music for films and TV shows, he decides to go back and relive the 80s. He’s a talented musician who one day had a very good idea, talked it over with his buddy Javier, and together they came up with a concept for a concert that was a guaranteed success.
The idea is called Back to the Orchestra, and it’s a concert like many others of its nature. One man directing an orchestra and sharing with the world how cinema sounds like without depending on what we actually see. Because that’s something Damián and his orchestra don’t need. No theatrics but well-played music.
The second iteration for Back to the Orchestra took place in Luna Park, a classic venue for shows of any nature in Buenos Aires. Of course, we weren’t going to miss the chance to go, after the first year our minds were blown by such a specific vision of playing those themes we always think of.
Damián is a talented director whose talent is as huge as his playfulness as he shows up with a hoverboard replica in his hand. Seconds after he gets serious, flicks his eyes at the magic of the show he’s about to give and tries to pull his hair back. It doesn’t mind, it’s part of his wild persona.
As the show begins, Mahler keeps smiling at his orchestra, at the audience and himself. You can see and hear a small boy whose dream came true. And you can feel beside yourself how some of the members of the audience relive the emotions only films of this caliber can bring back. It’s dinosaurs, spaceships, superheroes, androids. Back to the Orchestra is what nostalgia sounds like.
Back to the Orchestra Setlist – November 4 – Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Fanfare For The Common Man (Gativideo)
- Back To The Future – Main Title
- Robocop, The Terminator, Blade Runner – Suite
- Indiana Jones – Raider’s Match
- Ghostbusters, Gremlins – Suite
- Rock At Science (Weird Science)
- Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Batman, Airwolf, Alf – Retro Tv suite
- Star Wars – Main Title
(intermezzo)
- Star Wars – The Imperial March
- Lord Of The Rings – Suite
- Jurassic Park – Suite
- The Centurions, Robotech, Silverhawks, He-Man, Thundercats, TNMT, Mazinger Z Saint Seiya – Retro Animation Series suite
- The Neverending Story – Suite
- E.T. The Extraterrestrial – Suite
(encore)
- Superman – Main Title
- Back To The Future Part III – Suite
