Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are a duo Edith's been chasing since we started this podcast, so it's an absolute thrill to finally lure them on. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross burst onto the film-composing scene with their score for David Fincher's The Social Network, for which they won an Oscar in 2010. The trio have since joined forces on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. Trent and Atticus's most recent work can be heard on Fincher's Mank and Pete Docter's Soul, which you can watch right now on Netflix and Disney + respectively. The two films couldn't be more different and had wildly contrasting musical requirements - which is testimony to the range of their talents. 

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer who's been nominated for a BAFTA on no fewer than five occasions for his sterling output for television. Murray Gold is perhaps best-known for his work on Doctor Who, which saw him continue a long-time partnership with top screenwriter, Russell T Davies. The pair first joined forces on Queer as Folk, and have since collaborated on numerous critically celebrated shows such as Years And Years and A Very English Scandal. Their latest project is It's A Sin, which premiers on Channel 4 here in the UK on January 22nd. A tale of extreme highs and ghastly lows, it recounts the story of five 18-year-olds who move to London in the early 80s and have their lives turned upside down by the AIDS crisis. The legend that is Frank Oz also gets a more than honorary mention!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a first time film composer who's smashed his debut score right out of the park. Adam Janota Bzowski has a background in both music and sound design, and has expertly married the two arts with his work on Rose Glass's Saint Maud. Garnering widespread critical acclaim, Saint Maud defies categorization, but broadly tells the story of a hospice nurse who becomes obsessed with a former patient in her care, believing she must save her soul. It's available on home entertainment formats from 1st February, and we suggest you pop a note in your diary for that - as it really is that good. Adam's score compliments the unsettling atmosphere of the narrative, script and visuals perfectly - and is an incredibly accomplished first foray into the business.

Merry New Year, everybody! To see it in, it's another double-header for you. First up, a true legend of recent cinema. Pete Docter is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. As well as winning Oscars as the director of Inside Out and Up, he was one of the main reasons we have Toy Story and has played some sort of hand in pretty much every movie to have come out of the studio. His latest project is the hugely ambitious Soul, which he both wrote and directed. Streaming now on Disney +, the story follows a music teacher voiced by Jamie Foxx, who seeks to reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician. Then we have Tessa Thompson talking about Sylvie's Love, another film to have jazz at its very core. Set in 50s Harlem, it's a classic romance between Tess's character, with ambitions of her own, and a saxophonist that beautifully evokes the spirit of the age. It's available to watch now on Amazon Prime.

We have one of Edith's dear old friends on this festive episode of Soundtracking - the one and only Andy Burrows As well as teaming up with Edith's fella Tom in their Smith & Burrows guise, Andy drummed with Razorlight, is Ricky Gervais's go-to guy, and scored Snowman & The Snowdog with Ilan Eshkeri. He and Edith discuss all of this and more. Hope you enjoy, merry Christmas everybody!

We're very excited about our latest episode of Soundtracking, which sees a welcome return to the podcast for the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and his longtime collaborator Thom Zimny. The pair joined Edith during lockdown to discuss Bruce's new album, Letter To You, and Thom's gorgeous accompanying film of the same name. Letter To You saw Bruce reunite with the E-Street Band for the first time since 2014, and was recorded over 5 days at his home studio under Thom's watchful eye. Like Western Stars before it, it interweaves music, archive and the meditations of its protagonist to genuinely profound effect. We highly recommend checking it out on Apple TV now.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer we've been wanting to get on for absolutely ages.  Michael Price has worked on a huge range of projects for film and television, including Dracula, Horrid Henry, Hot Fuzz, Band Of Brothers and, of course, Sherlock - for which he won an Emmy with David Arnold. He's also music edited some incredible movies, from Lord Of The Rings to Love Actually and Children Of Men His most recent film score is for Eternal Beauty. Eternal Beauty saw him team up with recent guest on this show Craig Roberts, after they first collaborated on Just Jim. We don't talk about music in as much detail, but don't worry, we'll get him back in 2021 and get granular. Michael doesn't know that yet, but still ...

Christmas continues to come early on Soundtracking, as once again we have two guests for you instead of one. First up, a bit of a legend in our mind, given that he scripted both American Beauty and Six Feet Under. Alan Ball has now written and directed a little gem of a movie in the shape of Uncle Frank, which you can watch on Amazon Prime. Starting Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillas, Uncle Frank tells the story of a gay man forced to confront his past on a road trip with his niece, and has all the wit and nuance of Alan's previous stellar work. Then, perhaps even more impressively on a certain level, Edith is joined by Viggo Mortensen, who not only wrote and directed, but also starred in, and composed the score for, Falling - his first film behind the camera. A long time in the making, Falling sees Lance Henriksen play the homophobic Willis, who is forced to move in with his gay son when he starts to exhibit signs of dementia. Falling has a cinematic release, but you can also watch it at home. Head to modernfilms.com/falling to find out how.

It's all about girl power on this latest episode of Soundtracking, with not one but two women at the very top of their game. First up is Sofia Coppola, returning to the podcast to discuss her new film, On The Rocks, which she both wrote and directed. Starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray, it tells the story of Laura, a mum having doubts about her marriage whose charming yet cynical father, Felix, suggests her husband may be having an affair. It's streaming on Apple TV now, and sees both leads on fine, fine form.  Then Edith is joined by Alison Brie. Best known for her roles in Mad Men, Community and Glow, Alison has now directed an episode of Marvel 616. Marvel 616 is a series of 8 documentaries about everyday folk who are in some way connected to the universe of the comics. We'll let her explain further during the interview, but you can find out what it's all about for yourselves on Disney+ Enjoy!

As promised, we've another double-header for you on this latest episode of Soundtracking, as we span the globe with an Australian and an American. First up is Ben Frost - a composer of extraordinary versatility. We spent much of the time discussing his scores for the mind-bending German Netflix sci-fi / thriller / mystery / time-travel drama Dark. His work on all three seasons is available to buy right now at invada.co.uk - so get ordering online at the first opportunity. Then we bring you Radha Blank discussing The 40-Year-Old Version - a film she wrote, directed and stars in. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction, it tells the story of, you guessed it, Radha, a down-on-her luck playwright moving between the worlds of theatre and hip-hop.