Moksha
Xiangming Niu
" it makes for an impressive and vibrant musical effort. "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the download only release
Xiangming Niu is a composer based in both Beijing and Amsterdam, having already experienced writing for different purposes other than just film. She holds two degrees in film scoring, the last of the Netherlands Film Academy, resulted in her scoring three graduation films in 2025: Kus Kus Bang Bang, Sugar and Moksha.
Moksha is a 4:54-minutes short film with a focus on unexpected, impressive visual effects for a fusion of Saṃsāra and science fiction for any graduation project As falling stars will soon cover the Earth in eternal darkness, an inventor tries to prevent this from occurring by building a machine. The music Xiangming Niu wrote is impressive, given its short length for an equally short film, and meets the qualities of the ambitious outset of the film.
For the score, she utilised an amalgam consisting of the FAME'S Skopje Studio Orchestra, two kinds of strings (a solo cello by the Israeli Ori Ron and a string quartet), a voice, and synthesisers. Upon the first image of seeing the falling stars, the most affective (and effective) element is expressed through the faintly conceptual use of the interwoven string quartet, representing an almost atypically sophisticated, evolving science fiction-musical notion expressing an higher order, which, together with the encompassing melancholy of the solo cello, forms the heart of the score. There is room for the human voice, tellingly performed by the Latvian singer Liva Dumpe; a musical identity for the stars, but it could as well be interpreted as a voice of the Earth and humankind. Yes, there are elements in Niu's music that could be assigned different (thematic) purposes, but regardless, it makes for an impressive and vibrant musical effort.
Xiangmiu Xiu provided her view on the overall process and intent:
The idea of the film explores the relationship and tension between human power, universe/nature, and technology. The music reflects this by creating contrasts in instrumentation. It moves from the most majestic to the most intimate textures, using a hybrid orchestra with synths, a string quartet, solo cello, and finally a solo human voice. Of course, each combination of instrumentation has its own role. For example, the solo voice represents the star, while the hybrid orchestra is the machine etc.
For me, this approach was essential throughout the process, as I developed the music based only on the animation sketches, without any vfx. With very minimal visual information, I had to consider what tone the music should carry and how it could support the story on its own. Then the musical concept for me became a connection and conversation between the main protagonist and the last star. The human voice is used to personify the star, and it becomes the unique voice and emotional identity of the entire film.
Another major challenge was telling a complete story through music, since the animation has limited time to convey a large narrative. For example, in the opening, I used string crossings and staccato vocal gestures to suggest the passing of time within just a few seconds—an important cue for the audience to understand that the stars have been dying for ages (not sure if I achieved it) In the end credits, I return to the same instrumentation to mirror this idea and suggest renewal, showing that the stars have come back to life.
Tracklist
1. The Last Star 1:16
2. The Engine 1:14
3. Moksha 1:02
4. Credits 1:16
(27-12-2025)
Moksha is a 4:54-minutes short film with a focus on unexpected, impressive visual effects for a fusion of Saṃsāra and science fiction for any graduation project As falling stars will soon cover the Earth in eternal darkness, an inventor tries to prevent this from occurring by building a machine. The music Xiangming Niu wrote is impressive, given its short length for an equally short film, and meets the qualities of the ambitious outset of the film.
For the score, she utilised an amalgam consisting of the FAME'S Skopje Studio Orchestra, two kinds of strings (a solo cello by the Israeli Ori Ron and a string quartet), a voice, and synthesisers. Upon the first image of seeing the falling stars, the most affective (and effective) element is expressed through the faintly conceptual use of the interwoven string quartet, representing an almost atypically sophisticated, evolving science fiction-musical notion expressing an higher order, which, together with the encompassing melancholy of the solo cello, forms the heart of the score. There is room for the human voice, tellingly performed by the Latvian singer Liva Dumpe; a musical identity for the stars, but it could as well be interpreted as a voice of the Earth and humankind. Yes, there are elements in Niu's music that could be assigned different (thematic) purposes, but regardless, it makes for an impressive and vibrant musical effort.
Xiangmiu Xiu provided her view on the overall process and intent:
The idea of the film explores the relationship and tension between human power, universe/nature, and technology. The music reflects this by creating contrasts in instrumentation. It moves from the most majestic to the most intimate textures, using a hybrid orchestra with synths, a string quartet, solo cello, and finally a solo human voice. Of course, each combination of instrumentation has its own role. For example, the solo voice represents the star, while the hybrid orchestra is the machine etc.
For me, this approach was essential throughout the process, as I developed the music based only on the animation sketches, without any vfx. With very minimal visual information, I had to consider what tone the music should carry and how it could support the story on its own. Then the musical concept for me became a connection and conversation between the main protagonist and the last star. The human voice is used to personify the star, and it becomes the unique voice and emotional identity of the entire film.
Another major challenge was telling a complete story through music, since the animation has limited time to convey a large narrative. For example, in the opening, I used string crossings and staccato vocal gestures to suggest the passing of time within just a few seconds—an important cue for the audience to understand that the stars have been dying for ages (not sure if I achieved it) In the end credits, I return to the same instrumentation to mirror this idea and suggest renewal, showing that the stars have come back to life.
Tracklist
1. The Last Star 1:16
2. The Engine 1:14
3. Moksha 1:02
4. Credits 1:16
(27-12-2025)