30iPS Records is proud to announce the vinyl release of The September Dossier, Simon Russell’s evocative soundtrack to James Bluemel’s forthcoming BBC TV documentary series Once Upon a Time in Iraq.

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Ramifications from the decision to go to War in Iraq in 2003 continue shape the modern world. ██ █ ██████████ ███ ██ ██, █ ████ ███ █████ ███ █ █████ ███ ███. The major five-part series, produced by KEO films, explores the human cost of the devastating conflict via eyewitness testimony and █████ ████ ██████ ████ ███████.

Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government was a briefing paper published by the British Government on 24 September 2002. Also known as The September Dossier, the document included the controversial claim that Saddam Hussein was able to deploy WMD within 45minutes.

Simon ██ █ █████ ██ ███ ███ ██████ ██████ — he also won an Emmy for his music for Mike Lerner & Maxim Pozdorovkin’s documentary Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer and previously scored Havana Marking’s Afghan Star, which was the recipient of two Sundance World Cinema Awards.

Simon’s recent soundtrack projects include: The Art Mysteries (BBC 4), The Battle for Hong Kong (PBS/Channel 4), Undercover: China’s Digital Gulag (iTV) Inside Europe: 10 years of Turmoil (BBC 2) and The Curry House Kid (C4).

The September Dossier is Simon’s third soundtrack for KEO films & James Bluemel following the multi award-winning series Exodus: Our Journey to Europe & Exodus: Our Journey Continues.

“I will always remember how intense and emotionally raw, many of the interviews were that we filmed when making this Iraq War series.

American soldiers, Iraqi soldiers and Iraqi civilians sat in a chair and shared their memories and experiences on camera. Even when sitting in silence, the space of the room felt charged by the emotional energy involved in reliving these times, unearthing experiences that had for many, been long buried. I knew that getting the music right would be a challenge.

Having worked with Simon many times before, I've grown to trust his instincts and I wanted his take on what the music should do. What he produced was a soundtrack that delves deep into the human experience of violent conflict. It’s a suggestive, tense and fragile score that eschews cliches to tap into a haunted landscape of horrific proportions. It’s a spacious, thought provoking piece that reveals that behind even the most tortured of memories, humanity can still be found.”

James Bluemel
Director, Once Upon a Time in Iraq