Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Since last joining us on Soundtracking, it’s fair to say Damien Chazelle has done alright for himself - becoming the youngest ever winner in the Best Director category at the Oscars for La La Land. His latest offering is First Man. Starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, the narrative explores the years leading up to and including the 1969 Apollo 11 Mission to the moon, with the focus very much on the emotional challenges faced by Neil Armstrong and his family. It's another giant leap for Damien, who seems pathologically incapable of making a bad movie. We discussed Whiplash and La La Land at length during our first conversation, so the focus is very much on how he and composer Justin Hurwitz went about creating a soundscape to transcend earth and space for this project.

As if it weren't enough writing, producing, directing and starring in a movie, you'd surely have the right to feel pretty smug if said movie got rave reviews across the board too. Well, that's exactly what's happened with Bradley Cooper and A Star Is Born - though he was anything but smug when he joined Edith to discuss his achievements in our latest episode of Soundtracking. If anything, one gets the impression he's genuinely stunned and humbled by how well his work has been received. A remake of the 1937 film of the same name, it stars Bradly and Stefani Germanotta (better known as Lady Gaga), and follows a hard-drinking musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer. It marks the third remake of the 1937 original, which was adapted into a 1954 musical starring Judy Garland and James Mason and then remade as a 1976 rock musical with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. And, just as Lady G proves to quite the actor, so it turns out Bradley has a really rather unexpectedly brilliant singing voice …

We very much like welcoming musicians to Soundtracking, so we were incredibly excited to learn about a documentary on the life of superstar Sri Lankan / British rapper M.I.A. - not least because Edith has been a huge fan since her days at BBC Radio 1. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was directed by her longtime friend Steve Loveridge, and follows 22 years in her life - including her rise to fame and her perspective on the controversies sparked over her music, public appearances and political activism. It has been incredibly well-received, and won a special jury award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Obviously, you'll hear plenty of M.I.A.'s work throughout the conversation, and also find out about some her musical and cinematic influences.

The latest episode of Soundtracking finds us out and about once more, this time at the British Film Institute on London's South Bank. And it's a truly stellar cast. Director Lenny Abrahamson, composer Stephen Rennicks, editor Nathan Nugent and producer Gail Egan joined Edith in front of an audience to discuss the music of their latest film, The Little Stranger. Based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Waters, the plot follows a doctor who visits an old house his mother used to work at, only to discover it may hold a dark secret. As you'll hear, there's a bit more talking and a bit less music than we usually serve up, but what the gang has to say makes for essential listening if you have even the the remotest interest in film-making. Now one of the reasons it was such a joy speaking to Lenny, Stephen, Nathan and Gail is that they brought along all sorts of exclusive clips to share with us, including alternative beginnings and rough cuts from The Little Stranger. Obviously you won't be able to see these clips, but we've included the audio anyway to give you a sense of how much thought the team puts into every single frame. The guys also set up each clip in detail to give you a sense of what's going on. Hopefully, your imagination will do the rest.

Our latest edition of Soundtracking features British writer / director Bart Layton. Bart won widespread critical acclaim for his debut The Imposter, a documentary about the case of the French conman Frédéric Bourdin, who impersonated a Texas boy who disappeared at the age of 13 in 1994.  His new film is also inspired by an extraordinary true story about a group of ordinary everyday guys who plan to steal the most expensive book in America. Unlike The Imposter, though, it's predominantly a work of 'based on real events' fiction, with great performances by all of the actors in the central roles.   It also features a banging soundtrack and excellent score by Anne Nikitin.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer who cut his teeth as a founder member of Tindersticks, with whom he wrote orchestral arrangements, recorded numerous albums and toured worldwide. Dickon Hinchliffe then turned his hand to scoring films when French director Claire Denis asked the band to write the music for her film Nénette et Boni. Dickon hasn't looked back since, providing the sonic backdrop to films as diverse as Winter's Bone, Project Nim and Leave No Trace. His latest project is Idris Elba's directorial debut, Yardie, which required compositions that complimented not only the narrative but also the fabulous soundtrack.

Our latest guest may be German, but he's clearly something of an Anglophile, having made a Bond film, the Peter Pan inspired Finding Neverland, and now a new take on the British cultural institution that is Winnie The Pooh. Perhaps most importantly, Marc Forster is a total audiophile too!  Marc's Christopher Robin is a delightful live-action addition to the Disney franchise, with Ewan McGregor in the leading role and Jim Cummings, Toby Jones and Sophie Okonedo among those providing the animal voices.  It also features 3 original tunes by Richard Sherman, the legendary Disney songwriter. Christopher Robin is dedicated to composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, who had already started scoring the film when he passed away so unexpectedly at the age of 48. So, at the eleventh hour, Jon Brion and Geoff Zanelli stepped in. You'll hear plenty of their exceptional work throughout the conversation, as well as tracks by Spoon, Muse, Chris Cornell, Wreckless Eric and more.

Providing a sequel for one of the highest grossing and most loved live-action musicals of all-time is a terrifying challenge by any reckoning, so we think you might be surprised how humble and down to earth the man that was charged with doing so is. Ol Parker wrote and directed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and has done a fine job too. As well as managing an all-star cast including Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Cher, he also had the not insignificant problem of melding all those iconic songs with the wonderful Anne Dudley's score. Thankfully, Benny and Bjorn from ABBA were on hand to help …  The reason we're coming to you a little later than normal is because Anne and Mamma Mia music supervisor Becky Bentham have been moving heaven and earth to provide us with exclusive cues from the film. So as well as plenty of sing-along classics, you'll be hearing Anne's score too.

Our latest guest is another of those 'annoying' multi-talented sorts, who's written, directed and produced a whole host of movies to widespread acclaim. Sacha Gervasi's first film was The Big Tease, which he co-wrote with Craig Ferguson. He went on to pen The Terminal, made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks. That's some feat. He also directed the brilliant rockumentary Anvil, which tells the deeply personal story of a heavy metal band who've been plugging away for 30 years. And it's with Anvil that we began. If you're unfamiliar with their work, it's pure Spinal Tap, only real …

And so to episode 101 of Soundtracking, the weekly podcast about screen music. And we're delighted to say the person who joins us for the first step of our journey towards 200 is the multi-talented Paddy Considine. As well as starring in a wide variety of critical & commercial successes, Paddy wrote and directed the award-winning Tyrannosaur, and also fronts his own band, Riding The Low.   Now he brings us Journeyman. Scored by Harry Escott and featuring music by Nick Cave and Guided By Voices, Journeyman tells the story of a boxer who survives a coma following a brutal fight - with devastating consequences for both himself and his loved ones.   It really is an incredibly powerful and moving drama - with knockout performances by Paddy and Jodie Whittaker in the lead roles. Not that the process of bringing it the screen was easy - as you'll hear during the course of a remarkably candid conversation.