Uncharted Destiny – Ray LeVier (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Imagine if you could star in a film. And what if it was one of your own productions, one where you storyboarded it all and called the shots? What if you could be the comic book hero in a sci-fi adventure and go on a cool intergalactic mission? Imagine if you could write and play the soundtrack to that film, too. Does that all seem like a big ask?

Well, that is exactly what Ray LeVier has done with Uncharted Destiny, an eleven-minute production that incorporates video and sound, action and adventure, sci-fi potential, and out-of-this-world possibility. Having been called back to his old military bosses for one last adventure, his alter ego and film character, Commander Ray, finds himself taking off into space to make contact with an alien race.

Musically, it is hard to think of such an enterprise without using Bowie’s Space Oddity as a reference point, and indeed, Commander Ray and Major Tom have a lot in common. But here, the soundtrack is more free-form, exploratory, and ever-evolving than Bowie’s song. Even if they explore similar themes and emotions, this takes a more prog-rock and cinematic stance than his cosmic pop.

And while the film takes a wonderfully and wilfully B-movie approach to the visuals, as much through filmic choice as budget restrictions, I suspect, the music is totally A-list. It is a galactic soundscape and film short in its own right, and movie producers take note, a perfect pitch for a much bigger sci-fi sound and vision sensation that needs to be made.

Does anyone have Ridley Scott’s number?