Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

There can be few cinematic genres that benefit more from the power of score than horror.  And it IT and IT: Chapter 2, writer / director Andy Muschietti and his composer Benjamin Wallfisch have nailed it.  Reflecting the shape-shifting abilities of Pennywise The Clown, Benjamin has produced a soundscape which Andy describes as 'bendy' - that switches in an instant from the safe and dreamy to something altogether more dark and twisted. As well as discussing the score at length, Andy also talks us through some of the needle drops he used, including tracks by The Cure and The Cult.

We have the miracle of social media to thank for our latest episode of Soundtracking, after Edith reached out to the one and only Alan Silvestri on Twitter. And, gentleman that he is, he very kindly invited her to meet up with him on a recent visit to London. Alan is responsible for some of Hollywood's most memorable scores and themes, from Back To The Future and Forrest Gump to Castaway and The Avengers. In recent times, his longstanding relationship with Robert Zemeckis is perhaps only matched by that of Steven Spielberg and John Williams. As if that weren't enough, he also wrote most of the music for the classic TV show, Chips ...

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are husband and wife duo Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson, who have joined forces on a number of levels to bring us A Million Little Pieces. An adaptation of James Frey's book of the same name, it's based on the author's experiences in rehab as he attempted to recover from alcohol and drug addiction. Despite the well-documented controversies surrounding the veracity of some of James's account, there's no denying it's power as a study of what it's like to hit rock bottom. Sam and Aaron wrote the script together, before Sam got behind the camera and Aaron in front of it to take the lead role. They also worked as producers on the film.  The score, meanwhile, is provided by Atticus Ross - a frequent collaborator with Trent Reznor.

Something of a first on our latest episode of Soundtracking, as we're not only joined by a world-class director, but also his world-class translator. To be fair, Pedro Almodovar's English is certainly better than Edith's Spanish, but we are eternally grateful to the lovely Maria for stepping in when he occasionally reverted to his mother tongue. Pedro's latest film is Pain And Glory - a semi-autobiographical tale in which he draws on his own experiences to explore the life of Salvador Mallo, a director in decline.  Pain And Glory reunites Pedro with a number of longtime collaborators, including leading man Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and composer Alberto Iglesias. As well as plenty of Alberto's music, we also feature cues by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ennio Morricone and Grace Jones.

What better way to start the fourth year of our film music podcast Soundtracking than with one of the undisputed kings of the art, Quentin Tarantino. His new movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is everything you'd hope for when it comes to the deployment of pop cues, and also features score by the likes of Bernard Herrmann and Maurice Jarre. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie among many others, Once Upon A Time is set in 1969 Los Angeles, where an ageing television actor and his stunt double navigate the changing Hollywood film industry. It blends fiction with real events - most notably the murder of Sharon Tate at the hands of the Manson family.

This week marked the third birthday of our film music podcast Soundtracking - which is a milestone we’re very proud to have reached.  That we’re still going is thanks in no small part to you, and of course the guests who take half an hour out of their busy schedules to talk to me about their passion for all things sonic. To mark the occasion, we’ve drawn together some of our favourite moments from the past year, which has featured many huge names from the world of cinema and television. Among the voices you’ll hear are Bradley Cooper, M.I.A., Peter Jackson, M Night Shyamalan, Thelma Schoonmaker, Barry Jenkins, Jordan Peele, Cliff Martinez, Keanu Reeves & Danny Boyle - with some fabulous cues to boot.

Our latest episode of Soundtracking has been some time in the making - so busy is the composer in question. But, boy, was it worth the wait. Max Richter is a name that's come up on numerous occasions on our film music podcast, with Joe Wright, Denis Villeneuve, Yann Demange and John Ridley among those who have either enlisted his services or used his original compositions in their work. So we were truly humbled when Max agreed to join us on stage at London's BFI for one of our live events recorded in front of an audience.  Though we barely scratched the surface of his extraordinary back catalogue in the hour or so we had with him, we still covered a lot of ground, including his contributions to Waltz With Bashir, Mary Queen Of Scots, White Boy Rick, Black Mirror and Arrival.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking makes a very welcome return to the show, having given us something of a retrospective on his astounding career back in episode 45. Nick Broomfield is multi-award winning documentary maker who, among many other subjects, has made several films about musicians - including Kurt & Courtney, Biggie & Tupac and, most recently, Whitney Houston. Continuing the theme, Marianne and Leonard: Words Of Love, is an intimate meditation on the relationship between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse, Marianne Ihlen. It's a deeply personal project for Nick, who met Marianne during a visit to the Greek island of Hydra when he was 20, and also encountered Leonard on the LA party scene. As with Whitney, Marianne and Leonard is scored by Nick Laird-Clowes , who consciously borrowed heavily from Cohen's musical lexicon to create a coherent sonic backdrop to the narrative.  We are also extremely grateful to (composer) Nick for providing us with several of his yet-to-be released cues from the movie

Back in 2016, Jon Favreau was kind enough to be the very first person we recorded for our film music podcast, Soundtracking. 151 episodes later, and Jon returns to discuss his flabbergasting remake of Disney's much-loved Oscar-winning musical, The Lion King - a mind-boggling photorealistic animation starring Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, and Beyoncé.  As with the 1994 version, this new film is scored by our old friend Hans Zimmer, with Elton John returning to rework his compositions from the original alongside South African composer, producer and singer Lebo M. Pharrell Williams also produced five of the tracks.

Edith's latest guest on Soundtracking is one seriously multi-talented lady. Emma Forrest is a journalist, novelist and screenwriter - who has now added directing to her CV with her drama, Untogether.  Starring Lola and Jemima Kirke, Jamie Dornan, Billy Crystal and Emma's former husband Ben Mendelsohn, Untogether tells the story of two sisters in the throes of relationships that are challenging for very different reasons. Music plays a key part in setting the tone, with one specific track by Primal Scream inspiring the whole film.  The film is scored by Robin Foster. And it's with Robin's track Hercules Climbs The White Mountain that we begin, since this was the piece he played to Emma that provided the basis for the entire soundscape of the movie ...