Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is someone we've been wanting to get on the podcast for a very long time - as have many of you, judging by the feedback we receive on social media. Mica Levi, also known by her stage name Micachu, is a classically trained composer who came to the attention of the film world in 2014 with her debut score for Jonathan Glazer's Under The Skin.  Not only did Mica's work on her next film, Jackie, gain an Oscar nomination, but it also garnered vocal praise from none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto.  Now she's teamed up with Alejandro Landes for Monos, a deeply unsettling movie in which eight children with guns watch over a hostage and a cow on a faraway mountaintop.

It's another double-whammy on our latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of two composers of world-wide repute. Michael Giacchino cut his teeth on video games, before turning his attentions to film and television, with a host of award-winning scores for films such as The Incredibles, Up, Rogue One and Star Trek. David Arnold, meanwhile, is a much-loved British artist who's been making screen music for nigh-on three decades - with Zoolander, Tomorrow Never Dies and Sherlock among his many credits. Edith caught up with them ahead of a very special evening at London's Royal Albert Hall called Settling The Score, in which they played some of their greatest hits, for want of a better expression.  

It's a double-whammy on our latest episode of Soundtracking, as we bring you two extremely talented ladies charting very different courses in the world of cinema.First up is Hildur Gudnadottir. Well known to fans of this podcast - on which she has featured by proxy many, many times - Hildur has gained broader and much deserved recognition for her work on Joker - Todd Phillips's origin story about the eponymous super-villain that has proved hugely popular among movie fans and critics alike. If you haven't seen it yet, Joaquin Phoenix's performance is astonishing, as is Hildur's suitably disturbing score.Then we have Dolly Wells, a much-loved British comedy actor who has just made her directorial debut with Good Posture. She and I have more of a chat about her career in television and film than the usual focus on music, but she's an utter delight, so we really wanted to share it anyway.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is John Crowley, the Irish film and theatre director who previously brought us critical successes Intermission, Boy A and Brooklyn.His new offering is The Goldfinch. Based on Donna Tart's novel of the same name, the narrative centres on Theo, a young man who takes a painting from a museum after his mother dies in a terrorist attack.While the cinematography is provided by undisputed master of the art, Roger Deakins, John went for a relative novice in Trevor Gureckis for the score. As ever, you'll hear plenty of Trevor's work throughout the conversation.

Edith's guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking is a composer who has been pushing sonic boundaries for three decades. As well as releasing numerous albums and EPs under various monikers, Matthew Herbert has also scored a diverse range of films, including three for Chilean director Sebastian Lelio. The word is overused, but we reckon he's a true visionary. He now has television credits to his name too, with his latest project Temple currently available on Sky and Now TV.  As always, you'll hear plenty of Matthew's work throughout the conversation.

If you haven’t been addicted to Peaky Blinders since it first aired in 2013, then you need to get yourself off to the BBC iPlayer at once and start catching up. All episodes are currently available for varying degrees of time, and we highly recommend you get involved before it's too late.Directed by Anthony Byrne, the latest season sees Cillian Murphy return as Tommy Shelby, head of the eponymous gang vying for underworld supremacy in inter-war Birmingham. And we're delighted to say that both Anthony and Cillian are with us on Soundtracking to discuss the show’s extraordinary music - which dares to put contemporary alternative artists against the period backdrop. As such, some of the lyrics are quite fruity! We should mention Edith spoke to them not only before Season 5 screened, but before Anthony had even finished editing it.We should also mention we had a few problems with Edith's mic during the recording, which we’ve dealt with as best we can. Thankfully, though, the lads sound fine, which is all that really matters.

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.