Giraffes on Horseback Salad: The Soundtrack

Posted by Quirk Books Staff

Big news! There's a musical component to the graphic novel Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made: a soundtrack for the book!

While the album will not officially come out until about a month after Giraffes on Horseback Salad goes on sale, author Josh Frank wanted to share the musical book experience earlier by offering three songs you can listen to online starting March 19, 2019. And here's the coolest part: these songs are "sung" in Giraffes on Horseback Salad, so you can pair these up while reading the graphic novel. Ready for things to get surreal?

 

Click here to listen to the songs!

Password: "swordfish" plus the first word at the top of pg. 178 in the book. (For example, "swordfish***")

1. "What They Call Falling in Love"
After a phantasmagorical flirtation from a distance, Jimmy and the Surrealist Woman finally meet. Is this what they call falling in love? (Refer to book, pg. 134) 

2. "The Shadow Plays"
While storms of strangeness sweep the earth, Jimmy wanders the desert landscape. Something uncanny and powerful whispers from within. (Refer to book, pg. 153)

3. "Tomorrow Isn't Just Another Day"
Worlds concrete and unfathomable rejoice alike as the forces of love and zaniness prevail, and our friends set sail for tomorrow. (Refer to book, pg. 204)  

 

Some background on the music:

First, the band Pepe Deluxé wrote a theme song for Giraffes on Horseback Salad to act as the imagined opening credits. Listen to the song here!

Then author Josh Frank reached out to Mr. Quin Arbeitman in Japan to score the original soundtrack to the book. Along with his international jazz band, they recorded the score as Dali would have wanted — in the key of Cole Porter. For a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the soundtrack, watch here.

 


 

GIRAFFES ON HORSEBACK SALAD: THE SOUNDTRACK

Giraffes on Horseback Salad book by Josh Frank
Music composed and conducted by Quin Arbeitman
Recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Eitan Brown at Clear Echo (www.clearechosound.com)
String and woodwind arrangements by Ian O'Beirne (string arrangement on "Tomorrow Isn't Just Another Day" by Levi Saelua)
Vocal arrangements by Quin Arbeitman
Harp arrangements by Kaoru Arai-Colucci and Quin Arbeitman
Strings, piano, bass and drums recorded at Sanwa Studio, Osaka
Woodwinds and chorus recorded at Aobadai Studio, Tokyo
Harp recorded at Sound Studio Dali, Tokyo

 

INSTRUMENTALISTS

1st Violin: Natsumi Shibata
2nd Violin: Yuki Torita
Viola: Hisako Koma
Cello: William Prunkl
Woodwinds 1 (flute, clarinet, oboe, soprano sax, alto sax): Ian O'Beirne
Woodwinds 2 (clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax, baritone sax, bassoon): Jeremiah True
Woodwinds 3 (contrabass clarinet, tenor sax): Huw Lloyd
Trumpet: Benjamin Paille
Trombone: Joseph Hudson
Harpo's Honks: John Humphrey (squeezehorns.com)
Harp: Kaoru Arai-Colucci
Piano and Andes: Quin Arbeitman
Double Bass: Masayo Hirota
Drums: Eric Schauer
Drums: Takafumi Kakizaki (on "Reel Change [Chez La Dixie]" only)
Guitar: Alberto Garcia

 

VOCALISTS

The Surrealist Woman: Charlotta Kerbs
Jimmy: Brian Hemstock
The Announcer at the Blue Starlite Cinema: Owen Egerton
Chorus: Anna Kawashima, Anneliese Knight, Ben Porter, Brian Hemstock, Charlotta Kerbs, Doris Wong, Emi Jantzen, Gena True, Ghiselle Camacho, Jonny Barefoot, Julius Fuentes, Quin Arbeitman, Rob Russell, Robert Moreau, Ron Reid Jr., Stephanie Kawai