Aurora just won ”BEST OVERALL SCORE OF THE YEAR” at Reel Music, in competition with Marco Beltrami, Desplat etc (And also ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FEATURE)

From Alan Roger’s Reel Music:

”Oscar Fogelström’s score for the Philippines supernatural thriller, Aurora, tops the category of overall score of the year because of a number of things. Firstly, the choral work in the score, particularly in the opening and closing tracks, is impressive....

...Also, dissonance features strongly in Aurora but the dissonance is somehow bedded in melody. Maybe ‘melody’ isn’t the correct word to use, maybe it’s that the dissonance is easily listenable that it almost sounds melodic? Unusual orchestrations, trilling brass figures, glissandi are all mixed with support from the choir which has now taken on a different feel from that which was heard in the opening cue. Personally, I love the way the composer uses the orchestra to create such an impressive soundscape. Although ominous and unsettling, solo strings offer a hint of humanity at various points in the score. Fogelström is always doing something interesting with the orchestra: where there would be tense scenes populated with ‘filler music’ (e.g., ambient soundscapes), here the composer achieves tension but keeps the music listenable.
Aurora is the most enjoyable score I heard in 2018. The final minutes of “Rise Up” could easily be made into a wonderful concert piece.”