Tell us a little bit about yourself:  Hello, my name is Jeroen. I remember the exact moment I fell in love with film music: I was 13 years old and watching Jurassic Park in the local cinema. Not only did the movie leave a huge impression, the music I heard filled me with joy and exhilaration. It was the first time it clicked to me that this music could stand on its own and I knew I had to find out if something like this existed on CD. Quickly I started to dig around and found that a lot of favorite movies I watched had these awesome scores I did not even know about! Goonies, Indiana Jones, Hook, Gremlins, and before I knew it: I started to collect all these great scores. 

With the introduction of digital media 10-15 years ago, there was literally nothing you couldn’t find and I stopped buying CD’s. For some time I even lost interest in scores and then this exciting thing with vinyl happened. Today I own almost 500 soundtracks on wax and with two international friends I’m running a cool Facebook group called MovieWax and I’m learning new things on composers and scores every day! I live close to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and I’m working in the coffee industry now, but I used to be stage manager in the theatre! I live together with my partner and we have a sweet little pug dog. 

Favorite album: This changes a lot over time, but I’ll go with the classic The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams

First album: I’m not completely sure, but one of the first I bought where the Back to the Future ones by Mondo. I got the black vinyl, as I had no clue colored wax existed at the time.

Favorite Enjoy The Ride or Enjoy The Toons release: That has to be the 35th anniversary variant of The Dark Crystal. I think it is also the first one I’ve bought with Enjoy the Ride Records! It is a stunning release, great cover and booklet and my 3 Suns Color in Color variant is gorgeous! I hope for a nice extended release in the future ☺

Favorite album artwork: I love it when album artwork goes beyond the general movie artwork. It’s great to see artists use the cover as a canvas and share their vision of it. There are many great examples, Let me pick today what Kilian Eng did for Mondo for both Batman and Batman Returns.

What are your favorite local record shops, in case any readers are traveling through your town? First of all, if you are looking for Soundtracks on vinyl, the Netherlands is not the best country to live in. Also, the town I live in has no record shops whatsoever. Though the cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem do have some great stores to visit. I would mention Concerto in Amsterdam and Sounds in Haarlem as top on the list if you are in the neighborhood.

What have you been listening to more frequently lately? Ludwig Göransson is top on my list at the moment. His work for Black Panther was very good and he achieved a full action-packed score without sounding cluttered or too blockbuster. With The Mandalorian he achieved something I wasn’t sure was possible: creating a new sound for the Star Wars universe, sounding like it came directly from the universe itself (with all the static and mechanical sound) AND still coming up with great elaborate themes and grandeur. I hope we do not have to with long for this one to be released on wax!    

What are some of your favorite albums you have in your collection? As my collection consists of old and new releases it’s quite a mix of things I’m getting excited about. To name a few: Godzilla: King of Monsters, Jaws 2, Schindler’s List, Poltergeist, The Orphanage, I could go on forever! The reality is that I believe a collection should reflect your musical taste and therefore they are probably all favorites!

Any specific albums you wish you had on vinyl? My Discogs ‘wantlist’ is pretty extensive although I would not consider all of them as must-haves. There is a box set once released that contained the Shirley Walker score for Batman: The Animated Series. That would be awesome to get at some point, but the current value is putting me of.

What album would you like to be pressed on vinyl? I love the scoring Alexandre Desplat did for many Wes Anderson movies. I know a couple made it to vinyl, but I really would love to see The Grand Budapest Hotel being pressed (on purple and pink wax please). This is such a fantastic score and it always makes me happy listening to it.

What was the best album(s) you've discovered this year (can be anything, doesn't have to be a new release): My biggest ‘discovery’ of last year is a truly underrated gem for the horror movie, Lady in White. It was released in 1988 by Varese Sarabande, composed by the director himself: Frank LaLoggia. I believe it is the only score he ever composed unfortunately. On the back cover he writes: “I’d like to dedicate this score to all of the wonderful movie scores I’ve repeatedly listened to, loved and marveled over throughout the years”. I challenge you to listen to this score and see if you can recognize the same 70’s and 80’s scores Frank is here referring to….

What upcoming releases are you most excited about? Obviously there is way more coming up than I know, but a couple of announced releases I’m definitely getting are two new Studio Ghibli releases: Kiki’s Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. Also, there is a Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance coming by Varese Sarabande, a great Ennio Morricone compilation series by Music On Vinyl and obviously I will be getting the latest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in March.