Original score from the 2024 documentary feature film directed by Livia Vonaesch, produced by Ican Films, released by Praesens-Film (Switzerland).

THE STORY: What if you could live your dream and sail the world while saving it at the same time? For a Swiss family of eight, this is not just a mere fantasy, but reality. 20 years ago, the parents set sail to raise awareness about climate change. The filmmaker accompanied the family for seven years and documented against the backdrop of breathtaking landscapes how the Schwörer’s, with six children in tow, are challenging conventional norms of education, home, safety, and relationships. Until a storm forces them to rethink their life choices and family set-up.

THE SCORE: “It was our aim to recreate the sound of the ocean in different weather stages. We asked the director to send us all of the sounds that she collected on that journey that she can relate to. We then studied the natural sounds that you hear on a boat like the moving of the mast and the stretching sounds of wood and of ropes and re-interpreted them on a musical level. It was our goal to create our own version of ambient music symbolizing the ocean, the boat, the wind and nature. If a rope in the wind continuously hit against the sailing boat, we would then mute a piano string and hit against it in a similar rhythm. If we would hear the waves roll, we would play a piano arpeggio in the same rhythm. Distant waves would be performed with cymbal rolls. Each track in another measurement and timing but ultimately finding together in the rhythm of nature. Combining all of these tracks together resulted in a very new way of poly rhythm. Each separate track moves in its own speed and together they periodically meet at different points. We also found that the common denominator of all sounds we got delivered (from the music that the family plays on the boat, their voices, the background rumbles and waves) is the key of A. This led us to compose multiple ambient tracks in the key of A. You can hear these in their pure form in the ‘Ocean Suite’ track. The score was mainly played on a prepared Ibach grand piano and a Blüthner upright piano and enhanced with an array of different percussions, stringed instruments and subtle electronics. Nearly every track contains about five different layers of piano, each acting as a separate movement of nature and when combined, creating a bigger general movement.” – Diego Baldenweg

THE COMPOSER: The siblings Diego Baldenweg with Nora Baldenweg & Lionel Baldenweg are a Swiss/Australian composer team. The Baldenwegs are a very versatile team and have composed unique scores for a wide range of different film genres. Their contemporary sound often blends theme based orchestral compositions with a palette of unique instruments and electronic sound scapes. Over 20 scores have been composed for films such as the world bestselling children’s book adaptation and box office hit The Little Witch, the international remake of Til Schweiger’s box office hit Head Full of Honey, the Oscar nominated La Femme et le TGV and, last year, the Irish Western In the Land of Saints and Sinners.

RB250021 HOME IS THE OCEAN (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by DIEGO BALDENWEG WITH NORA BALDENWEG & LIONEL BALDENWEG
Release date: April 4, 2025