Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

The term cult following is bandied about a lot, but when it comes Stranger Things, it's certainly one that applies. Fans simply love the Netflix show - what with its blend of mystery, horror, science fiction, supernatural weirdness and childhood innocence, not to mention lashings of 80s nostalgia.So it was a real joy to speak to series composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, who've channelled the old-skool electronic spirit of their band S U R V I V E into three seasons-worth of score - all released through Lakeshore and Invada records.

Our latest guest on Lockdown Soundtracking is the wonderful Nitin Sawhney. It's hard to know where to begin when it comes to summarising his career, so diverse has it been. Suffice to say, he's made considerable contributions to just about every single creative art-form, from film, TV and video game scores to theatre, poetry and dance.As well as his own illustrious history as a recording artist, he's also collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music business, including Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Anoushka Shankar, A.R. Rahman and many, many more.So perhaps the best place to start is with his latest single from the album Immigrants, due out in September. 

It's a very special episode for score lovers this week, as Edith is joined by Geoff Barrow and Redg Weeks from Invada Records. With its impeccable roster of composers, Invada's back catalogue has featured more times on our podcast than we can count. Among the artists they've worked with who we've spoken to - Cliff Martinez, Mica Levi, Blanck Mass, Warren Ellis and, of course, Clint Mansell. They've also been incredibly supportive of what we do, so it really was a treat chatting with them both remotely. In addition to his celebrated band work, Geoff collaborates with another former guest on this show, Ben Salisbury, on film and TV scores. And he's teamed up with Ben and Bristol outfit The Insects for his most recent project, Alex Garland's mind-bending tech-noir series, Devs. As always, there's plenty of music to enjoy.

Our guest on this latest lockdown episode of Soundtracking requires very little introduction. We all know what a talented chap Ricky Gervais is - whether writing, acting or directing. And he's put all of these skills to good use for After Life, now in its second season on Netflix. For those of you who don't know, After Life tells the story of Tony, whose world is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer, and features a brilliant ensemble cast including Ashley Jensen, Penelope Wilton, Jo Hartley and Joe Wilkinson. The music is pitch-perfect and wide-ranging too, from the needle-drops to Andy Burrows' score. Expect music from Hammock, Lionel Richie, The Carpenters, David Bowie and Bill Withers!

As quarantine continues, it's a welcome return to Soundtracking for Lenny, who joined us back in episode 107 from the BFI to discuss The Little Stranger. Lenny's most recent project is Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's fantastic novel, Normal People, which will be available in full via the BBC iPlayer from April 27th.  Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, it's a beautifully pitched coming-of-age tale that tells the story of Marianne and Connell as they navigate a relationship during their school and university years. As well as featuring loads of cracking needle-drops, Normal People is scored by Lenny's longtime collaborator, Stephen Rennicks. 

We have two guests for you on this latest episode of Soundtracking in the shape of director Nick Rowland and musician Benjamin Power - aka Blanck Mass. The pair have collaborated on Nick's debut feature, Calm With Horses, a visceral crime drama set in the wild west of Ireland starring Cosmo Jarvis and Barry Keoghan. It is a remarkably accomplished piece of film making, which also marks Ben's first extended foray into the world of scoring. As an album, it very much stands up in its own right too.

Our guest on the latest lockdown Soundtracking is a hugely gifted writer, actor, activist and rapper - and, it turns out, properly top bloke too. Riz Ahmed cut his teeth on independent films such Shifty and Four Lions, but has also had major parts in blockbusters like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  He joined Edith to discuss a whole range of subjects - not least a new short he's made with Aneil Karia called The Long Goodbye. It's available on Youtube, and is well worth 12 minutes of your time. Indeed, we suggest you watch it before listening, as we'll be discussing it in detail shortly.

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking was due to be joining Edith for a live show at the Bridport Film Festival in a couple of weeks time - but you know what sadly put an end to that. Not to be defeated, we're delighted to say that composer Isobel Waller-Bridge joined us from her home via the miracles of technology to discuss many of the brilliant projects she's been involved with.  As well as providing the score for Autumn De Wilde's Emma, Isobel has also done fabulous work on Vita and Virginia, Black Mirror, Vanity Fair and Fleabag, which saw her collaborate with sister Phoebe.

Our guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking has probably been mentioned almost as many times on this podcast as John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Warren Ellis is a multi-instrumentalist musician and composer who is a member of Dirty Three, Grinderman and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and has also written several film scores with Nick in addition to his own projects. Warren was kind enough to join Edith while in isolation at his Paris studio to talk about his career and, well, this strange and worrying crisis humanity finds itself in right now. It was a joy to speak to him - we really hope you have as much fun listening to it as we did making it.

Our guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking is an Australian composer who has worked for a wide-range of critically acclaimed directors, including Sir Ridley Scott. Jed Kurzel's latest project is True History Of The Kelly Gang, which sees him continue his long-standing partnership with brother Justin - a previous interviewee on this show. The pair worked together on Snowtown, Macbeth and Assassin's Creed, while Jed also provided the score for Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, John Maclean's Slow West and, of course, Sir Ridley's Alien Covenant