Silva Screen Records is a London based independent record label
Silva Screen Records is a London based independent record label which is one of the world’s leading film and television specialist soundtrack companies. Founded by owner and MD Reynold D’Silva in 1986, the company retains a catalogue of over 500 titles and over 4,800 master recordings and has offices in New York and Paris.
The company’s repertoire of original soundtracks spans a wide range of titles, ranging from the Gerry Anderson catalogue (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet), the cult TV series The Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe to reissues of classics such as John Barry’s score for The Ipcress File and the music for the cult film The Wicker Man. It also includes major film and TV successes such as Sideways, The Departed, Blade Trinity, The Black Dahlia and Charmed.
A recent hit has been Murray Gold’s stirring orchestral scores for the Doctor Who series revival
Core to the company’s business however has been the extensive programme of re-recording film music from the past 100 years. Most music scored for cinema in the Hollywood era and beyond had been ill-served when commercially released. Tracking down the composers themselves, unearthing lost music manuscripts, contacting relatives and the estates of these musical geniuses has been a labour of love for the company. Initial projects included new recordings of the complete scores of The Big Country and Lawrence Of Arabia, all released to critical acclaim. The result is a catalogue of close to 2,500 tracks, digitally recorded and played by outstanding musicians, which breathes new life once again into some of the most evocative music ever written. Key to the plaudits received has always been that the recordings are created with the listener in mind as a stand alone work rather than just a film score.
The company has also branched out into other musical forms with great success. The now world renowned soprano Lesley Garrett signed to the newly formed Silva Classics label in 1993 and enjoyed massive sales success throughout the decade. Amongst her numerous gold and silver albums for the label she received the Gramophone Award for Best Selling Classical Artist Of The Year for the release Soprano In Red. Other artists include The Brodsky Quartet and world renowned Chilean tenor Tito Beltran.
The acquisition of the famed German label Creative Music Productions has added material by artists of the stature of Jack Bruce (Cream), Andy Summers (The Police), Trilok Gurtu and David Torn to the roster.
HipBop records began life in New York in 1994 as an outlet for contemporary jazz/funk/fusion and established itself as a cutting edge label whose featured artists read like a roll-call of legend. They include, Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Chaka Khan, Tom Browne, Lenny White, Bob James, Gato Barbieri and Patrice Rushen.
The Times Square label in the US has been another successful Silva Screen venture. A highly respected world music roster, its artists, past and present include critically acclaimed performers such as the Portugese singer Mariza, Miami based Cuban singer, Albita and Portugese artist Sara Tavares.
As the music industry evolves at a breath-taking pace Silva Screen remains at the forefront with their entire catalogue of recordings available for download and recordings being marketed and promoted worldwide for usage in advertising, TV programmes, mobile ringtones, synchs and feature films.
20 years after its formation, the company has lost none of the passion that drove it into being with innovation and quality the constant.
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