Master and Commander

The first six months of 2003 have been very busy and eventful for Iva Davies. To begin with, rumors flew that Iva was going to be involved with an upcoming blockbuster Hollywood movie. At the beginning of April, Iva confirmed that he was set to score the soundtrack to the Peter Weir film "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" starring Russell Crowe. Iva flew to Los Angeles where he began work on composing the soundtrack. There were two other collaborators in the creating of the dramatic score. Christopher Gordon, known for his soundtrack work for the movie "On The Beach" and Richard Tognetti of the Australian Chamber Orchestra completed the trio. Christopher and Richard had previously worked with Iva on the much-acclaimed "The Ghost of Time" recording. Iva, with Richard on electric violin, gave a stellar performance of "The Ghost of Time" in the forecourt of the Opera House on New Year's Eve 1999.

Also working on the soundtrack with Iva, Christopher and Richard, was long time Icehouse friend and co-engineer Simon Leadley. Simon has been making quite a name for himself in the movie industry, having worked on other movie soundtracks such as "Moulin Rouge." This fine group of musical talents all convened in Los Angeles at the famous Village Recorder Studios. Other musicians utilized by the team include Mike Fisher. Mike is a well-known percussionist noted for his use of the Taiko drums.

Work on the soundtrack wrapped up successfully at the end of June but not before some old friends were able to meet and catch up. Andy Qunta visited Iva and Simon at the studios, regaling each other with stories both old and new (see photo below). The Village Recorder Studios also have a few photos of the recording team and director Peter Weir in the photo gallery on their site.

Fox Studios has an official web site for the movie, which features the newly-released trailer. It was great to see Iva's name up there in big letters! Early predictions are that the film will be one of the top five of the year and the buzz is that this film might be Oscar-worthy. It certainly looks like a beautifully done film with wonderful cinematography, cast with some very fine actors. Fans of the Patrick O'Brien books (upon which the film is based) are sure to love seeing their literary heroes come to life. The movie premieres in the United States on November 14th and in Australia on December 4th. International release dates are available on the official site's UK/AUS/SWE area.

Spellbound wishes to extend their congratulations to Iva for this wonderful achievement! We think we can speak for all of your fans when we say this is well deserved!

More Collaborations

Another musical project for Iva was his involvement with the latest album from Endorphin. Endorphin is known for his ambient/dance music and worked on the Meltdown project, putting his stamp on "Great Southern Land" and "Man Of Colours."
Released in May, the album Seduction contains the track "Free World." This track was co-written by Iva and showcases some searing vocals by Mr. Davies. If you want to rock to Iva's voice, this song will do it for you! The lyrics are a timely commentary on the state of affairs in the world today. To whet the appetite for this song, go to Endorphin's web site to hear a snippet of "Free World." We encourage fans to pick up this CD ASAP!

The classic Icehouse song "Don't Believe Anymore" has been covered by Australian band The Whitlams. They have released a CD single that contains three versions of the song. While the full version is a good cover, the interesting track is "Je N'y Crois Plus." Hearing those familiar lyrics translated and sung in French gives the song an unusual twist. Please check out The Whitlams' official site for further details on the band and their current tour.

Another rumor that was confirmed as true is the appearance of Iva at the L'Oreal Colour Trophy awards. This event will be held in August in Melbourne and Iva will be on hand to join in the festivities. Rounding out the band will be long time Icehouse musicians Paul Wheeler, Steve Morgan and Paul Gildea. The boys will only be performing one song and, unfortunately, the event will be closed to the general public.

Extra

For American Icehouse fans with cable access, it is worth the while to check out the cable channel VH-1 Classic. There are many Icehouse videos in rotation. Spellbound has caught the videos for "Crazy," "Electric Blue," "Icehouse," "Cross The Border," and "No Promises."

Stay tuned...

We are looking forward to the next six months and the premiere of "Master and Commander!" There is sure to be more to report in the upcoming months.