Drawing us in with a cerebral yet meditative concertina and haunting arpeggios, Kristjan Ruus opens OF ALL WARM THINGS with intrigue. The composition expands with textured, padded drums manifesting with dramatic flair, whilst the concertina evolves with subtle tin whistle riffs.
An astral Irish flute emerges for the climax, tapping into a dimensional energy as the once uniform pads break into a more syncopated expression. The composition comes in at a mere one minute and four seconds with the final moments serving as a full circle melodic motif.
There is no doubt that the track holds a cinematic allure, and comes with its own music video, directed and produced by Kristjan Ruus which sees the artist design the track, intercut with visuals of him in the studio and nature. It feels like the start of a movie, and we could imagine OF ALL WARM THINGS being featured in a TV show like Nine Perfect Strangers, or PLUR1BUS, which both have a psychedelic edge.
Kristjan Ruus‘ composition would also work well in a Sofia Coppola, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Robert Eggers, Lars Von Trier, or Pedro Almodóvar film. Speaking on the release, the multidisciplinary artist confesses, “OF ALL WARM THINGS is my third collaboration with Orchestral Tools, one of the top companies making virtual instruments and sound libraries for composers. I composed the music using only their new Irish folk library Eavan, and directed, shot, edited and colour graded the entire film myself. Both the music and the visuals touch on summertime sadness – that feeling where you know this is the moment you’re supposed to embrace, but it just keeps slipping away.”
On his collaborative approach, Kristjan adds, “While my output has been quality over quantity, I eventually found my way to collaborating with Orchestral Tools – one of the top companies making virtual instruments and sound libraries, that us composers use, to make music. I met OT in 2024 at Music Meets Film – a film music event in Tallinn, part of the Black Nights Film Festival. We hit it off and stayed in touch. They got in touch about a year later, after seeing one of my short music films and asked if I’d be interested in collaborating with them as part of the promotion for their sound libraries. While working with big brands was never the main goal, I could definitely imagine early on how I’d appreciate these sorts of collaborations to allow me to bring my vision to life on an even bigger scale and platform. This felt like a full circle moment.”
Needless to say, we are in awe of what Kristjan Ruus has created, and would love to see him compose and direct a full-length feature, which we are sure he will manifest. In the meantime, we continue to explore his visual universe, including THE VERNAL RELEASE, and THE FOG.