On 3rd of August Arch Hill Recordings is pleased to be releasing the soundtrack to the film Separation City - composed and compiled by Samuel Scott and Luke Buda. Aside from compositions by Sam & Luke the album features tracks by The Phoenix Foundation, SJD, The Black Seeds, Cassette, The NZSO, Wild Bill Ricketts and Mike Fabulous.

Watch the Separation City film movie preview

Samuel Scott and Luke Buda are both also known for their band The Phoenix Foundation, two respective solo albums each and the soundtrack (with the Phoenix Foundation) to the movie Eagle Vs Shark. In fact, it was that latter soundtrack – along with a determination to include The Phoenix Foundation track Bright Grey in the movie – that let to director Paul Middleditch and producer Mark Overitt to request the inclusion of the Sam and Luke duo.

It was also an interesting and unique project for Sam and Luke to make music for as the film drifts between hilarious comedy and something much darker and painfully real. According to Sam, director Paul had to reign in some of their more “oblique approached to sound”, but in the end it was a great challenge for them as it produced music that doesn't sound like anything they have ever made before. Also, apparently, the help of fellow Phoenix guitar man Conrad Wedde was required to add a little magic to some of the ‘love scenes’.

Sam says of the other tracks the selected for the movie “There are a few scenes that really called for some NZ roots music kind of stuff and I like the fact that it means we have a sound track that pairs up The Black Seeds next to an SJD track, that sort of thing. It’s not genre specific but its all contemporary New Zealand music that we like and somehow fits together. Paul is very into classical music so he chose the NZSO Vaughan Williams piece, which is a hugely important piece of music for the film.”

Written & produced by Tom Scott the film Separation City is a bittersweet comedy drama about falling out of love for the very first time. A painful lesson about how unrequited love lasts forever and while requited love comes with a use-by date. A story about courtship, mateship and jumping ship. A film for anyone who has ever been in a relationship and woken up beside someone they once adored beyond measure and thought even fleetingly, is this it?

The Separation City film is written & produced by Tom Scott, directed by Paul Middleditch, produced by Angela Littlejohn, Mark Overett and stars Joel Edgerton, Danielle Cormack, Rhona Mitra, Les Hill and Thomas Kretschmann.