Klaus Badelt is a composer who I am extremely fond of. His music is on another level that most composers will never reach. Now, you may be wondering where Klaus has been all this time? For American audiences he did in fact sort of disappear after his brilliant masterpiece score to Rescue Dawn. However, he has been very busy scoring foreign films and releasing many of his scores under his own label. The best part? The scores under his label are name your own price to buy even FREE if you wanted. I have been keeping up with Klaus and his team's work but I must admit I have been slow to get the reviews for his scores up. After listening to The Prodigies (under the Milan label in France, so not a free download) I was dipped into a nostalgic dream. His score here reminded me so much of Klaus Badelt's style in the past that I absolutely fell in love with it.

The film is a French animated science fiction movie. Some may see the animation as very basic, but it's definitely a visual treat. Klaus's score here elevates the story to unimaginable heights though. The score has an electronic grounding but pulsing strings add an emotional layer that make the score really take hold of you. In many of the tracks he will do slow builds that slowly ascend to great emotional peaks. The music has dark sections that bring a forceful intensity and those moments really become grand. The theme is a very simple ascending set of notes and he reverts back to it time and again to keep everything grounded.

Badelt's style takes a nostalgic trip back to his early years with this score and the result is one amazing action journey. Klaus Badelt has shown his versatility in the past few years composing much smaller films than when he started out with, but his style and grand sound was never lost. The Prodigies is proof that he still retains the ability to do huge swelling action scores. I really loved listening to The Prodigies and his work in general over the past few years where he has really found his footing since parting ways with Hans Zimmer and the RCP (Media Ventures) team. The Prodigies soundtrack is a French import but is a must own for every Badelt fan.

Be sure to visit Klaus' website where many of his scores are available with the "name your own price" option.