Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

We haven't featured as much horror as we'd like on Soundtracking, so it really is a great thrill for us to welcome the man of the moment in that particular field, Jordan Peele.Having forged a hugely successful career as a comedian and actor, Jordan won an Oscar and numerous other accolades for his debut feature, Get Out, which blended traditional genre tropes with social observation to create something altogether fresh.Now he follows it up with the equally brilliant Us, in which a family is confronted by a group of doppelgängers. Both films were scored by Michael Abels, who had never previously worked on a movie until Jordan came along.We'll hear plenty of Michael's work, as well as some of the truly brilliant needle drops that are used across the Get Out and Us.

Two extremely talented gentlemen join us for our latest episode of Soundtracking, better known for their work in fields other than cinema. But in Benjamin, writer / director Simon Amstell and composer James Righton of Klaxons fame have collaborated on a film that is tender, moving and also very funny.Starring Colin Morgan and Phénix Brossard, Benjamin tells the story of a filmmaker who is forced to confront life's big questions as he embarks on a relationship with a charismatic young musician.  As ever, you'll hear plenty of James' score, as well as an insight into Simon's CD soundtrack collection ...

There is a fine tradition of female singers who have made the successful transition to cinema - from Barbara Streisand and Queen Latifah to Diana Ross and Lady Gaga. And we can certainly include R&B goddess Mary J Blige on that list.Having sold over 80 million records, Mary has a string of impressive acting credits to her name too. She played Malcom X's widow Dr Betty Shabazz in Betty and Coretta, and was nominated for an Oscar for performance as matriarch Florence Jackson in the deeply moving period drama, Mudbound.Mary is equally at home at the less-serious end of the entertainment spectrum, as demonstrated by her turns in Rock Of Ages and The Umbrella Academy, which is available now on Netflix. We should say that we had some terrible static interference on the recording of this interview, which we genuinely think may have been caused by Mary's earrings! We've tried to clean it up as best we can, but do forgive us as and when the quality occasionally dips below our usual high standards …Head to Itunes and search for our playlist for this episode, to listen to every track that is featured on the show, in the order we play it. Alternatively, cut and paste the following link:https://itunes.apple.com/gb/playlist/soundtracking-with-edith-bowman-episode-132-mary-j-blige/pl.u-6mo4l9mhpzG6x

Genius though he is, Martin Scorsese would be the first to admit the enormous debt of gratitude he owes to one Thelma Schoonmaker. For Thelma is the woman who has edited over 20 of his movies, from Raging Bull and Casino to Gangs Of New York and The Departed. So it's truly an honour to welcome her to Soundtracking, the weekly screen music podcast. As you'd hope, she has some great stories to share with us. Thelma was married to the late Michael Powell, one half of the legendary partnership Powell and Pressburger. Their work influenced Martin hugely - and indeed it was he who introduced Thelma to her would-be husband. You'll hear plenty of music from their films, as well as some of the more memorable cues to feature in Martin's back catalogue. There are a few notable clips to enjoy, too ...

If the release of If Beale Street Could Talk gave us a much needed excuse to get Barry Jenkins onto our screen music podcast, Soundtracking, then it also provided the perfect opportunity to invite his composer Nicholas Britell back for a second time.Nicholas's turn in episode 46 was a delight, illuminating the nuances of his Oscar-nominated score for Moonlight in ways that were quite beyond anything we'd imagined.His work on Beale Street is equally layered, encapsulating with its mournful strings and wistful horns the old adage that the course of true love never runs smooth. It is, from start to finish, gut-wrenchingly beautiful, and has quite rightly seen him nominated by the Academy again. At the time of recording, we don't know if he landed the gong, but he'd certainly make a worthy winner.We also discuss his work on Adam McKay's Vice too - a film with a mere 8 Oscar nominations - and Battle Of The Sexes, which was directed by former guests on this show, Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton.

It's been the best part of eight years since Joe Cornish released his directorial debut Attack The Block. And in our humble opinion, his follow up The Kid Who Would Be King has been well worth the wait.That's not to say Joe hasn't been busy, co-writing the Adventures Of Tintin with Edgar Wright, Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and Ant Man with Edgar and Paul Rudd, among others.But it's great to have him back at the helm. Based on an idea Joe originally had as a twelve year old, The Kid Who Would Be King tells the story of a young boy who finds King Arthur's legendary sword Excalibur, and must then use it to stop the mythical enchantress Morgana from destroying the world.The film is scored by Electric Wave Bureau, a collective comprising Damon Albarn, his wife Suzi Winstanley, Michael Smith and Nelson De Freitas, and you'll hear plenty of their work sprinkled throughout the conversation.There's also music  by John Williams, Led Zeppelin, Prefab Sprout and, er, Bucks Fizz ...

We have another polymath for you in the latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of Australian actor, writer and director Joel Edgerton.Joel's latest project is Boy Erased - in which he admirably deploys all three of these skills. Based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, the film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Troye Sivan, and tells the story of the son of devout Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.Boy Erased is scored by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who also collaborated with Joel on his directorial debut, The Gift. At Joel's behest, it's a nuanced affair, hinting at the darker themes of the movie without ever over-stating them. They also make great use of choral voices.We should mention that Joel and Edith discuss a key plot detail during the course of the interview, so if you're planning to see the film, you might want to hold fire before listening to this ...

Ever since meeting him prior to the release of Moonlight, Edith has been longing to get Barry Jenkins onto Soundtracking. So it's an absolute pleasure to welcome him along ahead of the UK opening of his latest movie - the magnificent If Beale Street Could Talk.Based on the novel by James Baldwin, it tells the story of a young African-American woman who seeks to clear the name of her imprisoned lover before the birth of their child.If Beale Street Could Talk has recieved three Oscar nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry and Best Original Score for his composer and former guest on this show, Nicholas Britell.At Barry's request, Nick's score leans heavily on jazz tropes. We also discuss his excellent taste in needle-drops, from Nina Simone to Al Green and Barbara Lewis.

When the opportunity to interview the Canadian writer, director and animator Dean Deblois presented itself, we just had to say yes, even though our schedule is choc-a-block.For alongside Chris Sanders, Dean is the man behind the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy - a series of films that have brought Edith and her two boys an immense amount of joy. They're also responsible for Lilo And Stich, another big hit in the Bowman household.The final installment of the trilogy is called Hidden World. Scored by John Powell (with a little help from Jonsi of Icelandic band Sigur Ros), it brings to a conclusion the story of Hiccup the Viking and his dragon, Toothless. The animation is mind-blowing, and beautifully compliments a narrative that's both wildly thrilling and deeply moving.As always, we'll be interspersing relevant music with the conversation, including the Jonsi tracks that feature on the end credits of the first two films - Sticks & Stones and Where No One Goes.

18 years after he brought us the lo-fi superhero thriller Unbreakable - and a mere 3 since the surprise sequel Split - M Night Shyamalan finally completes his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy with Glass. All the key players from the pervious films return, led by Bruce Willis's blue collar vigilante and Samuel L Jackson and James McEvoy's super-villains. Much of the action takes place in the mental institution where the trio are incarcerated and probed by Sarah Paulson's sceptical psychiatrist.  Glass is scored by West Dylan Thordson, who also provided the music for Split. It's an edgy, minimalist affair - with the ambient gloom and agitated strings reminiscent of Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow's incredible work on Alex Garland's Annihilation (see episode 85!)  And it's with West's cue Backfire that we begin, as Night reflects upon the history of a trilogy nearly two decades in the making.  We should say that if you haven't seen Split and intend to do so anytime soon, you might want to wait before listening to this, though it wouldn't be the end of the world ...