Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Edith's latest guest is an unassuming delight - still early in her career but surely destined for great things (of which she's already achieved a fair few). Alice Lowe is actor, writer and now director, who has appeared in a host of critically acclaimed TV shows and films - including Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, which she co-wrote. Her mainstream directorial debut Prevenge is a black comedy about a pregnant woman who believes she is receiving murderous instruction from her unborn child. Alice enlisted electronic duo Toydrum to compose the score for the movie - with the pair delivering a suitably unsettling suite that reflects protagonist Ruth's psychopathic urges. We also hear about her love of Delia Derbyshire, David Lynch and the one and only Nik Kershaw.

One hardly needs an excuse to discuss the work of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, but it's always good to have one anyway. Australian director David Michod has employed the services of the ever-reliable duo for his latest project War Machine, which is exclusively available to watch on Netflix. It is a staggering score, of which you can hear plenty during Edith's conversation with David. They also discuss Antony Partos's contributions to Animal Kingdom and The Rover, which are equally magnificent.

Whatever you think about the Guy Ritchie canon, it's hard to dispute his flair for combining the visual with the sonic. From Lock, Stock ... and Snatch to Sherlock Holmes and The Man From UNCLE, the musical elements of his films often drive the narrative - through his ingenious use of needle-drops and bold score. Indeed, when it comes to the latter, he's collaborated with the great Hans Zimmer on more than one occasion, of which more during the conversation. His latest movie is King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword. Scored by Daniel Pemberton - who worked on The Man From UNCLE too - it also features British artist Sam Lee. As we'll hear, both rose to Guy's challenge of using the timeless tropes of folk music to create something at once medieval and modern. Guy is on typically mischievous form & we very much hope you enjoy the banter!

Over the course of the last twenty odd years, British director John Madden has brought us a string of critically acclaimed films which, pleasingly, have tended to do rather well at the box office too. Indeed, Shakespeare in Love not only landed seven Oscars, but also returned a tidy proft of over $250 million. And as we'll discover, it's John's view that you can't make a good movie without considerable help from a good composer. In the case of John, score dominates - since the kind of films he's made haven't generally required needle drops. So it is you'll hear extracts of Thomas Newman's score for the Best Exotic Maigold Hotel movies, Stephen Warbeck's work on Mrs Brown and Shakespeare In Love, and Max Richter's haunting suite for his latest film, the political thriller Miss Sloane ...

Though we've been lucky enough to speak to a fair few superstars in our relatively short run here on Soundtracking, this might just be the first time we've welcomed a genuine grandee to the programme. Michael Apted is a writer, producer and actor who's been involved in film and television for well over 50 years. His credits include everything from British soap opera Coronation Street and the revolutionary documentary series Up to critically acclaimed movies such as Gorillas In The Mist and Enigma. He's also had the honour of directing a Bond film, which is no bad thing to have on one's CV. In recognition to his contribution to cinema, he was elected President of the Directors Guild Of America in 2003. Michael's latest offering is Unlocked, a supremely entertaining thriller starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, Michael Douglas and John Malkovich. That, I think we can all agree, is some cast. And what with it being a genre piece, it provided the perfect opportunity to explore the particular demands he deemed fit to make of composer Stephen Barton for the score ...

If anyone knows how to use music to maximum effect on screen it's James Gunn. For James is the man behind both Guardians Of The Galaxy volumes, which are as celebrated for their hugely successful Awesome Mixes as his sharp, fun and witty interpretation of the Marvel franchise. In the movies, Star Lord Peter Quill listens to mixtapes given to him by his mother, which are laden with music from 1970's Earth. The songs often play during the action on screen, providing energy and drive to the narrative. As well as the joyous array of source cues, there's Tyler Bates' score, which you'll hear extracts from throughout the course of the conversation. Unfortunately, we weren't afforded as long with James as we'd have liked, so there was barely time to deal with all the tunes in the Guardians films, let alone anything else. But he's tremendous value and we still managed to cover plenty of ground. We also play loads of the Awesome Mixes, including tracks by the likes of Redbone, The Runaways, Raspberries and Blue Swede ...

Edith's guest this week requires very little introduction. An actor, writer, director and producer, he appeared in his first film in 1961 and has subsequently been nominated for no fewer than 14 Oscars, winning best director for Reds in 1981. We are,of course, talking about the legend that is Warren Beatty. Throughout his career, Warren has demonstrated a passion for source cues in particular - from the bubble-gum pop of Shampoo to the rap that provides the unlikely sonic inspiration for Bulworth. He's also worked with world-renowned composers Stephen Sondheim, Ennio Morricone and Danny Elfman. Still going strong at 80, his latest project is Rules Don't Apply - which he wrote, directed and also stars in as real-life business tycoon Howard Hughes. Among the cast is Lily Collins, who as aspiring actress Marla Mabrey performs a specially commissioned song during the narrative. We'll hear a bit of that, but this particular episode begins, as it ends, with the piano maestro that is Errol Garner ..

John Ridley describes Idris Elba as a Renaissance man; were he not so humble, he might just as easily apply the expression to himself. An Oscar-winning screenwriter for the magnificent 12 Years A Slave, he's also a dab hand at directing, producing, novel-writing and (believe it or not) stand-up comedy. He's ferociously thoughtful, considered and intelligent too, so our latest offering is as much about sociology and politics as sound. John's latest project is Guerrilla, made by the ever-reliable Showtime and available in full via Sky Atlantic. Staring Idris, Frieda Pinto and Babou Ceesay, it focusses on the little-known story of the British Black Panther movement in 1970s London. In addition to some rare contemporary grooves from that, you'll hear extracts from Hanz Zimmer's score for 12 Years A Slave, Waddy Watchel's bespoke arrangements for the Jimi Hendrix biopic All Is By My Side, and a spot of Carter Burwell's work on 3 Kings (which John scripted). But in putting this episode together, we owe a special debt of gratitude to his music supervisor on Guerrilla, Sarah Bridge. Not only did Sarah provide us with hard-to-find source tracks by Britain's first ever all-black rock group Noir, she also delivered examples from Max Richter's score - including Love Song, the piece that plays under Edith's introduction. Perhaps most excitingly, though, she's given us an exclusive recording of Femi Kuti's track Look Around, which he actually performed live for a club scene that features in the narrative ...

It's back to where it all began, with Edith's second crack at British director, Ben Wheatley. This time round they're focusing on Ben's new film Free Fire, a super-stylish action comedy which he co-wrote with his wife and longtime creative partner, Amy Jump. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Free Fire is scored by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, who took sonic inspiration from David Shire's exceptional work on The Taking Of Pelham 123. You'll hear plenty from both musical suites, as well as tracks by Lalo Schifrin, The Nerves, Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Denver. As before, Ben is tremendous value, as we very much hope you'll agree.

Good grief, does this fine gentleman have a few stories to tell. Whether discussing Tony Hancock with David Bowie or royally pissing off Harvey Weinstein, British producer Stephen Woolley has been there, done that, and bought the (band) T-shirt. Stephen is perhaps best known for his work with Neil Jordan on films such as Interview With The Vampire, The Company Of Wolves, Michael Collins and the Oscar-winning Crying Game. He also directed the Brian Jones biopic Stoned and executive-produced Backbeat - which focused on fifth Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe. If you need any further evidence of his credentials for Soundtracking, he's variously secured the services of David Bowie, Jerry Dammers, Dusty Springfield, Boy George and the Pet Shop Boys for movies he's produced. You'll hear songs from all of these artists woven into the conversation - as well as extracts from Carl Davis' theme for Scandal, Anne Dudley's work on The Crying Game and Rachel Portman's score for Stephen's latest film, Their Finest. But our story begins in punk London - the city where Stephen's love of music and film germinated ...