May 2011
The Chocolate Farmer

Rohan Fernando's epic
documentary, "The Chocolate Farmer", premiers at Toronto's
HotDocs Film Festival in early May.
Asif Illyas' original score rounds
out this heartfelt tale of the evil
forces of capitalism descending
on the Mayan culture through the
story of a modern-day-poet subsistence farmer.

The score used traditional Belizean instruments
such as marimba to encapsulate the beauty found in Rohan Fernando's insightful imagery and storytelling. Asif will be in Toronto with Rohan for the premier at the festival.

Showtimes:

Thu, May 5 7:00 PM
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3

Sat, May 7 7:15 PM
Cumberland 2

Sun, May 8 1:15 PM
The ROM Theatre

March 2011
“SNOW”

Headlining at the Toronto "REELWORLD" on April 2nd at the Scotiabank Theatre as the festivals Opening Gala film!!!!

Early March:
SNOW premiers at CINEQUEST,in San Jose, CA film festival in Febuary, directed by award-winning director, Rohan Fernando. Asif Illyas also scored the music for the short-form trailer for the film and can be seen in the demo reel.

FEBUARY 2011
Nova Scotia Tourism

Listen to the music in the new Nova Scotia Tourism commercial airing now. It features Chaz Thorne and his take on urban Halifax. Check it out on our demo reel

OCTOBER 2010
Sheva Solomon

Singer/Songwriter Sheva Solomon recorded her Christmas song, “Christmas Mine”, in October, at The Shire.

The SHIRE Film Scoring wraps up the mix and delivery for the upcoming feature drama, “Snow”, directed by award-winning director, Rohan Fernando. Asif Illyas also scored the music for the short-form trailer for the film and can be seen by clicking here.

JANUARY 2011
Ria Mae

The Shire takes on a full recording and produced Ria Mae's new record. All done live off the floor with Shehab and Asif on Drums and Bass, this 8 song recording should be released some time this fall. www.riamae.com

JANUARY 2011

For their new web based campaign, The Shire provided 4 music versions with a theme for the different Web spots for Destination Halifax. See the commerical spots on our reel.

NOVEMBER 2010

The SHIRE is the first studio in Canada to install the latest technology from England’s legendary Solid State Logic. The SSL Nucleus will be installed at the end of November and will provide the added advantage of an SSL mixing desk to the SHIRE’s workflow.

The SHIRE also get’s ready to host a reception after a seminar held on January 20th for Solid State Logic and the Screen Composer’s Guild of Canada.

Asif Illyas begins recording preliminary tracks for his upcoming solo studio album titled, “Synesthesia”.

Shehab Illyas’s project “Sergeant Major” under way…

AUGUST 2010
“The Chocolate Farmer”

Asif Illyas finishes the score for the feature-length National Film Board documentary, “The Chocolate Farmer”. The score features exotic instruments from Central and South America such as the Charango and the Quena. The rich, intriguing film about the ever-encroaching world of capitalism into the land of the Mayans provided a wonderful atmpsohere for a haunting and extensive soundtrack. Asif travelled to Montreal’s NFB headquarters for the mix of the film. The film will be surfing the festival circuit early 2011.

APRIL 2010

Through a partnership with Viewfinder’s International Film Festival and the Atlantic Film Festival, we have the unique opportunity to be facilitators in a song contest they hold each year.
In 2010, rising star Molly Thomason, was selected as the winner of the prize of video and song production. Asif and Shehab Illyas were enlisted to take Molly’s demo song and transform it into a fully produced piece for use as the track that the music video would be made for.

Working with the talented Molly Thomason, Asif and Shehab helped arrange the song and then performed and produced the final track at The SHIRE over a two day session. Click here to listen to Molly’s track, “People Lie” and see the video directed by Jason Levangie.

Zombiemania/ Pretty Bloody: The Women of Horror
Feature-Length Documentary
Sorcery Films

Two separate, stunning, documentary accounts of the dynamic world of the horror genre. The score was a range of “Rob Zombie” based hardcore, grunge-metal riffs to scary, suspenseful symphonic moments to eclectic, sci-fi based, electronica. This score was written in collaboration with Asif’s brother, Shehab Illyas, with whom he has had a long working relationship in the music industry. Together, they form a powerful composition team at their studio, The SHIRE, to create soundscores that run the entire range of musical styles.

Trudeau's Other Children
Feature-Length Documentary
National Film Board

Inspired by the writings of one of the most important Prime Ministers in Canadian history, Trudeau’s Other Children is a rich exploration into the depths of Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s concepts of multiculturalism. It is a musical documentary that highlights the lives of three musicians and their struggles and successes in making music their careers in Canada. Asif Illyas was a featured character in this film and, as a result, was asked to score the soundtrack. The finished music complimented stock footage of Trudeau’s travels across the globe and personified his thoughts by using introspective chordal patterns and voices. Deep percussive elements that included Middle Eastern traditional drums were used to give the viewer the feeling of the epic journey Trudeau made both physically and mentally to arrive at some of his views on the world we live in.
Directed by Rohan Fernando, Produced by Kent Martin, National Film Board

The Big Hello’s
Feature Length Documentary
Telos Productions/NFB

This is a satirical documentary that lightheartedly examines the effect of present day Canada on Inuit culture. Historically, the European settler has used observational techniques on the Iniuts in, sometimes, uncomfortable ways and this film turns the camera eye from the observed to the observer. The score is meant to personify traditional thinking inherent in Inuit culture by using chanting voices and tribal drum patterns fusing with modern sounds in the style of Arctic Circle artists such as Iceland’s Bjork.
Directed by Mark Sandiford, Produced by Sean Yeomans, Telos/NFB

The Frontier Symphony
Orchestral Composition Demo

The Frontier Symphony was a result of a challenge put to Asif Illyas. Primarily a pop songwriter, Asif was always fascinated by the orchestral scores of his favourite films. An old friend challenged him to try and write one, and out came the second movement of this unfinished work. He wanted to illustrate the journey made by his family from Sri Lanka, through England, to the Canadian winters. The result was a series of themes strung together with modulations and rhythmic changes. Select woodwinds were used to personify characters remembered from childhood. A full string section, brass and woodwinds were recorded in an historic church in Halifax to bring this experiment to a success.

Information Morning Theme
CBC Radio Halifax

This little theme plays every weekday morning in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on CBC radio ONE 90.5FM. Several versions of the theme were recorded which included an arrangement for string quartette. The morning news program contains the theme and recurring stings that occur frequently throughout the two-hour show. The producers wanted the theme to have a refreshing, vibrant, morning-like feel. Asif composed a theme that, in his words, was described as, “sunrise”.

M I R
Rock/Pop Group

Asif Illyas was the primary songwriting for this group. See www.mirwebsite.com for a complete bio and history.

Scary Stuff
Feature Length Drama
Silver Leaf Productions

Award winning children’s film, Scary Stuff, was a wonderful kids horror film. The score used instruments he director, Sam Fisher, wanted to invoke a comic book style to the film, and the score followed suit with a very colorful and diverse range of soundtrack elements.
Directed by Sam Fisher, Produced by Sam Fisher, Silver Leaf Productions

Race is a Four Letter Word
One-hour documentary
National Film Board

This documentary follows the stories of individuals struggling with their identities as African Canadians. The autobiographical story of director Sobaz Benjamin examines his and the other characters emotional journey through the challenges of multiculturalism. The score became a mix of R&B elements fused with gospel influences. African Kalimba was used to symbolize the innocence of youth as Sobaz explored the racial issues that plagued him throughout his life - issues that may face his young children as they navigate through Canada’s multicultural landscape.
Directed by Sobaz Benjamin, Produced by Annette Clark, National Film Board

The Drawing
35mm Black & White Short Drama
Written and Directed by Jason Buxton

The Drawing is a charming symbolic vignette of a little boy who loses his sketch after his teacher reprimands him and throws it out the classroom window. The piece of paper becomes a character in itself as it flits and floats above cobblestone streets. His little adventure to retrieve the drawing takes him through several symbolic scenes.
Director Jason Buxton wanted the music to have an authentic tone in the style of Maurice Ravel. A classical trio was used comprising of world-renowned Denise Djokic on cello, Mark Djokic on Violin and their mother, Lynn Stodola on Piano. Asif Illyas composed several pieces that used pizzicato cello to allude to the boy’s footsteps, aggressive violin to play the part of the piece of paper, and romantically styled piano arpeggios to highlight his journey. In order to have the music directly connected to the characters, the musicians watched the action unfold on the big screen as they performed the score. This score appeared in early versions of the film.

Cecil’s Journey
One-Hour Documentary
Directed by Rohan Fernando

Award Winner - Excellence in Musical Composition, Atlantic Film Festival 2002
In 1999 filmmaker Rohan Fernando embarked on a soul-searching journey to his birthplace of Sri Lanka. His purpose was to film his travels through Sri Lanka as he searched for his roots. What he discovered was an intense story filled with family secrets and an experience that became absolutely fascinating to see unfold – as the director himself became the lead character in a dramatic sequence of events he had no control over. The result is an amazing documentary on family values of East vs. West and an emotional view on the similarities of cultures worlds apart.

The score was a fusion of traditional Sri Lankan rhythms and melodies with Middle Eastern solo vocals. Tabla virtuoso, Vineet Vyas, appears on the soundtrack. Traditional drums were used as well as Sri Lankan bamboo flutes. Asif wanted to highlight the roots of Sri Lankan music by honoring the Portuguese and Latin American rhythms of 6/8 time. Portuguese explorers settled Sri Lanka in the 17th century, bringing with them these musical styles. The score underlies the beautiful cinematography of the film which includes colorful train journeys to Sri Lanka’s hill country, blanketed with green, carpet-like fields of the colonial tea plantations.

NICK VAN EEDE
Grammy nominated Songwriter and Artist

Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew Fame, known for his Number One Billboard Charting hits in the mid eighties, was the first artist to lay sound to tape at The SHIRE. The UK Artist recorded an acoustic version of the hit song, penned by Eede, “I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight”.