What’s Music Got To Do With It? An Interview with Nitin Sawhney
Jerome Leroy: Through The Interface: Scoring for Audio Network
Interviews by Randall D. Larson
Overviews: Soundtrack Reviews
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LES FEUX DE LA CHANDELEUR/LA VIEILLE FILLE/Legrand/Music Box
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH/ON DANGEROUS GROUND/Herrmann/Intrada
RUN FOR YOUR WIFE/Oliviero/Quartet
LE ULTIME ORE DI UNA VERGINE/Patucchi /Chris’ Soundtrack Corner
THREE O’CLOCK HIGH/Tangerine Dream/Varèse
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Tom Howe is an award-winning composer and multi-talented musician from the UK. He regularly works on both sides of the Atlantic, having Studios in Los Angeles and London. Tom’s abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, his fluency with large scale orchestral scores, combined with his talents in writing pop and rock music, electronic sound design, and his use of modern production techniques have given him an advantage few other composers can boast when scoring film, TV, and other media. In addition to his film & TV projects, Tom has also written several international Top 40 hits, as a songwriter.
In this interview, Tom discusses a handful of recently scored film, television, and animated productions, which have provided him with an interesting variety of projects.
TED LASSO (2020 – 2023) American college football coach Ted Lasso heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League football team. Lasso undertakes the job with the secret intention that his inexperience will lead it to failure, but his folksy, optimistic leadership proves unexpectedly successful. The series ends May 31st with the current third season.
Q: The television series TED LASSO began in 2020 and is just now completing its third and final Season. How did you work with composer Marcus Mumford to create the themes for the first Season while taking the show into a somewhat darker territory for Seasons two and three?
Tom Howe: I’d done two shows with Bill Lawrence [exec producer] before TED LASSO. I did one called WHISKEY CAVALIER [2019], which was an ABC spy-comedy-drama, and then I did a show called HEAD OF THE CLASS [2021], which was an HBO series. TED LASSO was the next one up. Bill said he really wanted me to do this, and Jason Sudeikis [co-developer, also plays Ted Lasso], who was producing with Bill, was great friends with Marcus, and Jason said he’d love Marcus to be involved. Bill said, why don’t we get them both together, because Tom’s done lots of things on TV and that could be good. Marcus and I met up and had a breakfast in L.A. and then he invited me to stay with him in England. I flew over, and even though we’d only met for about at hour at that breakfast, I spent ten days at his house where he has a recording studio. We met everyday at 9 and worked like we were making a record. At that point, we had no scripts or footage or anything like that, just the conversation that Marcus had with Jason. Unusually for me, the first thing we did was the main theme. We decided we were going to write a song and just send it off and see what everyone thought. We got that idea down and sent it over – then came up with some themes and ideas that could potentially be used within the show.
That’s where it started. We did Season 1, obviously, then COVID kicked in and we had to work remotely, as everyone else was. Then comes Season 2, and often the main characters are well-enough established by then that you can branch out and have more thematic material for some of the other characters, if the storyline expands to include them. So we took those ideas and developed them further to encompass more of the other characters and also take it into a slightly darker place than we’d had in Season 1. But that first Season and that main theme really was the kind of glue that holds the whole thing together, and is the most important theme that gets lent on whenever to need arises. But it was great fun, in the sense for me, normally working by myself in my studio, to be able to come and go and hang out with somebody who normally does records. It’s a different way of working, and it was a really cool experience.
Q: How would you describe your main theme?
Tom Howe: It’s sort of uplifting, and it’s got a sense of innocence about it as well, or I hope it has. It was written originally on the guitar – when we were writing initially, we’re using the guitar with more of a folk tune, I’d say the main theme has a few folk-esque qualities to it, but because it’s in one key as well, it’s very malleable – you can change the harmony underneath it and make it sad or happy or tense or whatever you need it to do. I think that’s always a good side of something that works. If you write something and it can only do one thing, it’s not the right thing. The theme was hook-y enough to also have the right ingredients to be able to do different things, which is what you need when something goes for three Seasons and episodes get longer.
Q: What new character and situation themes or motifs came into the series with Seasons 2 and 3 – and how did you work with arranging themes from the first Season for the second and third?
Tom Howe: In the second Season, the two main new themes were Jaime [Phil Dunster] and Roy [Brett Goldstein], so they got their own identity, and also Nate [Nick Mohammed], so he had his own theme and Rebecca [Hannah Waddingham] as well. We’d expanded that into those characters, and then in Season 3, Keeley [Juno Temple] also got her own theme. So everybody in the lead characters were covered off by those. There are some moments in cues, like I built a sound for Colin [Billy Harris] for some of the stuff that happens to him when they’re in Amsterdam and then beyond, but that’s more of an overall tone rather than an actual thematic theme. But there was a lot of material in Season 3; a lot of cutting between Nate and Keeley and their different love stories, if you like, so they each needed a motif that can work, cutting between their scenes. It’s really a sort of expansion of the same world. The main theme is a long theme, it’s got an A and a B section, and when we get a long sports cue we can lean into either of those or both at the same time. But the other character themes, they’re more in short form; they’re motives, really, that then can be worked into wherever they need to be over a general mood of a scene or what have you. They’re colors, painting a mood.
Q: How have you worked with the sports angle of the series, as opposed to character motifs and such?
Tom Howe: I found the sports difficult, actually, because you obviously need to put a lot of energy into that. In Season 1 there were less sports moments than there have been in the last two Seasons. The end of Season 1, in Episode 10, there was quite a long sports cue when Jaime ended up scoring against them towards the end. That really became the template for the stuff that we then took forward and went from there, but a lot of the sports is very much band and drum-driven, with and bass and electric guitars, while most of the cues around the characters tend to use more acoustic guitars, mandolins, and pianos. But generally the sports stuff is more guitar driven and more bass-driven.
Listen to Marcus Munford & Tom Howe’s main title song from TED LASSO:
THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING (2022) Struggling American siblings Alice and Paul reluctantly agree to attend the wedding of their estranged, wealthy half-sister, Eloise, in the English countryside alongside their mother, Donna. Family tensions ramp up among siblings in the week leading up to the event.Lakeshore Records released the film’s soundtrack digitally last November. The score utilizes electronics, piano and strings that provide a mischievous and whimsical backdrop to the modern comedy. The soundtrack album was released in Nov. 2022 by Amazon Content Services LLC, under exclusive license to Lakeshore Records.
Q: You shifted into a lighter tone with 2022’s THE PEOPLE WE HATE AT THE WEDDING. What can you tell me about scoring this comedic project?
Tom Howe: That’s another project where the score starts off in a way you think you’re going with that. I’ve got a little motive in it for the opening cue, but it’s quite orchestral and string-driven. So you think it’s going to all be fairy-tale stuff as they’re putting the envelopes into the letter-box to be mailed out for all the wedding guests. I was going for a sort of Working Title for Weddings type sound – then suddenly the wheels fall off and you’re in a very, very different world. I ditched the orchestra completely and went very much for a kind of band-type, again – bass, drum, piano, guitar, and keyboard, things like that. Sometimes I’m also using more than one bass at the same time in harmony, which gives it quite a comedic feel without doing the traditional kind of pizzicato comedy. Then, as the score progresses, I start bringing some of those strings back, towards the end of the movie in a couple of spots, and then you get the final wrap-up family cue which is band-driven but with the strings and everything playing as well, so it brings everything together.
Listen to a suite of Tom Howe’s score music via You Tube:
SHRINKING (2023) A grieving therapist starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge changes to people's lives – including his own. The series’ stars Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, and Luke Tennie. Howe’s soundtrack album was released on March 24th from WaterTower Records, featuring an original score by Tom Howe and the main title theme, “Frightening Fishes,” which Howe co-wrote with Death Cab for Cutie’s Benjamin Gibbard. The Season finale was released on March 24th on AppleTV+.
Q: What brought you into this comedy series, and what were its musical touchstones as you began to develop your score across the first Season, working with Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie?
Tom Howe: SHRINKING was another Bill Lawrence show, so they told me I was going to be doing the score for that quite a long time before I actually did it. They knew I was working on TED, so I got a long run-in on this to try ideas. I was trying to work out what would be the sound of California, because the whole film is set there and it feels very much in that vibe. I tried a lot of different instruments, and Beach Boys always came to mind, with that sound of organs and vocals. I found this palette which was quite keyboard-heavy, with some vocals and electric bass in a few places, and a sort of slightly vintage drum sound. When we got into the first episode, I’d done quite a lot of music that I’d been sending back and forth, for scenes in later episodes. I had a titles idea – I had about two or three actually – and I was on the phone to Bill, with Kip Kroeger, one of the other producers, and he said “I really like this, but what can we do to make it more memorable?” I said “It would be great if it was a song, because that worked so well for TED.” Bill knows everybody and he said, get Ben into this phone call. We did and I said, “I don’t know if you’d be up for this, but I’ve got a couple of ideas, I can send them over and we can start something again from scratch or what-have-you.” He said, “I’d love to hear what you’re up to,” so I sent him some ideas and he picked one and he sent me back a vocal idea. I said “well, that sounds great,” and he started doing a lyric or two. This track I had down was only about thirty or forty seconds, so I extended that to be a full song arrangement, and we just started passing it back and forth between us and it became the main title song for the show. It was great working with him, and he’s got a lovely voice that really suits the tone of the show, and the lyric turned out just brilliantly.
Listen to the main title song by Benjamin Gibbard & Tom Howe from SHRINKING (vocal by Gibbard):
DAISY JONES AND THE SIX (2023) Amazon Prime follows the rise of the imaginary rock band Daisy Jones and The Six through the 1970’s Los Angeles music scene on their quest for worldwide icon status. A soundtrack was released of Howe’s music from Amazon Music under exclusive license to Arts Music Inc., a Warner Music Group Company.
Q: What did this project need, in terms of the band’s music as well as your dramatic score – and how did you work with the music department regarding the rock band’s music & songs?
Tom Howe: That was kind of interesting, because on all these other shows you’re adding band elements in to kind of up the energy and give the show an identity, but really DAISY JONES already had a sound. You’ve got all the needle-drops which are very, very carefully picked from the era to be appropriate to drive things along in montages and such – but you’ve also got the music of the band. When I went in to look at that for the first time, they said “what do you think?” I said I didn’t think it needed an awful lot, because there was talk about using sounds from the ‘70s and the like. But actually looking at it, I thought it needed something completely different from what the band was doing, and nothing to compete too heavily. So I did a score that was quite synth-based, ambient, and modern. My logic for that was: I very much viewed the score as the breath between songs, because I think if you’ve got a score – and the score drives things along in places, it has some melodic things and it can help the narrative in ways – but I viewed it very much like the pause between the songs. I think if it had gone out and been drums and electric guitars it would have had too much energy and stepped on what they were doing with the songs. I got involved in a couple of the songs in terms of where they’re needed to picture – we’re doing string arrangements and things and helping there with where they go to picture, but in terms of the score I tried to give it a point of view that’s very different from what the songs and the needle-drops were doing.
Listen to the track “What Would You Do With It?” by Tom Howe from DAISY JONES AND THE SIX:
SECRETS OF THE ELEPHANTS (2023) Elephants have long been a source of wonder and mystery with their rich emotional lives and almost supernatural ways of navigating the world. This documentary series travels the world – from the Savannahs of Africa to the urban landscapes of Asia – to discover the strategic thinking, complex emotions, and sophisticated language of elephants, shaping a unique and dynamic culture. The documentary’s soundtrack is available from Amazon, Spotify, etc, via Hollywood Records.
Q: I was particularly taken by this fascinating and affecting 4-part documentary series. What was your starting point in this project and how did the score develop throughout the four episodes?
Tom Howe: That was really interesting. There are four episodes, three of which are set in Africa and one’s set in Asia, and I was trying to get the score to be very authentic, even down to the kind of drums that I would use. They would be region-specific – the drum sounds would be different across the African episodes and then into Asia as well. I did a sort of sampling session in London at Air Studios, and I brought in these amazing players with an array of different instruments, but I quickly realized that it is quite hard to discern the difference between a drum from Northern Africa and Southern Africa, if you’re hearing it under narration, effects, and all the rest of it. So I quickly decided that wasn’t my best idea. So I got instruments that were not region specific, but continent specific. I started by making a sampling library with it, so I got all the percussion instruments and then built instruments that I could then play from within the computer with the original sounds.
Then I decided the main thing that would bond the whole thing together would be a female vocal. I’ve worked with a girl in the past named Tori Letzler, I’ve used her on a couple of things and she’s got a fantastic vocal quality. So I called her and asked if she wanted to be the sound of the matriarch and the elephants. The idea was to keep the score very organic sounding, so even in a couple of spots the cues are processed – they’re treated with distortion or effects or whatever it may be, but the original sound source is always from something that’s an organic sound. That was the idea behind that, and then we went to Asia, where there were a few more instruments obtained from there, just to give it a flavor of where it’s happening but giving some consistency across it as well.
Q: How would you describe your primary motives and themes – and how did you treat the unique habitats and distinctive elephant families in each episode?
Tom Howe: I did a main theme, which you hear in the pre-title in the first episode. That is a three-note idea but then it develops a bit beyond that; it’s got a rising three notes at the beginning of each phrase, and it was something, again, that I could manipulate to give me what I needed if somebody was very happy or very sad or something bad had happened. So with that and with Tori’s vocals, those were the two pieces that I was able to manipulate across the show to give a different feel that was needed for whatever the scene was about. One of the things that are challenging whether it’s a movie or a TV show, somebody might say give it too much here because the performance is great, or here we didn’t really get what we needed and you’ll need to make it more emotional, or what-have-you. But in the case of natural history, the performances being filmed are basically always perfect. You still run into something like, we needed more pace here or we need this, but don’t make the music too over the top and let the action speak for itself, because it’s a perfect performance.
Listen to “Wisdom of the Elephants” from the SECRETS OF THE ELEPHANTS documentary:
BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER (2023) A new journey of four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure. The soundtrack album is available from Back Lot Music.
Q: How did you approach scoring this film, inasmuch as you didn’t compose the first film?
Tom Howe: I actually made a point of not watching the first film, because I didn’t want to be influenced by that. I have subsequently watched it since I finished the sequel – and it was great, by the way! But it’s always difficult sometimes coming in on a sequel when you haven’t done the first one. I’ve been in that position before – I did a film called SHAUN THE SHEEP: FARMAGEDDON [2019]. I came in, and the first film had been very successful and I actually really enjoyed the score to that as well, but I made a point of not actually watching or listening to anything from the first movie until after I’d done my score. I did some Zooms with the director and then I went to New York and I hung out in the suite for a couple of days and they played me scenes from the movie. I said, I’ll write the end of the film first, which is a five-minute cue, and I’m going to send it to you next week, and let me know if I’m on the right track. I needed a kind of theme for the Book Club crew, which has an A and a B section, and then I’ve got an adventure theme as well for when they’re off on this journey around Italy. But I started with the last cue because I knew, with everything that I did there, I could then take it back and break it down between where I needed comedy or excitement or what-have-you. I decided I was going to use orchestral sounds at the end because I needed the scale, but then again because it was set in Italy I was also going to use mandolin as color around that with guitars. Then I went to the beginning of the movie and it was a challenge in some ways because there’s another five-minute piece of music in the opening, where they’re reconnecting and talking about their books. It needed a lot of energy because there’s a lot of dialog as well. So, between those two cues I had what I needed to freshen the rest of it, using strings and guitars, mandolins and these new themes I worked into the other places.
Listen to Tom Howe’s theme, “Book Club Reunion,” from BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER via YouTube:
RALLY ROAD RACERS (2023) Racers compete in a high-stakes rally along the famous Silk Road trade route. Zhi, a rookie race car driver, gets the opportunity to compete against the reigning champion of the rally car circuit. With help from a former driver-turned-mechanic, Zhi must overcome treacherous terrain, rival racers, and unexpected obstacles to prove he has what it takes to be the next great racer. No soundtrack yet available.
Q: Now here we have an animated family comedy. How did you shift gears and provide your musical treatment for this exciting animation picture?
Tom Howe: It’s funny – these three films got released at the same time – but actually RALLY ROAD RACERS was something I finished the music for in March of 2021, quite a while back. I’ve worked with the director on that [Ross Venokur] before, and he’s always great fun, and animation is always great because you get to write big tunes and score the action in a way that you probably don’t in lots of other genres. In this film I had lots of themes – I had a main theme for Zhi [Jimmy O. Yang], who’s the lead character, and a theme for Shelby [Chloe Bennet] his girlfriend, and a theme for Vainglorious [John Cleese], who’s the baddy. And then a theme for Gnash [J.K. Simmons], who’s the racing driver, and a couple of other ones as well, such as Vainglorious’ father. So I started by putting those down almost in mini-suite form. That’s often what I do in animation; I’ll write the theme but then I’ll flesh it out in different ways until I’ve got a two-or-three minute bed of alternate ways I can work that theme. And then when I get the picture, I start thinking where that might work in what context. But I got the first cut of it in October/November of 2020, so I had quite a long time to look at it. And it’s a lot of minutes, it’s an hour 33 minutes, there was a lot to get through, but it was a very enjoyable project. Everything was so different that it keeps you on your toes and keeps you fresh as well.
POLITE SOCIETY (2023) Ria Khan, a martial-artist in training, believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends' help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood. The soundtrack album by Tom Howe and Shez Manzoor is available from Back Lot Music.
Q: With this fun action comedy, already receiving high approval ratings, how did you work with the director in approaching the music for this film?
Tom Howe: That was a co-score I did with the director’s brother, Shez Manzoor. He’d been on the film before I came on to it, and I was brought on to sort of help out, and I met Nida Manzoor, the director. We watched the film together and I gave him what I thought – which is always a scary thing! You sit down and watch it after you’ve stepped off a plane with jet lag, and then you’re asked “What do you think?!” But I really enjoyed what she’s made. So as I was watching it I took my notes and made my comments. Then I went away and wrote the main theme for the lead character, and then started chipping off cues and working with Shez in some spots. And then something like eight or nine weeks later I was conducting the score in London. It was qui+te a fast turn-around, but it’s one of those films that I sort of knew I was going to do quickly. I don’t know why, that doesn’t always happen, but I literally watched it and I was like, “I think I know what to do here!” and I went away and got going. It was a really fun thing to work on, and I thought it turned out really brilliantly as well.
Q: The film has been called an action comedy mixed with cross-cultural commentary and the defiance of a heroine carving a path for herself [https://www.rogerebert.com]. How have you followed these elements in creating your instrumental/orchestral structure for this movie?
Tom Howe: It’s probably one of the widest palettes I’ve had on a film, because you’ve got elements that are sort of heist-driven, not exactly but kind of like Man From U.N.C.L.E./Bond type music with chippy woodwinds and percussion and driving band stuff. Full-on orchestra but with Indian overtones. Most of the time, scores need to be very cohesive across the film and you spend a long time making sure that every cue sounds like it’s one thing, if you know what I mean, in terms of the overall palette. The only exceptions are occasionally you do something like SHAUN THE SHEEP where there can be totally bizarre cues in the middle of it. But in this one, as well, there was an opportunity where the theme runs across a lot of it in a lot of places but you get these kind of outlier cues where they come in and just completely do whatever you like, and you’re led by the picture. Some of those sequences, like where they’re at the wedding and they all start fighting with each other in slow-motion and there’s hints of old movies along with modern stuff and all of that. There’s quite a blank canvas and free-reign to go with something. One of the first cues I wrote was the very last cue in the movie, and the reason I picked that is not because it’s the last cue particularly, but because I knew that was the place to have the theme. And then I went backwards from there. But it’s got a very wide palette and we did orchestra recordings, big-band recordings, we had sitar, and all sorts of stuff going on. It was really a fun project!
Listen to “The Lab” by Tom Howe & Shez Manzoor from POLITE SOCIETY:
Special thanks to Ray Costa and Marygrace Oglesby of Costa Communications for facilitating this interview. For more information about the composer, see Tom Howe’s web site https://tomhowemusic.com/
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Composer, producer and musician, Nitin Sawhney resides in England and is a recipient of over twenty international awards including a CBE, an Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award, and 7 independent honorary doctorates. He has scored over 60 films and numerous TV series – including BREATHE, MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE, THE NAMESAKE, 2022’s TV series THE FLATSHARE, 2011’s HUMAN PLANET series, the video game HEAVENLY SWORD, and much more. He’s made over 20 studio albums, 11 under his own name, and has also scored extensively for theatre, dance, and video games.
WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? is a romantic comedy directed by Shekhar Kapur and stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Sajal Aly, Emma Thompson, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, and Mim Shaikh. Premise: In London, award-winning filmmaker Zoe (Lily James) finds that dating apps deliver disappointment, even as she documents her best friend’s journey into an assisted marriage in line with his family’s Pakistani heritage. In the process, she wonders if she might learn something from another approach to finding love. Sawhney composed the score, supported by Shahid Khan, better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, a noted British DJ, record producer, songwriter, and musician. The film premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and was released to UK theaters on February 24 and in the US on this May 5th. The digital soundtrack album was released on February 24, with a CD version issued on March 31st.
Watch the film’s trailer:
Q: How did you become involved in this project as the composer?
Nitin Sawhney: Basically, I’ve always wanted to work with Shekhar Kapur. I’m a massive fan of his from BANDIT QUEEN [1994] and also when he did the ELIZABETH [1998] and ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE [2007] films. I’d seen him speak – he did a talk years and years ago in London and then I’d met him once in L.A., and I’d really liked him. He was an incredibly talented director and very intelligent, interesting person. I’d always thought when people said “who would you most like to work with as a director?” he was definitely in my top three. So when the opportunity arose, basically, Naughty Boy and Shekhar Kapur came over one day to my studio and said, “do you want to get involved in a film?” And so I said, “yeah,” and then Shekhar asked if I’d like to score it. Jemima Khan [writer] I met a bit later, I didn’t actually see the script, initially, it was just more spoken through. The first thing I really saw was rushes, and some basic edits, because they’d already gotten to that point. So I didn’t really need to see a script, I could just watch what they were doing. They were still playing around with it, so I just followed the process there and it just evolved in a natural, organic way.
Q: This film is an unusual and rather engrossing love story. How did you prepare yourself for what the project needed, musically, especially with the varying music that its journey requires?
Nitin Sawhney: Well, first of all, in terms of my background, I’m very into many different styles of music, naturally, anyway. I grew up playing a lot of Western classical piano and flamenco guitar, and I studied Indian classical music as well at a Sikh temple near where I lived, even though I’m from a Hindu background. So I was across lost of things, and I also played rock guitar and all kinds of different styles. So it wasn’t a big leap to put together lots of different influences, and I think that’s probably why they did come to me – because I have a lot of experience in different styles of music and I’m used to doing that with my own albums and with other scores I’ve done, like THE NAMESAKE for Mira Nair [2006] or Deepa Mehta’s MIDNIGHT CHILDREN [2012], and so on. It’s something I’ve done quite a lot of. At the same time, I thought it would be very important to build a vocabulary that was unique to this project. I think I was tapping in to bits of grammar of some of the Working Title films from before, in terms of how they used piano and guitar and so on to create a certain atmosphere with strings. I’ve worked a lot in orchestrations and so on with other films I’ve done, so it just felt quote natural and quite flowing.
Listen to the track “Convincing Kaz”
Q: How did you treat the main characters, Zoe and Kazim, thematically across the storyline?
Nitin Sawhney: Because of the fact that they never really come together until the end, it’s not something where there were opportunities to really give them a theme together, apart from there being a sense of yearning. There were particular piano pieces that I used, or a particular kind of piano style that I used to get across a sense of yearning at times. That comes through in some of the cues, particularly when they’re almost longing for each other, but they don’t really know how to articulate it and they don’t know how to acknowledge it themselves. I’m using a particular raga – a raga is almost the equivalent of a mode but it’s much more than that because it reflects the time of day and the seasons and so on; the raga literally means “color.” But it’s a way of playing scales in Indian classical music that is based on moods and song. There’s one which is a particularly interesting raga, called raga Desh, which I really love, and I use that quite a lot in different moments – moments that I felt there was a kind of sense of a suppressed yearning or longing for something that they couldn’t quite figure out, so even with the ceremony with Kazim and Maymouna, there’s a sense of longing for something else. There’s lots of these moments as Zoe and Kazim are longing for each other but it feels like it’s an impossible situation. So there’s lots of those moments that I explore, and obviously the culmination of all of this is in the treehouse at the end, where they finally kiss and so on. But it’s really about suppressed feelings rather than a realization of feelings in most of the film.
Listen to the track “Fairytale”
Q: How would you describe the score’s instrumental focus, as it ranges from settings in London and Pakistan?
Nitin Sawhney: I guess, in a way, it’s not so much location specific, it’s more about the situation. For example, you’ve got fairy tale type themes where Zoe is actually telling the story about her dates, as fairy tales, to her nieces. And then you’ve got the matchmaker’s theme, so there are various themes that come through for different characters and also for every time you get a couple facing the camera while being interviewed by Zoe for her documentary, they’ll have their own specific kind of leitmotif. It’s more situational, but then as the film evolves itself and it becomes set in Pakistan, there’s more of the sense of that coming through, so then I bring in more of any classical elements and more almost Bollywood elements to some of the music as well. So it’s more about the situation and the narrative that dictates the kind of music that I was using, rather than necessarily thinking about it in terms of geography or culture, or location.
Q: Were you involved in the music for the wedding sequence?
Nitin Sawhney: Yeah, I did the song originally. I did it with Naughty Boy. “Mahi Sona” is the wedding song that they all dance to. Then there’s quite a few little things that come up in this ceremony, for example, between Maymouna and Kaz – there’s a theme that I scored for that as well. There’s lots of ways in which I’m scoring the whole process of them getting together, or the marriage as it kind of unfolds.
Listen to “Mahi Sona” (AKA The Wedding Song) co-produced by Sawhney & Naughty Boy:
Q: You mentioned those interviews that Zoe does as she prepares her documentary, and there’s some really cool music in those sequences, also when she shows her completed film to the family near the end. What can you tell us about the music for those sequences?
Nitin Sawhney: That was basically about scoring in a different kind of way. I couldn’t use the same kind of music as I did for the rest of the film; and it was also about thinking, trying to get into her head and what kind of music she might want to use, and then differentiate between that and the music for the rest of the film. It’s interesting, because it’s a film within a film, and you’re trying to also read her psychology as a character as well as score to what’s appropriate. It’s quite interesting doing that. There are lots of layers in this film, and lots of different ways which is quite challenging. Although it’s essentially a romantic comedy, it still feels like a multi-layered one in a lot of ways as you’re jumping between different cultures, different ways of thinking, different vocabularies, musically, coming from the East and the West, but also you’re trying to find the emotional palettes to complement the narrative of the whole thing, and the psychology of all the characters.
Q: There are a number of songs placed in the film, and I understand you wrote some of them. What can you tell me about those songs, and how you weaved your score in and around them and the other songs?
Nitin Sawhney: I wrote several of the songs. “Mahi Sona” and “Nachho Gaao” are the main ones, set in Pakistan, and there’s a remix of a track I wrote with Naughty Boy. But I had a hand in pretty much all of them, apart from the diegetic ones where Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is singing the Qawwali music, which is when you can see that Zoe is mesmerized and enchanted. That’s a very strong moment between her and Kazim, and quite instrumental in their coming together. I enjoyed doing it all, I guess – I’m writing songs in a specific style here. I make a lot of albums and I write with and produce for a lot of different artists from my own stuff, but when you’re writing for a film you’re being very specific to what is required in terms of soundtrack, so with “Nachho Gaao” and “Mahi Sona,” those are songs that are going to be listened to in a car in Lahore or at a wedding, so they’re specifically for purposes [in the film] rather than me expressing myself as a songwriter.
Listen to the song “Nachho Gaao”
Q: Where was your score recorded?
Nitin Sawhney: Pretty much here at the studio where I work all the time in Brixton, London. I’ve had the studio here for about fifteen years. We brought in the chamber orchestra as well, and a lot of what you’ll hear there is me playing on a keyboard or guitar. I’m programming stuff, but then I also brought in Ashwin Srinivasan, who’s a fantastic flautist who’s playing an Indian classical bamboo instrument, the bansuri, and you can hear a lot of his flute playing all the way through the film. He’s somebody I’ve worked with extensively over the years.
Q: If you are able to skirt around any major spoilers, how did you musically handle the finale as it concerned our main characters and give the film its long-awaited happy ending?
Nitin Sawhney: I think you’ll probably notice that when the film narrative moves along towards the back end of the film, there’s more orchestration. There’s nothing that tugs at the heartstrings like orchestral strings, and I was combining those with the Indian bansuri, because I think the combination are very devastating, emotionally. They have an amazing power in terms of how they can really make you feel things, and I kind of feel, towards the end of the film, I was really pushing the orchestration I was doing to really evoke emotions in the people who are watching. I think that pays off – it feels like it has a good emotional journey and I feel like you really do emphasize and you are reaching for Kaz and Zoe to get together by the end, and when they do have their moment together it does feel like a payoff.
Q: What did you find was most challenging and/or most rewarding about scoring this film?
Nitin Sawhney: I think it was about navigating all the different opinions and thoughts about what direction the film should take, and also what direction the music should take. It was very interesting because Jemima Goldsmith (aka Jemima Khan) wrote it, she has her own thoughts about how things should work, Shekhar Kapur has his own thoughts – also the producers. Everyone had quite different opinions about how to bring everything together. There was also editorial feedback and so on, but it was actually very much about finding the heart of it and then presenting that, and that worked well to get everybody on board at once, because lots of opinions can feel confusing, like they’re pulling you in different directions. I always think, as a composer, you have to slightly take control of what it is the film is saying, musically, and really trust your instincts as much as you can and then present that to all the people at once and hopefully they’ll go along with you, which they did. And that works really well, and I was pleased that everyone unanimously liked the score and that they were happy with how it came out.
Listen to the track “Aisha & Zahid” (parents of Kazim)
Q: What’s coming up next for you that you can talk about?
Nitin Sawhney: I’m scoring Neil Gaiman’s next TV series which is ANANSI BOYS, which I’m really enjoying at the moment. I’ve been working on that and there have been a few movies that have been put to me and we’re just looking through some scripts and talking over the next couple of days about some possible films. Apart from that, we just put out a single today [May 10] from my new album, which is called Identity, and I’ve brought in some of my favorite singers and artists. I’m working on the music now, and it’s been staying busy! We’ve got some lovely gigs coming up at the Royal Albert Hall in October and some other gigs through the summer. I’m really looking forward to it all.
The single is called “Darling Boy,” it’s about my friend Guy Garvey from the band Elbow, and it’s about his son. He used to sing this as a lullaby to his son, but I kind of turned it into an almost dance-y type track, and it’s gone down well on radio today. We had a really good response from BBC6 music, so I’m quite happy about that.
Listen to Nitin Sawhney’s “Darling Boy,” the single from his new album, featuring Ashwin Srinivasan and Guy Garvey.
Special thanks to Jeff Sanderson of Chasen & Company for facilitating this interview.
Composer Jérôme Leroy recently completed his latest commissioned album for the British music library Audio Network. The album is now available to customers to stream and license on the company’s engine. Through The Interface is a collection of explosive cinematic action and mysterious adventure fantasies, featuring tense and rhythmic strings, heroic synths, and driving percussion in pieces that often build to an exhilarating climax. While writing the notes for Leroy’s Through The Interface album, we wound up with more information than could fit in the notes (which are posted on his website), so with his permission I drafted the remaining part of our discussion into the Q&A which follows.
Originally from Paris, France, Jérôme Leroy began his composing career by scoring numerous internationally recognized short films, including Taking The Plunge, winner of a coveted Student Academy Award. He then turned to feature films and has since written the music to the gothic romance thriller The Housemaid, the fantasy drama A Better Place, the romantic thriller Chi Chi Em Em, and the psychological horror film The Lift, to name a few. His credits in the film industry also include Lionsgate’s blockbuster The Hunger Games (original music programmer) and Universal Pictures’ animated film The Tale of Despereaux (orchestrator/score coordinator). In television, Jérôme’s credits as composer include the 40-episode Chinese drama series The Ideal City for iQiyi, the groundbreaking children’s animated series Ridley Jones for Netflix, and Disney Junior’s animated series Vampirina. Over the years, he has also collaborated on more than fifty films as an orchestrator and score producer.
Q: When and how did you begin to compose commissions for the British Audio Network library?
Jérôme Leroy: I started writing music for Audio Network back in late 2015. I had met Ali Johnson, then Head of Music, a few months earlier and when I finally became available to compose a full album, I reached out to tell them I was ready. We came up with a concept for my first album with them, which became, a few years later, Impressions. A few years later, I followed that up with my second album, Shifting Perspectives. For Through The Interface, as always, the process started a year in advance, when Gemma Guy, Head of Catalogue Strategy and Composer Projects at Audio Network, and myself had a conversation about our next album together. We discussed in what direction they were hoping to expand their catalog the following year and found where my style of writing would fit their needs the best. That happened in November 2021. I started writing in January 2022 and the track was approved in May. We recorded the strings at Abbey Road Studios in June, mixed them that same week, and after a three-month delay over the summer to create all the different versions (each track has about 10-15 variations for syncing purposes), the album was delivered to Audio Network in October for mastering.
Q: What were the types of music you would write for them and how did you configure that into albums for listening?
Jérôme Leroy: I love the fact that Audio Network doesn’t usually commission one or two tracks – instead, they like to commission “albums” of seven tracks, typically between 2m30s – 3m30s each. This has many advantages; first of all, you are supposed to write tracks for a specific “brief” (what they internally call “usage”), which means you can create a thread between each piece, as long as it fits the overall concept. On top of that, since you know you will need seven tracks, it helps with structuring your album: I always try to challenge myself to come up with different ways to solve the puzzle, so to speak. An easy solution might be to switch around metrics, keys, and tempos. Emotionally, some tracks might be more threatening than others, or more exciting, or more subdued… if they stay within the agreed brief, you have full latitude to play with it. I find that very inspiring.
Q: Where were these albums distributed, or to what audience(s)? – or were these the equivalent of library music to be used in various musical projects?
Jérôme Leroy: Audio Network first releases the albums on their internal search engine. That engine is made available to the public as well as entertainment entities (studios, production companies, TV channels…) for browsing and ultimately licensing. That’s the first and main goal of writing and producing these tracks: so that they will eventually be selected and “placed” on programs or films in need of underscore, the bulk of which is TV content. Then, a month later, they release the album on all the usual streaming and download services. At that point, the album becomes available for anyone to listen to.
Q: What prompted you to create “Through the Interface;” what were your inspirations and intentions for this album?
Jérôme Leroy: The original brief was summed up as “Tension with Strings.” This can really mean a lot of different things, so we spent a few weeks discussing how I should approach it. We agreed that we wanted a hybrid type of album – where the tracks would blend electronics and live strings – but also something that would sound futuristic in a kind of old-school cyberpunk way. There were two distinct periods that influenced me. Being born in the early 80s, I’ve always been a Vangelis fan. In fact, I had been listening to his score to Blade Runner for more than 15 years before I (finally) saw the film. His score to 1492: Conquest of Paradise was also a huge influence on me. At that time, music from French video game composer Stéphane Pick was also a massive revelation to me – the idea of scoring media with synthesizers in an unapologetic way, in using the synthesizers for what they were great at – and not to simply try to replicate the orchestra – fascinated me. The second period started with the discovery of the cyberpunk genre, in video games specifically. I’m thinking of System Shock, Deus Ex, and X-Com, of course, but especially their sequels: System Shock 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and X-Com: Enemy Unknown. At that point, for technical and artistic reasons, the music had fully embraced combining electronics and orchestra. I became very interested in the music of video game composers such as Michael McCann and Tim Wynn, so writing an album of cyberpunk-influenced music came very naturally to me.
Q: Would you describe your instrumental palette for this Audio Network project?
Jérôme Leroy: I think the best way to describe the instrumentation would be that it is a blend of electronics and strings. The electronics themselves are a-plenty: there are synths directly sampled from famous analog synths of the 80s, such as the Yamaha CS-80 (adored by Vangelis and countless composers alike), but also modern textures, beats, pulses, rises, hits, pads… everything that isn’t live strings is some sort of electronic plug-in manipulated or programmed in custom ways.
Q: How would you describe your concepts for each of the albums’ seven tracks?
Jérôme Leroy: As always with the albums I write for Audio Network, it’s important for me to find a thread that links all the tracks together. This helps during the composition of the tracks themselves, but also after writing, when it comes time to create an album order that makes sense. As I did for Shifting Perspectives, Through The Interface follows a story that takes place in a world that became clearer and clearer in my mind as I kept composing. Here it is below: “Through The Interface” takes place in the distant future in the dystopian city of New Akron. A massive megalopolis, New Akron sprawls as far as the eye can see—which isn’t very far because it’s packed with buildings. We can barely see the sun, even during daylight—because of how massive the buildings are, but also because of acid rain, fog, and smoke. Light barely pierces through, so most lights are artificial. Towering over this mega city is the “Citadel”—a humongous nondescript building where wealthy autocrats live in autarky. ‘The Rulers,” as they are known to the city’s inhabitants, run a well-oiled caste system where they have surrounded themselves with oligarchs, industrialists, administrators, and other technocrats who, for their own self-interest, allow this unjust system to continue. Leading the Rulers is the “Regent”—the most powerful man in New Akron, who has ultimate authority over the affairs of the City. New Akron’s social construct is organized around various levels of power. At the top, literally and figuratively, sit the Rulers. The lower you go the dirtier and darker the city gets, and the less power and wealth people have. At the very bottom of the city lies the “Underbelow”—a system of damp open-air sewers where the poorest live and barely survive. In this world, technology has been completely commoditized, to the point that even the poorest of inhabitants have access to a huge amount of technology. Although cruder and older, it is part of the way of life, even if most people use hacks and illegal means to access stuff, they are not supposed to have access to.
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“Through The Interface” follows the story of “the Son” a nameless character who grew up in the Citadel and is, by heritage, one of the potential heirs to rule the city. Like all his peers, he grew up in complete disregard for people who are not part of the Rulers’ caste system and its supporters. The Son has no idea of what happens outside the Citadel, nor does he care; he’s been raised to believe that anyone outside the Citadel are simple commoners, manual workers… or criminals. One day, as the Son gets closer to the moment, he will be crowned the new city’s Regent, he gets accused by a competitor of a crime he did not commit. His punishment sees him banished forever from the Citadel, left for dead at the very bottom of the City, in the Underbelow. There, he gets taken in by complete strangers—the “commoners” he used to despise—who nurse him back to life. This gives the Son his first real unadorned understanding of the City he calls home. He soon discovers how most people live their lives, and disgusted by this new realization, he plots his return to claim his rightful place, to destroy the old caste system from within, and to change New Akron for good.
This is all meaningless for the listener, of course. But it isn’t for me! This is the world of Through The Interface!
Q: What do you find different in conception and technique between a commission such as this and scoring a film project?
Jérôme Leroy: Aside from the advantages listed above, writing an album of music that’s fully independent from visuals is obviously an ideal situation for a composer. You are not just free to write anything you want (as long as it fits the original brief), you’re also able to write the form and the structure that makes the most sense musically. As a music library, Audio Network is special in that they do not force the writers to follow a specific structure. They only want the track to be musical and to stay within the agreed “usage.” When writing for film, I am undeniably constrained by the rhythm and emotional beats of the scene I am scoring. Music starts, evolves, changes, and ends at very specific places most often dictated by the footage… or, if it’s not on screen, by the director. And that’s good! That’s the job of being a film composer. The challenge is being able to be musical within those constraints, and, if you’re lucky or talented (or both), being able to write a piece of music that is interesting to listen to separately on an album (outside of its first intended use). Because of the freedoms it affords me, writing for Audio Network has helped me realize and define who I truly am as a composer—and that’s a massive deal. Which in turn informs how I write music for films nowadays… so I see it as a net benefit!
Q: What’s been most interesting and most challenging about scoring this type of project?
Jérôme Leroy: The most interesting, by far, is being able to fully explore one musical genre. Because I must write seven tracks in that genre, as a composer it’s satisfying to think deeply about how I can bring variety to each track. That’s also the challenging part of it: each track must be different enough to keep things interesting, but not stray too far away from the original brief. (I’ve been guilty of writing a track or two that didn’t end up being right!). And of course, the ability to record strings at Abbey Road at the end of the process is an amazing opportunity for any composer, and especially on an album of library music!
Special thanks to Jerome Leroy for discussing in detail the concept and process of composing Through The Interface. For more information on Jerome Leroy, please see his website at https://www.jeromeleroy.com/
12 O’CLOCK HIGH/Dominic Frontiere/La-La Land – CD
The fourth volume of film music from THE QUINN MARTIN COLLECTION, VOLUME 4, offers Dominic Frontiere’s compelling musical scores for the ABC television series 12 O’CLOCK HIGH (1964-67). This thrilling compilation of original music from the WWII drama-action series, produced by Jon Burlingame, showcases rousing orchestral work from the composer Frontiere, offering some of his finest work with an exciting selection of dynamic cues from 17 classic episodes of the show. Frontiere’s main theme is a powerful dramatic introductory overture, reprised by the composer in several variations, riffs, and lengths throughout the series, while a wide number of action, romantic motifs, and full-on dynamic treatments in fast tempo for the action scenes. Frontiere makes the most of his relatively small television orchestra, which gives the show all the needed mix of drama, tension, and aerial battle music it needs. This most recent collection of Quinn Martin’s mid ‘60s television action shows is a welcome addition to the TV music albums Burlingame has curated for the label (La-La Land’s previous CDs in this series includes THE INVADERS, THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, and a “Cop and Detective” compilation including BARNABY JONES, MOST WANTED, CANNON, and DAN AUGUST). The tracks are transferred and mastered by Doug Schwartz, this deluxe 2-CD set, limited to 2000 units, is highly recommended. Sample tracks from the La-La Land album here.
Sample Dominic Frontiere’s main theme from 12 O’CLOCK HIGH (from TVs Greatest Hits CD edition):
BIG BEASTS/Ruth Barrett/Lakeshore – Digital
BIG BEASTS is an original documentary series soundtrack featuring music by Ruth Barrett (LAW & ORDER, THE TERMINAL LIST). Meet nature’s most captivating giants, from the icy poles to the tropical jungles. Emmy-nominee Ruth Barrett is one of the UK’s most sought-after film and television composers. Her music is unmistakably original and eclectic, spanning feature films and high-end TV drama. Barrett’s orchestra-based compositions for BIG BEASTS capture the beauty, drama, and grandeur of the creatures showcased in the series. “I wanted to score this like a drama, with character themes that would really connect emotionally with the animals,” said Barrett. “The score features an amazing group of soloists and singers combined with orchestra and choir to give it an epic scale.” From Elephants to Whales, Ostriches to Orangutans,
Tigers to Bears, King Cobras to Giant Otters, Orcas to Albatross, Leopard Seals to Elephant Seals, Barrett provides intriguing and compelling motifs for each of them. The score is richly evocative and builds a unique sonic semblance for the series’ amazing photography of nature in the wild and the fascinating lives that these animals eke out in their environments. Very highly recommended. The album is available here https://lnk.to/BigBeasts Listen to the track “Bearfight in the Rockies” here:
L’AGNESE VA A MORIRE/Ennio Morricone/Beat Records (Italy) CD This powerful 1976 Italian WW2 drama from director Giuliano Montaldo (English title AND AGNES CHOSE TO DIE) follows an aging couple, Agnes and Palita, who are lulled by their quiet routine and seem almost unaware of the war surrounding them, but soon the conflict breaks into their lives. The Germans come to take Palita, a supporter of the Resistance, and Agnes already knows in her heart that she will never see him again. Morricone avails himself of a number of exceptional soloists such as De Gemini on harmonica, Carnini on organ, Valdambrini on flugelhorn and the dramatic vocals of Clara Murtas to emphasize both the enduring devotion between Agnes and Palita as well as the tranquility of their lives turned upside-down by Nazism. There’s also a continuing wistful melancholy running through the score as we follow this beloved couple during the eight months preceding the liberation of Italy from German occupiers. Morricone alternates between almost sacrosanct musical elements and a heavy dissonance of horn figures punctuated by snare drums and menacing martial treatment to effectively and poignantly describe this dark period of Italian history. How Agnes maintains her dignity in its midst offers some of the composer’s most soulfully emotive musical elements. The label offers a first-generation stereo master prepared in 1977 for a 33rpm record that was never released, now fully restored for an exceptional listening experience. The CD, released in 2020 in its first full-length presentation, features mastering by Daniel Winkler and Claudio Fuiano, liner notes by Patrick Bouster, and graphic design by Daniele De Gemini, featuring the original poster art by Renato Casaro on the cover. Available through Beat Records, Italy, and soundtrack sources in the US. For details, see Beat Records. Listen to the track “Alla Stazione” from L’AGNESE VA A MORIRE, posted on YouTube:
L’AMOUR ET LES FORÊTS (Just the Two of Us)/Gabriel Yared/MovieScore Media
Blanche Renard meets Greg Lamoureux and believes he is the one, but soon finds herself caught up in a toxic relationship with a possessive and dangerous man. Yared’s score emphasizes the noxiousness Blanche discovers in Greg, from the harmony of initial romance through to the poisonousness Greg visits upon her later in their relationship. The music thus begins with a very melodic theme for guitar, keyboard, and strings, which is reprised through a number of variations, such as “Voyage a Paris” wherein we have a bell-like synth or keyboard suggesting a delightful holiday in Paree, gradually descending into the concerning flavor of “Dans le doute” (In Doubt) with a nervous arrangement of low vibrato strings and oboe, with the strings emerging into dark, downward entwining patterns and a bit of mandolin, ending in a rising wave of vibrato strings. “La neige” (The Snow) brings back a bit of the romantic flavor, but not for long, as “Papier et stylo” (Paper and Pen) offers a desultory monolog for strings and bitter winds, while still reflecting a bit of the romance that was. Yared’s melodic structure, lovely with ongoing hints of danger, continue; “Pas envie de partir” (Don't want to leave), adding a strident synth pattern on top of woodblock and the woodwind melody from the main theme. The romance reaches its head in “Mal a la tete” (Headache”); the track opens with a high mercado string pattern with somber synth notes, a bit of the woodwind theme merging through, as if in remembrance of what had been a hopeful romance, moving into low oboe melody and a mixture of the preceding, with the resolute patterns of “In Doubt’s” low cello reaching the final moment of termination. The opening theme returns for a conclusive melancholy pattern.
“I very much appreciate my long and harmonious collaboration with Valérie Donzelli on this unusual film, so superbly shot and admirably interpreted by Virginie Efira and Melvil Poupaud [“Une nouvelle vie,” A New Life] said the composer. “My composition process actually started prior to the shooting because I was asked to write a song for the two main actors, and also find the film’s musical theme. The music had to convey both the rise of the man’s perverse madness, as well as the woman’s feeling of suffocation – an almost infernal crescendo which can take the film to crazy dramatic and romantic heights.” Quite a compelling score and nicely presented by the label. Listen to the love theme from L’Amour Et les forêts from YouTube:
LES FEUX DE LA CHANDELEUR/LA VIEILLE FILLE/Michel Legrand/Music Box Records, CD
Two soundtracks from 1972 composed by Michel Legrand, both starring actress Annie Girardot (ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS, DOCTEUR FRANÇOISE GAILLAND and LES MISÉRABLES) at the height of her popularity in the 1970s. Les Feux de la Chandeleur (HEARTH FIRES), directed by Serge Korber, evokes the breakup of a middle-aged, provincial couple and the pain of passionate love. It recounts the separation of Marie-Louise (Annie Girardot) and Alexandre (Jean Rochefort) in a small provincial town. The years pass, but Marie-Louise subsists increasingly in the hope of a reconciliation, a hope that ends up killing her. The film is at once a melodrama and a commentary on society. Rather than punctuating her despondency, Legrand creates a score in which plaintive and luxuriant strings dominate, which in their melodious treatment suggest a theme of infinite sadness. A number of 1970s-era pop numbers provide source music for parties and such, while some cues evoke a gesture to French New Wave master Jacques Demy (the delectably wild “Le bébé d'Annie,” petite comédie musicale). The second film, La Vieille Fille (THE OLD MAID, 1972) (directed by Jean-Pierre Blanc), a complete opposite to Korber’s film above, embraces the love story of a couple (Annie Girardot and Philippe Noiret) whose love for each other begins before either has confessed it to one another. Legrand offers a sweet if melancholic musical score (also rich in pop and dissonance) which has its own share of a character’s fall into aloofness. Both scores engage in lovely romantic melodies using stimulating instrumentation dappled by colorful use of harpsichord, celesta, glockenspiel, and harp, which adds flavorings to the lively strings and winds, creating a highly compelling and enjoyable sonic environment. “Between the romantic heights of LES FEUX DE LA CHANDELEUR and the melancholy delicateness of LA VIEILLE FILLE,” notes the label, “this album presents a rich, complex and almost schizophrenic portrait of the composer Michel Legrand at the beginning of the 1970s.” Both scores offer relatively short tracks (16 for CHANDELEUR, 20 for VIELLE FILLE) but are rich in a variety of reprised melodies and delightful elegance. The label’s reissue has been newly remastered from the original master tapes. An 8-page CD booklet is offered with both French and English liner notes by Nicolas Magenham. The album is available from MusicBox Records in France, as well as major soundtrack labels in the US. Note – see also the label’s sumptuous tribute to Georges Delerue’s classical and vocal music CD, down in “Non-Film Musical Works by Film Composers,” below Soundtrack News.
The CD is available from Intrada, see here for more details on both scores and their instrumental facets.
RUN FOR YOUR WIFE/Nino Oliviero/Quartet Records – CD Spain’s Quartet Records, in collaboration with Italy’s GDM and Universal Music Publishing Ricordi, presents the premiere release of the complete score by Nino Oliviero (MONDO CANE, UNA MOGLIE GIAPPONESA, RINGO DAL NEBRASKA) for Ugo Tognazzi’s Italian romantic-comedy vehicle UNA MOGLIE AMERICANA (aka RUN FOR YOUR WIFE), directed by Pier Luigi Polidoro in 1965. The film is about Riccardo (Tognazzi), an unhappy employee of a shoe factory who decides to use his next business trip for a more personal reason. He sets out to find an American wife and marry her in order to get a Green Card that allows him a move to the New World. But time is running out until his tourist visa expires, so he must desperately race through the US in search of a wife…
Oliviero’s score is delicious ‘60s lounge pop, much reminiscent of the music of Henry Mancini and similar musicians and bandleaders of the era. A vocal version of the main theme, “All,” performed by Frankie Randall, had no real prominent placement in the film, but Oliviero’s melodic theme itself is nearly omnipresent throughout the score, from the orchestral splendor of “Titoli,” to the sultry saxophone of “Tutto per Carol” and the various lounge arrangements for party sequences heard in the film and the descriptions associated with each of the women Riccardo considers for betrothal – ranging from the frenzied pop keyboard of “Ballando il twist nella pista,” (Dancing the twist), the very Mancini-esque “Corsa all’ora di punta” (Rush Hour), “Suonando il surf” (Playing the surf), “Ragazze sul prato verde del golf” (Girls on the green golf course), and “Passeggiata a New Orleans” (Walk in New Orleans). Several of these include clever variations on the main theme, and the like. This Quartet CD includes not only the original album (12 tracks), but the complete score (28 more tracks) as well as a large number of unused cues and alternates, almost all in pristine stereo. This release was produced by Claudio Fuiano and mastered by Chris Malone. The booklet includes liner notes by Gergely Hubai. The album makes a thoroughly enjoyable listen as it ranges from the delicate romantic melody and variations of the main theme, to the catchy pop and dance numbers that go around the revolving disc. See Quartet Records for more details.
Listen to the “All” (Theme from RUN FOR YOUR WIFE instrumental) via RCA/Legacy from original LP:
LE ULTIME ORE DI UNA VERGINE/Daniele Patucchi/Chris’ Soundtrack Corner – CD
Chris’ Soundtrack Corner has released Daniele Patucchi’s masterful score to LE ULTIME ORE DI UNA VERGINE (THE LAST HOURS OF A VIRGIN). In the 1970s, the genre of Italian melodramas found new and innovative ways to discuss heavy topics against the backdrop of romantic stories. Until abortion was made legal in 1978, Italian filmmakers shot dramas centering around the issue with varying degrees of good taste. This is one of them, featuring a compelling jazz/funk-based score by Daniele Patucchi, one of the lesser-known (and less frequently released on record) composers of the Italian silver age. The score’s central theme is introduced in “Titoli” and is written for the female character – curiously enough Patucchi titled it “Sydne’s Theme,” labelling it after the actress Sydne Rome rather than her character’s name (Laura). There are also brilliant recurring motives for other aspects of the story. “I mendicanti” collects several cues that use the same propulsive energy for a 9.5 minute montage highlighting the various swindles all captured in POV-style surrounding a jazzy male vocalism. There are also a number suspense cues, and in what is arguably the film’s weirdest moment, the main character attends a magic show and Patucchi provides a more-or-less self-contained cue for one of the story’s visually most interesting sequences. The CD contains two bonus sections, opening with so-called record versions of certain cues, which includes the unused version of “Tema per Sydne,” which was slated to appear on the soundtrack but was actually removed from the film. The second half of the bonus section includes all the source cues heard in the movie. All of this makes for a very pleasing listen, from a composer worth exploring or revisiting. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet featuring detailed notes by Gergely Hubai. For details see Chris’ Soundtrack Corner.
THREE O’CLOCK HIGH/Tangerine Dream & Sylvester Levay/Varèse Sarabande – CD
THREE O’CLOCK HIGH (1987) was an offbeat take on the ’80s high school bully comedy. Stylishly directed by Phil Joanou, the film is more Scorsese than John Hughes, about a school nerd (Casey Siemaszko) who is forced into an afterschool rumble with a psychopath bully delinquent (Richard Tyson) who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day’s end. Director Joanou was desperate for the band to score the film and was overjoyed when Tangerine Dream agreed: “The Berlin sessions with Edgar Froese and Paul Haslinger were a (tangerine) dream come true,” he writes in new liner notes for this release. “At their studio next to the Berlin Wall, we worked for several weeks crafting each cue… The things they could coax out of a keyboard, as well as guitars, bass, and drums, were just incredible. I was blown away.” It was rare for Tangerine Dream (then a trio of Edgar Froese, Chris Franke, and Paul Haslinger) to score a comedy film. but the band fell into form and created a compelling electronic score that kept the humor in the story and offered a pleasing mix of rather subdued but effective percussive electronic tonalities. The film is a kind of high school HIGH NOON, based around the ticking clock as the school bully, Buddy Revell, waits for meek high school student Jerry Mitchell to show up for a fight outside the school at 3:00 P.M. The Tangerine Dream score, essentially, moves that ticking clock forward incrementally. Phil Joanou met with Tangerine Dream in their Berlin studio – “We worked for several weeks crafted each cue,” Joanou wrote in the CD’s album notes. “It was my first time working with electronic music and the studio was more like a giant warehouse filled to the brim with rack after rack of state-of-the-art equipment. The things they could coax out of a keyboard, as well as guitars, bass, and drums, were just incredible. I was blown away.”
Out of circulation for decades, Varèse Sarabande presents this album in remastered form for this long overdue release, with Tangerine Dream’s 15 tracks supplemented by additional music by Sylvester Levay (when the filmmakers needed more cues and couldn’t afford to return to Berlin) and the prominent song by Jim Walker, “Something to Remember Me By.”
For more details and to order, see Varèse Sarabande
The DUNE saga continues as award-winning filmmaker Denis Villeneuve embarks on DUNE: PART TWO, the next chapter of Frank Herbert’s celebrated novel Dune, with an expanded all-star international ensemble cast. The film, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, is the highly anticipated follow-up to 2021’s six-time Academy Award-winning DUNE. The big-screen epic continues with returning and new stars, including Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Léa Seydoux, with Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. DUNE: PART TWO will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. Hans Zimmer’s score for DUNE: PART TWO is set for release on October 20, 2023, by WaterTower Music.
I’LL BE WATCHING is a science fiction-esque home invasion thriller directed by Erik Bernard. The film stars Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley (both from the 2014 sci-fi series THE 100), along with Bryan Batt (12 YEARS A SLAVE), David Keith (AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN), Hannah Fierman (VHS), and Seth Michaels (RED NOTICE). The film follows Julie, who, after the murder of her sister, moves with her tech genius husband into the country. He installs a top-notch security system that he developed. When he leaves on a work trip out of the country, she gets trapped inside and is convinced that the killer is playing a sick game of psychological torture before killing her like he did her sister. The film is scored by Mark Sayfritz, known for scoring the films DEATH OF ME, DARK TIDE, DEADTECTIVES, ABATTOIR, and DARK TIDE. For more details, see the composer’s website here.
Giant Krakens Vs. Evil Mermaids: this summer, experience RUBY GILLMAN TEENAGE KRAKEN only in theaters on June 30. DreamWorks Animation dives into the turbulent waters of high school with a hilarious, heartfelt action comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny in the depths of the oceans is bigger than she ever dreamed. The film is scored by Stephanie Economou (JUPITER’S LEGACY, MANHUNT, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3).
Watch the trailer below:
A loose adaptation of THE SEVEN SAMURAI and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, SEVEN CEMETERIES follows a recent parolee named Bravo (Danny Trejo) who sets out to round up his old posse to save a woman’s ranch from a ruthless drug lord. The only problem is that all his desperado friends are dead. So, with the help of a Mexican witch, he resurrects them for one last mission, only to find out that wrangling the dead is a lot like herding cats. Directed by John Gulager (FEAST films, 2005-2009; HE WAS A QUIET MAN, 2007; PIRANHA 3DD, 2012; ZOMBIE NIGHT, 2013) and filmed in Okarche, Oklahoma, the film stars Sol Rodriguez, Efren Ramirez, Lew Temple, Sal Lopez, Terri Hoyos, and Samantha Ashley, with Danny Trejo. Prolific film composer Elia Cmiral (RONIN, SPLINTER, RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE, THE WIND & THE RECKONING, FERAL, PULSE 3) has composed the film’s score. The film does not yet have a release date.
DON’T GET IN THE CAR is a 2021 suspense thriller with a cool retro-noir vibe starring Noel Gugliemi, Mike Ferguson, and Emma Julia Jacobs, co-written and directed by filmmaker newcomer Clarice Paris. It’s about a woman who is forced to drive a 1960s Lincoln Continental to complete unusual errands to save her and her loved ones in the dead of a Los Angeles night. Jack Greco, a newcomer to film scoring, provides the film’s score.
Watch the film’s trailer:
The animated series GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI premiered on May 23. The half-hour animated series from WB Animation and Amblin TV is set in 1920s Shanghai, serving as a prequel to the movies. “The series reveals how a 10-year-old Sam Wing – who becomes the future shop owner Mr. Wing in the 1984 movie – met the young Mogwai called Gizmo. Sherri Chung (KUNG FU, THE BOYS PRESENTS: DIABOLICAL, BLINDSPOT, Arrowverse series) is scoring the show. The new series is executive produced by Tze Chun. Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay serve as executive producers, with Joe Dante (who directed the first two films) as consulting producer. The series debuted with the launch of Max (formerly HBO MAX) on May 23, 2023, consisting of 10 episodes. The series has already been renewed for a second season and is also set to air on Cartoon Network as part of their ACME Night block.
THE TOWER is a British police procedural television series based on the first book of Kate London’s Metropolitan trilogy book series, Post Mortem. Starring Gemma Whelan as anti-corruption officer Sarah Collins from the fictional DSI department, it is set in 21st-century London. It follows the aftermath of the deaths of a veteran Metropolitan Police officer and a young Libyan girl who fell together from the roof of a London tower block. When Constable Lizzie Adama – one of the only witnesses – disappears soon after, Collins’ investigation becomes two-pronged: what happened on the roof and finding Adama. Nainita Desai has scored THE TOWER 2: DEATH MESSAGE – Episodes 1 and 2 are out now on BritBoxTV; Ep 3 and 4 are coming soon...
AMERICAN BORN CHINESE is an action comedy television series based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. The series comprises eight episodes, premiered on Disney+ on May 24, 2023, and stars Michelle Yeoh, Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, and Chin Han. Premise: Jin Wang, a high schooler struggling with school and home life, meets Wei-Chen, the new Taiwanese exchange student at his school. However, a sequence of events leads him to become involved in a battle between gods of Chinese mythology. Wendy Wang scored the film.
LOVE & DEATH is an American biographical crime drama television miniseries streaming on MAX. The series is directed by Lesli Linka Glatter and Clark Johnson, premiering on April 27, 2023. The series is based on the story of Wylie, Texas, housewife Candy Montgomery, who was accused of murdering her lover’s wife with a wood-splitting axe. Elizabeth Olsen plays her in the Max series Jeff Russo has scored the series, and WaterTower Music has released the digital soundtrack, available on Amazon, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Quartet Records announces four non-American Western soundtracks, now available:
Pedro Almodóvar’s EXTRAÑA FORMA DE VIDA (STRANGE WAY OF LIFE) is a beautifully crafted short 38-minute western starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to massive critical and audience acclaim. The music is by Alberto Iglesias, his fourteenth film with Almodóvar.
Although it’s a short piece – barely 20 minutes long – this score is of such quality and importance that Quartet believes it should be released in a strictly limited CD edition of 500 units.
EL PODEROSO VICTORIA, a Mexican film written and directed by Raúl Ramón, with music by Fernando Velázquez, provides an impressive, full-epic symphonic score, 73 minutes of pure film music composed as in the good old days – romantic, tuneful, with a radiant love theme. It’s exciting, emotional music, meticulously performed by the Basque National Orchestra under the composer’s baton.
The British Western HANNIE CAULDER, directed by Burt Kennedy, tells the story of a heroine (Rachel Welch) who seeks vengeance on three horrible brutes who raped her. The score, composed by Ken Thorne (SINFUL DAVEY, INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU, SUPERMAN II, SUPERMAN III), complements the film’s wide variety of influences, from the rugged sounds of the Southern setting to evocative montages of Hannie’s development as a gunfighter, and fierce action cues for the various raids.
In collaboration with Italy’s Cinevox Records, Quartet presents a remastered, expanded edition of the classic Angelo Francesco Lavagnino Western score for a most unusual duel. Directed by Eugenio Martín and José Luis Merino in 1968, REQUIEM PER UN GRINGO used unorthodox costume and set design and a great plot device to say something new in the genre. This new CD features the original program augmented with previously unreleased cues and a bonus suite of surviving stereo cues.
SILENT BEAUTY is an autobiographical exploration of survivorship. New Orleans journalist and filmmaker Jasmín Mara López unabashedly shares her healing process from childhood sexual abuse. After Jasmín discloses to her family that her grandfather had abused her, she liberates others to come forward to confront a culture of silence over generational trauma. Gil Talmi has scored the film, commenting, “In honor of this courageous and meaningful film, I am releasing the soundtrack featuring Jasmín’s beautiful voice. Until June 15th, all net proceeds from the soundtrack on Bandcamp will go towards the Silent Beauty Impact Campaign. My north star in scoring this film became the idea of Jasmín finding her voice by sharing herself so generously and authentically. From a musical perspective, what represents this better than the human voice itself? And so I started with recordings of Jasmine’s voice; singing, humming, whispering… bringing to the surface what is buried deep inside.” Listen to the score and read Talmi’s comments on scoring the doc, here.
La-La Land Records’ new soundtrack releases for May 2023 are:
SABRINA: Expanded Limited Edition (2-CD SET), with music by John Williams, limited edition of 3000 Units. Significantly expanded beyond the 1995 SABRINA soundtrack album and including previously unreleased music, this deluxe, remastered presentation showcases the 53-minute film score presentation, plus alternate cues, on Disc One, while Disc Two, entitled “Party In The Moonlight – Songs of SABRINA,” presents sung versions of the songs “(In The) Moonlight,” performed by Sting, and “How Can I Remember?,” performed by Michael Dees, along with additional instrumental versions of those songs and a collection of well-known melodies conducted by Williams for the film’s various elegant party sequences.
RAT RACE: Limited Edition, music by Elmer Bernstein, limited edition of 1000 Units. Having scored such legendary comedies as AIRPLANE!, ANIMAL HOUSE, GHOSTBUSTERS, STRIPES as well as many others, it’s no accident that Maestro Bernstein was initially the composer of choice for this madcap ensemble comedy in the vein of IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. Now for the first time, and with the blessing of the composer’s family, Bernstein’s take on the film is here for us all to enjoy, and it’s an orchestral comic delight – a rollicking wonder that embraces the film’s outlandish, desperate characters and overall cartoonish verve.
WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, Limited Edition, music by Alan Parker and Björn Isfält, limited edition of 1000 Units. “Finally available for the first time in any format, the original score to this beloved film is a beautiful and joyful musical tapestry that perfectly reflects the movie’s warmth and the dramatic complexity of its colorful and soulful characters. Building upon and expanding beyond, Isfält’s initial thematic material, Parker’s work is an emotional delight with an acoustic emphasis. Included in this presentation as well, is Isfält’s original unused score.
Composer Max Aruj has announced the release of his score to THE TANK (Music From the Motion Picture). The horror film is about a family who, after mysteriously inheriting an abandoned coastal property, accidentally unleashes an ancient, long-dormant creature that terrorizes the entire region. The 19-track album is available to stream on digital platforms. The film has been released on VOD. Aruj’s score represents the most primal of human experiences: survival. The sound palette uses scraping metals to reflect the cold, metallic water tank where the creature lies. Using a detuned orchestra, Max’s music ebbs and flows, mimicking the slow breathing of the beast. Max comments, “The predatory nature of the creature is mostly slow, and then it strikes quickly when it attacks, and the score is the same. We mimic the slowness of the creature. Then, when it comes time to attack, the whole ensemble plays together.” The score was designed to reflect the monster’s environment and characteristics, sounding like an ancient orchestra. The simplicity of the motif is like an ancient chant; one could imagine when the creature attacked people 50 million years ago, they would hear the same score.
The brand new soundtrack for Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID is available on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and CD. The film is director Rob Marshall’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s Oscar®-winning animated musical classic. The songs feature music from Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman, with new lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Director/producer Rob Marshall says, “Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda have written three thrilling new songs and one new reprise for this film, which is kind of amazing… Of course, the idea of moving forward without the late great Howard Ashman was daunting, to say the least, but we were fortunate to have my dear and brilliant friend Lin step in as lyricist, with his great respect and love for Howard and the original score.”
Watch the film’s music featurette here:
Kronos Records announces two new soundtrack CDs: MATCHMAKING, music by Frank Ilfman, is an entertaining and good-hearted romantic comedy that gives a light Orthodox twist to ROMEO AND JULIET. See https://kronosrecords.com/K115.html; BLOODY FURY, an animated Western set in the Far West, where the fur trade is raging, but Bloody Fury, one of the last red wolves, decides to avenge his exterminated family. But is revenge the best solution to find the way to redemption? The film features music by Italian composers Susan Dibona & Salvatore Sangiovanni (I LIVIATANI [Bad Habits Die Hard]). See the pre-order page on the Kronos website here.
Alex Belcher (21 BRIDGES, CITADEL) has composed the highly anticipated action sequel EXTRACTION 2, starring Chris Hemsworth. A sequel to the massively successful 2020 film EXTRACTION, Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, and Adam Bessa reprise their roles, with Olga Kurylenko, Daniel Bernhardt, and Tinatin Dalakishvili joining the cast. Tyler Rake is back after barely surviving his grievous wounds from his mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and his team is ready to take on their next mission. Tasked with extracting a family at the mercy of a Georgian gangster, Tyler infiltrates one of the world’s deadliest prisons to save them. Belcher’s score traverses through heart-stopping action sequences, delicate character moments, and spine-chilling suspense, enhancing the emotional impact of the gripping narrative. He captures the personal stakes that Tyler Rake’s (Hemsworth) mission will thrust upon him while also peeling back the layers of the character. Belcher created strange but familiar music, which he accomplished in several ways like playing the viola backward or repurposing junkyard finds. In the same way, Rake repurposes any item into a weapon. EXTRACTION 2 will stream on Netflix on June 16th.
MovieScore Media has released Rich Walters’ delicate and optimistic score to DRINKWATER (2021), a comedy-drama coming-of-age story in the John Hughes tradition. Mike Drinkwater is lost; his father, Hank, is hardly the role model Mike deserves. A young woman moves to town, and their friendship gives them the courage to overcome their challenges. “Director Stephen Campanelli and editor Christopher A. Smith, from the outset, had a clear and concise vision to share with me as to what their hopes for the music would need to encompass,” said composer Walters. “I took their lead and began work right away, being drawn to a number of instruments including autoharp, mountain dulcimer, acoustic and electric guitars, and a beautiful virtual instrument called a Niue, that’s based on wine glass recordings. This was the foundation for the score - simple and thoughtful motifs that would become as integral to the story as the characters themselves. It was a cathartic experience creating the music for this movie as I was able to draw far back into my emotional headspace when I was a teenager and use some of my experiences as inspiration while fashioning the musical journey for this movie.” For more details, see MovieScore Media.
Also from MSM is Ilan Eshkeri’s score for THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY, a 2023 drama film directed by Hettie Macdonald, based on the novel by Rachel Joyce, starring Jim Broadbent, Penelope Wilton, and Claire Rushbrook. The film is about an ordinary man named Harold who has passed through life, living on the sidelines until he goes to post a letter one day…and just keeps walking. “Much of the music was performed by myself on the violin and piano along with gentle synthesizer accompaniment and strings for the bigger emotional moments,” said the composer. “Music that I get to perform as well as compose is always very personal. It all comes from a single melody; at times, it is just alternating chords, like the left-right motion of walking. This alternating motion helps the mind to process. When the bass comes in, it changes the harmony into a four-chord progression, other instruments join, and the music grows and becomes more uplifting. There is also the other side of the theme, the dark version of the melody, which works in the same way.” See MovieScore Media for details.
Award-winning composer, Marcelo Zarvos, composes the score for the upcoming Sony Pictures biopic, BIG GEORGE FOREMAN. The film, which marks Zarvos’s first collaboration with director George Tillman Jr, is based on the remarkable life and boxing career of George Foreman. The soundtrack, with music by Zarvos, has been released by Madison Gate Records. In addition to BIG GEORGE FOREMAN, Zarvos also recently scored another inspirational biopic: FLAMIN’ HOT, the story of a janitor at Frito Lay who invents Flamin’ Hot Cheetos; this film marks Eva Longoria’s directorial debut and won the Audience Award at SXSW.
It’s been 30 years since Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished. Now a new team has been assembled to restart the project, hoping to understand the mysteries behind the machine and the man who created it. This new incarnation of the popular 1989 TV series premiered on September 19th, 2022, and concluded after 18 episodes on April 3rd, 2023, but it has been renewed for a second season. The show is available to stream on Peacock and NBC website and NBC app and On-Demand on Comcast/Xfinity Systems for free with ads. Daniel James Chan has scored the series, commenting: “In QUANTUM LEAP, we’re on a space shuttle one week and the next in the Old West. That type of storytelling calls for a broad range of music flavors which is one of my favorite parts of being a composer.” Chan’s previous credits include scores for SUPERGIRL, DC’s LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, ABC’s EMERGENCE, and the Warner Bros. Animation series FREEDOM FIGHTERS: THE RAY. Notable film credits include THE ODD WAY HOME, MONSTER IN A HOUSE, and the award-winning JOSEPHINE AND THE ROACH. Lakeshore Records released a soundtrack album from Season 1 last April 28th, which is now available to stream/download on all major digital music services. Purchase/Stream the soundtrack here. See my new interview with Chan about QUANTUM LEAP and The Arrowverse, coming up in MusiqueFantastique.
Watch the trailer for QUANTUM LEAP:
Silva Screen Records has digitally released the soundtrack to YOU & ME, Vince Pope’s poignant, uplifting, sad, and life-enhancing soundtrack to ITV’s romantic comedy-drama starring Harry Lawtey, Jessica Barden, and Sophia Brown. Produced by Russell T Davies (DOCTOR WHO, IT’S A SIN, NOLLY), the series explores the meaning of finding, losing, and trying to love once again. Pope’s soundtrack works with a 4-note piano leitmotif, a form of an upwards G Major broken chord movement that constructs a musical question. This intriguing motif emerges from the expansive warming electronica of the opening theme, to be transported through different “moods.” At times joyful and irreverent (‘Moving In’), the piano motif is supported by a percussive guitar to create a musical timeline for the new love blossoming through playful little moments. At other points, the mood darkens (‘Something Sad’), and the broken chord loses its angular shape to fade into minimal repetition. In ‘Cards from Memory,’ the track melds into expansive electronic chords, bringing the four notes back into sharp focus, giving the theme of memory credence. In ‘Starting Over,’ new beginnings and hope are represented by the leitmotif coming back, in the form of variation and via a heavily manipulated piano sound, to create something new while retaining the old. The soundtrack album was released on May 5th and is available on the usual streaming services.
Alex Baranowski’s hypnotic soundtrack to BBC’s stark comedy drama RAIN DOGS has been released digitally by Silva Screen. Described by The Guardian as a “bleak, beautiful comedy-drama which skewers the grotesque realities of class and sex inequality like nothing else,” the eight-part series tells the story of Costello Jones, a recently sober single mother to ten-year-old Iris, who is doing everything she can to make ends meet. Baranowski creates a perfect soundtrack for this wild, swaggering tale of love and friendship: the hypnotic soundtrack breathes, stumbles, and falls with its characters. The obsessive downward-sliding-third motif is at the heart of the bluesy soundtrack, moving between twangy guitars and brass and encased by jaunty percussion and dreamy strings. The motif sometimes dissolves into a purely electronic sound with an emerging, poignantly sad, and distorted trumpet solo, signifying no escape in this story of addiction, toxicity, and “a makeshift family bound by defiance, chaos, poverty, and pain.” The series is now on MAX and BBC One in the UK.
Lakeshore Records has released RABBIT HOLE, the digital Series Soundtrack with music by Emmy-nominated composer Siddhartha Khosla (ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING). The series stars Kiefer Sutherland, a master of deception in corporate espionage, framed for murder by powerful forces who can influence and control populations. Khosla combines experimental strings and analog synths to create a taut and unsettling backdrop to the action thriller. Notes Khosla: “Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s unique vision helped the score become a character in the show, and thanks to our amazing live string players, we were able to create an uncomfortably tense backdrop to this thrilling series. String players experimented with us by using their instruments in unconventional ways, and that, mixed with analog synths, helped create a sound that called back to the 70s thriller but from today’s purview.” Purchase/Stream the soundtrack here.
Hollywood Records & Marvel Music have released the soundtrack albums for Marvel Studios’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 3. The Score Soundtrack features John Murphy’s original music from the movie along with The Awesome Mix Vol. 3, a songtrack album featuring seventeen songs by various artists featured in Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill character’s enthusiasm for classic rock from a mixtape put together by his mother. Both albums were released digitally and physically on May 3, 2023, with a cassette version coming out on July 7. Listen to John Murphy’s track “Guardians vs. Hell Spawn” from GUARDIANS 3:
WaterTower Music has released the soundtrack to the HBO (now MAX) Original Limited Series WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS, with music by Jeff Cardoni. The composer approached the score like a five-hour movie, having the musical arc occur throughout the entire series rather than by episode. The melodies tie throughout the show, beginning with a smaller string section and growing to a large orchestra, becoming darker to reflect the characters’ actions. The five-part limited series imagines the behind-the-scenes story of how Nixon’s political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt (Woody Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Justin Theroux) accidentally toppled the presidency they were zealously trying to protect. Chronicling actions on the ground, this satirical drama begins in 1971 when the White House hires Hunt and Liddy, former CIA and FBI, respectively, to investigate the Pentagon Papers leak. After failing upward, the unlikely pair lands on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, plotting several unbelievable covert ops – including bugging the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex. Proving that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction, WHITE HOUSE PLUMBERS sheds light on the lesser-known series of events that led to one of the greatest political scandals in American history. The soundtrack is available here.
In a May 3rd interview with Deadline, Danny Elfman confirmed that he would score Tim Burton’s upcoming BEETLEJUICE sequel. It’s expected that Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder will reprise their roles from the original 1988 movie, and they are joined by Jenna Ortega (WEDNESDAY, X, SCREAM), who will play the role of Lydia, Ryder’s daughter. BEETLEJUCE 2 is expected to release through Warner Bros sometime in 2024. - Via filmmusic reporter
Lakeshore Records released the MR. ROBOT Volume 8 Original Television Series Soundtrack digitally on May 9. Composed by Emmy Award winner Mac Quayle (AMERICAN HORROR STORY, GASLIT), the additional 39 previously unreleased tracks from this season of the series range from thrillingly orchestral flourishes to trademark dark electronic tension-filled cues. Notes Quayle: “As in the previous seven volumes, the core sound remains electronic, but we also ventured into some new territory. I have to admit to being quite emotional as I put the finishing touches on the last few cues that follow Elliot to the end of his journey.” Purchase/Stream: https://lnk.to/MrRobotV8
MEG 2: THE TRENCH is the upcoming science fiction action sequel to the 2018 film THE MEG, which was based on Steve Alten’s series of MEG novels set around the fictitious survival of the megalodon, a giant prehistoric shark. Ben Wheatley directs the sequel film and stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sienna Guillory, Cliff Curtis, and Skyler Samuels. Harry Gregson-Williams (THE MEG, THE MARTIAN, INFINITE, THE LAST DUEL, MULAN) scores the film. The film will be in theaters on August 4 via Warner Bros. Pictures.
For the first time, Joe Renzetti’s score to THE EXTERMINATOR, the 1980 James Glickenhaus-directed cult classic hybrid of action, revenge, and horror, is available on CD via Notefornote music. The film follows the killing of a man’s best friend on the streets of New York City. In response, the man (Robert Ginty) transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and only Detective James Dalton (Christopher George) can stop him. The album also includes the film’s iconic song “Heal It” by Roger Bowling, Byron Hill, and Mike Reid – which is making its release debut on this soundtrack. The first 100 copies sold through Notefornote will include a signed booklet from composer Joe Renzetti.
For more details, see the label here.
The soundtrack for Apple’s new sci-fi drama SILO is composed by Atli Örvarsson, whose score was crucial in telling the agonizing struggle of the last ten thousand people on Earth and lays the emotional foundation built on by the incredible cast. In SILO, the gripping, world-building Apple Original drama based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels, men and women live in a giant silo underground with several regulations which they believe are in place to protect them from the toxic and ruined world on the surface. The soundtrack album is available here. For more details on the series, see here. For more details on composer Atli Örvarsson, see here. Watch the series trailer:
STAR WARS: VISIONS VOL. 2 celebrates STAR WARS through the lens of the world’s best anime creators, storytellers, and composers. Stay immersed in the galaxy far, far away by listening to the soundtracks from each short. Seven Japanese animation studios produced the first volume of nine anime short films: the creators at each studio were given free rein to re-envision the ideas of STAR WARS as they saw fit while receiving guidance from Lucasfilm’s executive team. The volume was released on September 22, 2021, and received positive reviews from critics. VOL. 2, a second series of nine animated shorts, was released on May 4, 2023 from a variety of animation studios around the world. Walt Disney Records has released nine new soundtracks for the second series of STAR WARS: VISIONS shorts. The label has previously released the soundtracks for all episodes of the first volume of STAR WARS: VISIONS (see my coverage of the first series in MusiqueFantastique here). For more on “Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2,” visit https://www.starwars.com/; the nine VISIONS Vol. 2 soundtracks are available individually on Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and elsewhere. Watch the trailer for STAR WARS: VISIONS VOL. 2 here. Watch a featurette about STAR WARS: VISIONS Vol 2 Here.
Composers Marcelo Zarvos & Oak Felder have scored WHITE MAN CAN’T JUMP, a 2023 sports comedy film directed by Calmatic. It is a remake of the 1992 film of the same name. The film stars Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow, in his acting debut, in the lead roles, alongside Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier, Vince Staples, Myles Bullock, and Lance Reddick in one of his final film performances before his death in March 2023. The film premiered on Hulu on May 19.
WaterTower Music has released a third soundtrack for DC’s first-ever Batman preschool series BATWHEELS. The Vol. 3 EP features five more original songs from the show’s first season co-written by Andy Sturmer (who also produced all tracks) with Susanna Benn and executive producer Michael G. Stern. The label has previously released a first 8-track volume and a second volume with additional five songs last fall. The soundtrack is now available to stream/download on all major digital music services, including Amazon.
- via filmmusicreporter
Premiered on BBC One in the UK, and on FX and Hulu in the US, on March 26, GREAT EXPECTATIONS is a new historical series based on the novel by Charles Dickens’ damning critique of the class system, which follows orphan Pip, who spent his childhood as a blacksmith’s apprentice and suddenly receives a windfall from an unknown benefactor that allows him to travel to London and enter high society. The film is composed by Keefus Ciancia (LIMITLESS, HE’S WATCHING, KILLING EVE, DEVIL’S GATE, MINDHORN).
THE ENGLISH is an epic chase Western film, a Prime Video Original Series directed by Hugo Blick and scored by Argentinian composer Federico Jusid (13 EXORCISMS, LAS INVISIBLES, SITIADOS [aka BESIEGED]). The vivid orchestral score is reminiscent of classic Ennio Morricone and John Barry yet distinctively modern as it inhabits both the beauty and the brutality of the reimagined Western. Jusid explains the dichotomy of his score for THE ENGLISH: “On the one hand, the score is formally built in the fashion of the Western soundtracks of the 1950s. Its structure is based on leitmotifs, very simple and symmetric in its original form but in constant developments mirroring the protagonists’ journeys. Also, like the classics often use big orchestral sounds, [we] expose epic tunes and romantic themes. In this sense, it has a fervent and (emotionally immodest) approach, trying to contribute to the story with consistent emotional articulation. On the other hand, it also has contemporary elements in its instrumentation, sound design, processed percussion, and ethnic instruments that blend in with the orchestral material.” The soundtrack is available here.
Dominik Scherrer has scored NO ESCAPE, a 7-part thriller adapted from Lucy Clarke’s novel, set on a sailing yacht in southeast Asia. The drama follows two best friends on the run from their lives in the UK and finds refuge on a romantic yacht crewed by a group of enigmatic people sailing through South East Asia. When that yacht is found adrift in the seas around Queensland, Australia, with a galley fully stocked with plenty of food and everyone’s personal items but with nobody onboard, police launch an investigation. The series is streaming on Paramount+; a soundtrack is reportedly coming soon.
Lakeshore Records and 5 Cat Studios are set to release STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE – Soundtrack from the Apple Original Film featuring music by John Powell (HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY). The film follows the life of beloved actor and advocate Michael J. Fox, exploring his personal and professional triumphs and travails and what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease. Powell’s energetic score vividly captures the heart and life-affirming essence of the film directed by Davis Guggenheim. “How does he move?” Powell said during a Deadline’s Sound & Screen: Television event panel. “I often treat action films like dance sequences. I treated every time I saw Michael moving as a dance… I think that’s why Davis wanted me. He didn’t want it to sound dour. He didn’t want it to sound like Parkinson’s. He wanted the real heart of Michael. That’s mainly what we responded to.” The album was released digitally on May 26. The film is streaming now on Apple TV+.
Lakeshore Records has also released a digital soundtrack by Ariel Marx to the film SANCTUARY. Directed by Zachary Wigon and starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, the picture was released to theaters in March. The wickedly dark comedy follows dominatrix Rebecca (Emmy Award® nominee Qualley) and her wealthy client, Hal (Abbott), and disaster ensues when Hal tries to end their relationship. Marx utilizes strings, wind instruments, and piano to create a vivid cacophony of melody and soundscapes that enhance the twisted plot turns of the NEON film. Notes composer Marx: “Writing the score for SANCTUARY was delightfully like living in a twisted, romantic fever dream. It was a composer’s playground – the music somersaults between comedy, romance, horror, and erotic thriller.”
Purchase/Stream the soundtrack: https://lnk.to/Sanctuary-score
In collaboration with Dargaud Media, Music Box Records reissues the soundtracks from the LUCKY LUKE animated films composed and conducted by Claude Bolling in a 3-CD box set: DAISY TOWN (1971), LA BALLADE DES DALTON (The Ballad of the Daltons, 1978) and 1990’s French television series (LUCKY LUKE, TV Series 2). Lucky Luke is a Belgian comics series set in the American Old West; it stars the title character, a singing cowboy on a white horse known as the “man who shoots faster than his shadow,” primarily inspired by westerns, American cartoons, and Hergé’s Tintin. This present series showcases Claude Bolling’s creative versatility for the two feature-length cartoons and the TV series. The three lively scores offer a wide array of musical styles and genres: Western film music, Hollywood musicals, bluegrass, Tijuana music, jazz music in the Count Basie big band style, and some iconic songs such as the famous “I’m a Poor Lonesome Cowboy.” This special 3-CD reissue has been newly remastered from the composer’s original master tapes; the package includes a 12-page booklet with liner notes by Gilles Loison discussing the films and the scores. The 3-CD release is limited to 300 units. See MusicBox Records.
Lakeshore Records has released the original motion picture soundtrack to the psychological drama GOD’S CREATURES, music by Danny Bensi & Saunder Juriaans. About the film: In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her sense of right and wrong after a lie she tells for him rips their family apart and has repercussions for their close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic. The film premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022 and was released theatrically in Ireland and the UK in late March. It had a limited release in the US last September.
Purchase/Stream: https://lnk.to/GodsCreatures
Lakeshore Records and Plarium will release the Raid: Call Of The Arbiter limited animated series soundtrack. The new series brings to life some of the most beloved champions from the RAID video game and uncovers new and deeper plotlines. The game features original music by Jesper Kyd (Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Warhammer 40000: Darktide). Kyd, an award-winning composer known for creating iconic scores for the most creative games, films, and television series, provides an enthralling, vividly orchestrated backdrop to the 10-part limited series, which is based on the blockbuster mobile and PC game RAID: Shadow Legends and premiered on YouTube May 18, 2023. “I’m proud to share the soundtrack for the new RAID series in collaboration with Plarium,” said Jesper Kyd. “The score was written to help bring new storylines to life for the most popular RAID characters and set the tone for what’s to come.” The soundtrack is available at these links.
Lakeshore Records has also released XO, KITTY – a digital Soundtrack From The Netflix Series on June 2 featuring a sparkling, modern score by composing partners Jina Hyojin An and Shirley Song (EXPLODING KITTENS animated series). The new hit series produced by Awesomeness TV for Netflix, XO KITTY is a spinoff of TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE. Back for another adventure, this time her own, teen matchmaker Kitty Song Covey thinks she knows everything there is to know about love. She’ll soon realize that relationships are much more complicated when it’s your heart on the line. Notes An and Song: “Our score for XO, KITTY needed a modern/contemporary approach to complementing all the K-Pop tracks while paying homage to the K-Drama genre. We wanted to convey not only the glistening and bustling world of Korea but also the music to reflect how our lead, Kitty, has grown up since ‘To All The Boys.’ This is Kitty’s journey as she navigates through teenhood, discovering love, heartbreak, and family, and our score weaves through the young, fun, and fresh sound to moments of nostalgia and sentiment. Purchase/Stream the Album: https://lnk.to/XOKitty; Purchase/Stream the Single: https://lnk.to/XOKitty-single
Watch the film’s trailer:
MusicBox Records of France “marks the 30th anniversary of Georges Delerue's passing (1925-2022) with a significant CD release paying tribute to his classical and vocal music, which until now had been largely lacking from his discography. Delerue’s film music is well known and loved, but his abundant concert music output is also well worth discovering, as shown in this recording. Sixty singers, two vocal soloists and twenty-two musicians enthusiastically participated in this wild adventure.”
The album is a poignant and beautifully melodic treatment of instruments and voice in a variety of treatments – 22 tracks of spellbinding beauty, several for solo voice and piano, including the “Dedans Paris” (Inside Paris) for Baritone voice and delicate piano, “Vitrail,” a striking ensemble of brass choir, a mesmerizing Etranges Étrangers (Strange Strangers) for solo soprano and chorus, “The Snow Knight – Extracts From The Opera On A Libretto” a shimmering treatment for piano and soprano. The album’s centerpiece is an oratorio for mixed choir, solo baritone, and instrumental ensemble: “Trois Prières pour les Temps de Détresse” (“Dedicated to all persecuted peoples”) which premiered in 1983 at the Choralies de Vaison-la-Romaine, has never been recorded until now. Delerue’s song cycles on poems by Paul Eluard, for baritone and piano, and for soprano and piano, have also been recorded here for the first time.
“As for his two cantatas for a cappella choir, a previous recording was originally released, but never enjoyed wide distribution. The final selection on the CD consists of five excerpts from his opera ‘Le Chevalier de Neige,’ a magnificently powerful collaboration with Boris Vian, premiered in 1957 at the Opéra de Nancy. It is quite a unique testimony, as the original recording has been lost. Whether tonal, atonal, or polytonal, Georges Delerue’s classical music reveals a refined, radiant lyricism while fully asserting its modernity. An abashedly free and independent spirit throughout his life, Delerue crafted and perfected a deeply personal voice in the music world, leaving us with a rich legacy which encompasses many musical forms and genres.” This is a powerfully mesmerizing collection of ensemble music, and an excellent examination of Delerue’s capabilities on the concert stage as they are in the scoring stage. By all means – order direct from Music Box Records here. - rdl
Jeff Bond, well-known freelance writer, CD notes purveyor, book author, magazine editor, and hobbyist, has created a massive two-volume book, The Jerry Goldsmith Companion – Celebrating A Musical Legend. This definitive, two-volume chronicle on the career and music of one of cinema’s most respected, accomplished, and versatile composers has already surpassed its Kickstarter goal by a huge margin. With 19 days to go until its official goal on June 15th, don’t miss this opportunity to own this massive set. From the otherworldly landscapes of PLANET OF THE APES, ALIEN and STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, to the battlefields of PATTON, THE SAND PEBBLES and FIRST BLOOD, to CHINATOWN, BASIC INSTINCT or RUDY, there was no genre at which the veteran composer of over 200 film and TV projects did not excel. The Monolith Collective in association with CF Publishing takes you on the ultimate musical journey with The Jerry Goldsmith Companion, a two-volume examination of the maestro’s career and a comprehensive account of his unforgettable music. Punch your kickstarter button now, right here.
“They say some things man should not know... but I’ve decided to release an ancient tome of knowledge. The mystery and mystique of not just my process and how I achieve my sound, but also how to achieve an orchestral sound for a standard orchestra to use for any genre of music.” – composer Graeme Plowman, today’s foremost orchestral composer for music of cosmic horror and the weirdly supernatural, as inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft and other authors. Graeme has published an interesting paperback that may interest fellow composers and devotees of Lovecraftian music with Cthulhu Mythos Music: Eldritch Secrets of the Virtual Orchestra – A Comprehensive Guide to Creating a Realistic Orchestral Sound with Virtual Instruments. If you’re interested in composing on a computer, particularly with orchestral instruments, and especially seeking music with an unearthly bent, Plowman has released a book that covers how he creates his eerie musical forms. Available in both paperback and Kindle edition from Amazon. For more information on Graeme Plowman and his uniquely unfathomable musical designs, see https://www.grahamplowman.com/ and also check out his YouTube page for other intriguing offerings
Node Records announces the original score soundtrack to the feature documentary THE YOU TUBE EFFECT, from Emmy-nominated composer Paul Haslinger. In this eye-opening documentary, Alex Winter presents a thoughtful, troubling look at YouTube, a site with humble origins that has gone on to change how we experience the world. After a number of festival a showings last year, the film opens in the US with a limited engagement on Friday, July 7th, followed by proper release on July 14th.
Maximilien Mathevon has been nominated at the U2C, Union of Compositors and Composers in France (https://www.u2c.fr/) in the category of Best Documentary Music for his score from L’AFFAIRE BOVARY (THE BOVARY AFFAIR). Directed by Alban Vian and Stéphane Miquel and produced by Keren Productions. Madame Bovary, the famous novel by Gustave Flaubert, was the subject of a resounding trial upon its release. Accused of undermining good morals, Flaubert had to defend his literary work against the accusations of prosecutor Ernest Pinard. This docu-fiction tells the astonishing story of this trial. The soundtrack is available via Plaza Mayor Company and is available on streaming and digital download. The soundtrack is available from Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, and elsewhere.
Listen to Mathevon’s theme from L’AFFAIR BOVARY (The Bovary Affair), from YouTube:
Lakeshore Records has released BEING MARY TYLER MOORE, an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with music by Theodosia Roussos (NAOMI OSAKA original series, FRESH KILLS, musician on THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO). Directed by James Adolphus, the documentary covers Mary's vanguard career, who, as an actor, performer, and advocate, revolutionized the portrayal of women in media, redefined their roles in show business, and inspired generations to dream big and make it on their own. With unprecedented access to Mary Tyler Moore’s vast archive, this film chronicles the screen icon whose storied career spanned sixty years and highlights her groundbreaking roles and the indelible impact she had on generations of women who came after her.
66 million years ago is closer than you think: PREHISTORIC PLANET 2, from executive producers Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton, and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, combines with even more award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest paleontology learnings and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient Earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. The series is produced by the world-renowned team at BBC Studios Natural History Unit (PLANET EARTH) with support from the photorealistic visual effects of MPC (THE LION KING, THE JUNGLE BOOK) applied to concept art created by Jellyfish Pictures (THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, SPIRIT: UNTAMED). PREHISTORIC PLANET Season 2 continues to bring Earth’s history to life like never before as the series presents new dinosaurs, new habitats, and new scientific discoveries while taking viewers around the world in an epic five-night adventure. With new dinosaurs like the Tarchia, one of the largest Ankylosaurus, to returning fan-favorites like the Tyrannosaurus rex, and many more, Prehistoric Planet returns with an all-new season of prehistoric wonders. With a main theme by composers Hans Zimmer and Andrew Christie and original episode scores by Zimmer, Anže Rozman and Kara Talve via Bleeding Fingers Music newly recorded by BBC National Orchestra of Wales, PREHISTORIC PLANET has returned with its second season on May 22 from Apple TV+. Soundtrack available here. Read an article on Classic FM about how the PREHISTORIC PLANET 2 composers built other-worldly instruments using real dinosaur bones, here.
Watch the Season 2 trailer – and then listen to the “Prehistoric Planet” suite from PREHISTORIC PLANET 2:
Award-winning artist, musician, composer and record producer, Gustavo Santoalalla, and composer, guitarist, music producer and performer Juan Luqui have composed the spiritual and emotional score for WILD LIFE, from Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, for National Geographic Documentary Films. WILD LIFE is the inspiring story of conservationist, adventurer and entrepreneur Kristine Tompkins. Thirty years ago, Kristine and her husband, Doug Tompkins, abandoned their successful corporate lives for a profound adventure in the wilderness of Chile. Embarking on a deep love affair with each other and with their newly adopted country, they eventually purchased over a million acres of land with the goal of environmental preservation. Following Doug’s tragic death, Kristine struggled with grief, but then transformed from helpmate to visionary, stepping into the lead role of conservationist and iconoclast by creating seven pristine national parks across Patagonia. The score was released on Hollywood Records May 26, to coincide with the film’s streaming release on Disney+ and Hulu. Said Santoalalla of composing the score, “It’s an honor to be involved in this inspiring love story and life story that [describes] the expansive story of the characters’ philanthropy.” Added Luqui, “The documentary showcases an epic landscape, and it was important for the music to reflect the roots of the land. The opening cue sets the blueprint of what you hear in the rest of the story.” The composers incorporated the Ronroco guitar, an instrument native to the Andes Mountains, as well as to the environs of Chile where the documentary takes place. Said Santoalalla, “The Ronroco language is important to the movie, and how it connects with the characters, as well as to the emotions of their story.”
Chad Cannon has scored the new docuseries, ALGIERS, AMERICA (now out on Hulu). The five-episode documentary series chronicles the journey of Coach Brice Brown and the Edna Karr Cougars, a predominantly Black high school in Algiers, New Orleans as they chase their future, their dreams, and a fifth state championship in six seasons. Connected to the Cougars are a collection of compelling characters in and out of the school – a passionate community leader and educator, a charismatic marching band leader, and a group of families fighting the epidemics of gun violence and mass imprisonment. Altogether, the series is a rare, authentic, captivating, candid, and sometimes difficult look at life in a community fighting to be defined by triumph on the football field and far beyond.
Ship to Shore PhonoCo. is very proud to present Fabio Frizzi’s score to Lucio Fulci’s classic THE BEYOND (aka L’ALDILÀ), now available completely unabridged on vinyl. Inheriting a Louisiana hotel sounds like a dream come true, but for Liza it soon turns into a nightmare made real when she discovers that the Seven Doors Hotel was in fact built over one of the seven gates to Hell. Plagued with ghostly visitations and ghastly freak accidents – not to mention a hospital filled with marauding zombies – Liza and local doctor John must fight for their lives, but can they escape what lies… beyond? Seeped in melancholy and swirled with complex, memorable melodies, Frizzi’s soundtrack complements the on-screen carnage by grounding the surrealistic nature of Fulci’s horror, creating a disorientating yet unforgettable experience. Expanded into a double LP release and cut at 45rpm for extra fidelity, this audiophile pressing presents Fabio Frizzi’s complete original score on vinyl for the very first time, housed in a gatefold jacket featuring archival artwork from the Sea of Darkness itself. For more details, see Ship to Shore PhonoCo here.
Lakeshore Records has released the original series vinyl soundtrack by Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon for the limited TV series WEDNESDAY, directed by Tim Burton and starring Jenna Ortega, Gwendoline Christie, Emma Myers, Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Luis Guzmán. The vinyl edition features a 2X LP on “Purple Goth With Smokey Shadow” vinyl & full color gatefold sleeve & inner sleeves. The album will be available July 21st. Preorder here.
Mondo announces, for the first time ever on vinyl, Gino Marinuzzi Jr.’s score to Mario Bava’s PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (TERRORE NELLO SPAZIO) – with incredible new artwork by Graham Humphreys. Pressed on 180 Gram Aura Splatter vinyl in an edition of 2000, estimated Shipping June 2023. Mondo also debuts the premiere of the soundtrack to Noah Segan’s directorial debut BLOOD RELATIVES – available on limited edition vinyl and cassette (and available on digital later this month). Featuring an original score by Robert Allaire, and songs by Screeching Weasel, Ruth Ruth and more. See Mondo for details on both releases, here.
In further Mondo news, the label joins with Gardener Recordings to bring you RUSSIAN DOLL: Seasons 1 & 2 (Music From The Netflix Original Series) on vinyl for the first time. The series follows Nadia (Natasha Lyonne), a cynical young woman in New York City who keeps dying and returning to the party that’s being thrown in her honor on that same evening, while she tries to find a way out of these strange time loops. Deftly mixing beautiful, melancholy piano pieces with pulsating analogue beats and synthesizers within the show, Joe Wong’s score always felt like it was a character on screen. Removed from the show, it shines as an outstanding listen and one that, much like the time loops in the story, you can revisit time and time again, sounding fresh with every listen. Expected to ship in June 2023. Order from Mondo, here.
Mondo also presents an exclusive color variant of THE LAST OF US: Season 1 (soundtrack from the HBO original series) by 2-time Academy Award® winner Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. The album features score music written by the duo for the first season of HBO’s new drama based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name. Having scored both the original video game and its 2020 sequel, Santaolalla builds on his previous work, expanding the intimate, guitar-driven soundscape to deliver a score as emotionally laden as the story itself.
Waxwork has announced the debut vinyl release of THE SENTINEL Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Gil Mellé. THE SENTINEL is a 1977 American supernatural Horror film directed by Michael Winner (DEATH WISH). The plot focuses on a young model (Cristina Raines) that moves into a historic Brooklyn brownstone that has been sectioned into apartments, only to find out that the building is owned by the Catholic diocese and is a gateway to Hell. The soundtrack features:
The Complete 1977 Soundtrack For The First Time On Vinyl
2xLP "Gateway to Hell" Metallic Gold with Black Smoke Colored Vinyl
New Artwork by Robert Sammelin
Deluxe Heavyweight Gatefold Packaging with Matte Satin Coating
Disney recently released two Star Wars Jedi: Survivor albums, associated with the video games of that name. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor features the music composed by Stephen Barton & Gordy Haab, as well as Sounds From The Galactic Skylines, which features the bands and artists whose music is heard from in-game characters. Both albums are the audio companions to Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, a third person galaxy-spanning action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment, developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. Commenting on their score, the composers said, “This music is the culmination of our shared passion for musical experimentation and growth, combined with a mutual love for one of the greatest stories ever told, STAR WARS!... Together, we have composed and recorded over eight hours of brand-new, unique music for the Star Wars Jedi series, almost four of which are featured on the original score soundtrack album. Alongside this album, we are also thrilled to present a carefully curated Cantina album; really the first of its kind, adding the diverse talents of some amazing bands to the STAR WARS universe.” The albums are available from Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, and other digital music sites. For more information on Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, visit here; for the Star Wars: Jedi Survivor Gameplay Overview, see here
Cris Velasco has written the music for Chrono Odyssey, a next-generation open-world MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games in case you’re not in the know). Explore the breathtaking wilderness of “Setera,” where an open-world full of life and constant changes awaits you. Engage in combat with challenging foes and hone your skills in attack, defense, dodging, and a range of unique abilities across six classes. Utilize the incredible power to manipulate time and space to your advantage, freezing time, rewinding events, and exploring further in ways you never thought possible. Watch the gameplay trailer, here.
Randall D. Larson was for many years publisher of CinemaScore: The Film Music Journal, senior editor for Soundtrack Magazine, and a film music columnist for Cinefantastique magazine. A specialist on horror film music, he is the author of Musique Fantastique: 100+ Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music and Music from the House of Hammer. He currently writes essays on film music and sf/horror cinema, and has written liner notes more than 300 soundtrack CD or digital releases. He can be contacted via https://musiquefantastique.com/ or follow Musique Fantastique on Facebook. Follow Randall on Twitter at https://twitter.com/randalldlarson and https://twitter.com/MusiqueFantast1
