When we hear formative film music, it hits us on many levels at once. We remember visual spectacle, sonically mediated emotion, and full-body cinematic experiences grounded in spaces and times past, often with a deeply ingrained sense of nostalgia. We should, of course, be careful of nostalgia, but we can also appreciate things that make us happy. In 2019, artist Svetlana did just that with Night at the Movies, an album of old classics and newer cuts ranging from “Moon River” to Coco’s “Remember Me”, all rendered in Svetlana’s dreamy jazz stylings. Now, she offers a more progressive, if equally luscious, approach with EP Reel to Remix: Night at the Movies Reimagined.
It is consciously thus. Reel to Remix enlists an all-female lineup of collaborators with a considerable range of experiences and approaches, taking Svetlana’s voice on an extensive post-production journey. Throughout it, that voice remains a constant agent of intense emotion and expression. An overarching message seems to emerge: old and new are inseparable and alive; innovation and nostalgia can happily wander hand in hand. It’s a lesson in play, one Svetlana and her producers believe in and enjoy imparting throughout six thoughtful tracks.
Some of the tracks are clear choices in terms of source material. “Pure Imagination”, the much beloved centerpiece of the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, opens the EP with a blissful, downtempo arrangement courtesy of electrosoul artist Amber Navran, who amplifies warm keys and a gently funky low end to add movement to the work.
It’s surpassed in dependability only by “Moon River”, which, naturally, pops up just a couple of tracks later. Snarky Puppy-adjacent Sirintip adds chill beats that land it somewhere between 1990s trip-hop and sophisticated YouTube background music, an easy-on-the-ears treatment deepened by the song’s familiarity and Svetlana’s tender crooning.
The other four take the EP out of the realm of strict standards, which is a welcome shift. “Moonlight” comes from the 1995 version of Sabrina; Verve Records producer Melanie Charles adds to it sleek synths, simmering hi hats, and a careful range of textures that make it the album’s most exciting and engaging reimagining.
Lana Del Rey‘s “Young and Beautiful”, once a buzz single for Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 take on The Great Gatsby, gets an atmospheric transformation, complete with crickets and twinkling electronics, from New Age composer Cheryl B. Engelhardt. “It Might Be You”, a Tootsie-derived Adult Contemporary radio hit, gets a floaty minimalist treatment from up-and-comer Annie Elise. The record ends with “Remember Me”, made into stylish bedroom pop by Bryn Bliska.
That’s the what of it. The potential whys of it are not hard to trace from there: to revel in sentiment, to highlight skillful women, to feel good. Svetlana has deep reverence for everything in her repertoire and a strong desire to make memory-based magic with it. Her velvet voice is unquestionably stunning. With Reel to Remix, she takes the chance to use her talents and the power of nostalgia to uplift other women in music, and that’s admirable. Movie music may be well-trod territory, but Svetlana and her team do good work in that tried-and-true space.