Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

It's been a while since we had any acting talent on the show, so it gives us great pleasure to welcome the wonderful John Simm to Soundtracking.John has appeared in many great productions on stage and screen. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Life on Mars as Sam Tyler and Doctor Who as The Master, with recent appearances in Collateral on the BBC and Trauma on ITV.His films include Wonderland, Human Traffic, and 24 Hour Party People - and we'll obviously be featuring tracks from all of these projects throughout the conversation. He's also an accomplished musician, with plenty more about his exploits on that front featuring too. 

It's another very special Soundtracking this week as we take you to the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead, where director Alex Garland and his composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury came together for a Q&A following an exclusive screening of Annihilation.As you may know, the film hasn't had a cinematic release outside the US. You can, however, watch Annihilation on Netflix, and it's well worth your time if you haven't seen it already. Unusually for us, there a couple of spoilers in this episode too, which is all the more reason to check the movie out.Before Alex joined everyone on stage, Edith caught up with Geoff and Ben in the bar to discuss their other work, specifically on Ex Machina and Ben Wheatley's Free Fire.Their first score together was for Dredd. At least, it would have been had the studio not decided it wasn't suitable for the film. Thankfully, they shared their efforts anyway under the guise of Drokk. And it's with a spot of Drokk that we began - which basically means you're in for a real treat.

This week's episode has been a long-time coming. We reckon Edith spoke to director Todd Haynes just before Christmas - after his latest film Wonderstruck received a 3 minute standing ovation at last year's Cannes film festival - and we've been desperate to share our chat ever since. Well, the moment has come, as Wonderstruck finally gets an official UK release - though you may already have been lucky enough to see it on Amazon.  Based on the bestselling novel by Brian Selznick, who also wrote the screenplay, Wonderstruck intertwines two stories set 50 years apart about children Rose and Ben, both of whom are on quests to find their parents. In a novel twist, Rose's story plays out as a black and white silent movie, which presented various challenges for composer Carter Burwell.  As well of plenty of examples of Carter's score, you'll also hear music from Thom Yorke, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday and more.

Before Lynne Ramsay, there was composer Lorne Balfe. For Lorne was the very first guest on Soundtracking Live, as part of the British Film Institute's Big Thrill Season back in November. We then went on to speak to Lynne at the Glasgow Film Festival, with Alex Garland, Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury to come soon following a great chat we had after a special screening of Annihilation at the Everyman cinema in Hampstead, London.  The list of films Lorne has worked upon is mighty impressive, from Dunkirk and The Lego Batman Movie to Ghost In The Shell and Geostorm. He's also produced excellent work for television, with Genius and The Crown among his credits. 

Almost by definition, anyone who listens to this show will have been deeply saddened by the recent death of composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Well, the moment has come for us to pay our little tribute, as we talk to director Garth Davis about Mary Magdalene, the last film Jóhann worked on.In this episode, Garth discusses Mary, his previous film Lion, and of course Jóhann, who teamed up with fellow Icelander Hildur Guðnadóttir for his final score.On another note, if you're an EE customer, we have some exciting news for you, as EE are offering 2 free tickets to see Call Me By Your Name at selected Vue and Odeon cinemas across the UK. The screening is taking place on the 26th March as part of the Our Screen initiative – with each customer getting 2 tickets using the code: EEBAFTA2018. You can choose your cinema and get tickets a ourscreen.com/eebafta.

Having brought you Lynne Ramsay in conversation from the Glasgow Film Festival in our previous episode, we're on location once again here on Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, this time at London's world-famous AIR studios.For that's where Edith caught up with Junkie XL - aka Tom Holkenborg - on the day he recorded the string parts of his score for Tomb Raider.Tomb Raider is directed by Norwegian Roar Uthaug, and we're delighted to say Edith caught up with him separately to discuss what he asked of his composer, the tone he wanted for the film and K.Flay's excellent end credit track, Run For Your Life. There's also a sonic treat for old-skool gamers before we're done too.But where else could we begin than with Tom in the control room at AIR …

Something slightly different on Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs this week, as we bring you an edited version of Soundtracking Live with Lynne Ramsay at the Glasgow Film Festival.Lynne is one of Edith's favourite directors, so it really was an honour to welcome her on stage in front of a very appreciative live audience.Her latest film You Were Never Really Here has garnered 5 star review after 5 star review. It stars Joaquin Phoenix and is scored by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood.We'll hear plenty of Jonny's work throughout the course of the conversation, as well as cues from We Need To Talk About Kevin, Movern Caller and Ratcatcher

We have a treat for you on this week's episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, as Duncan and Clint join Edith from LAIf not a match made in heaven, then it was certainly a match made on Moon. For that was their first collaboration. Such was the success of that film it seemed inevitable the pair would re-unite - and so it is they us to discuss their latest project together - the Netflix Original film, Mute.Co-written and directed by Duncan, Mute tells the story of a mute bartender searching for his girlfriend, who mysteriously disappears in a near-future Berlin. It was an incredibly personal film for him, given the time he spent in the city with his father, David Bowie, during the 1970s.During the interview, we discuss the thoughts and processes behind Clint's score, Duncan's needle-drops and the more general sonic tone he was aiming for. We also explore Moon in detail too. 

We're not gonna lie, Greta Gerwig is one of Edith's favourite actors, so all objectivity has gone out of the window during this week's episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs.In fairness, everyone seems to agree her directorial debut Lady Bird (which she also wrote) is a triumph. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf and Timothee Chalomet, it charts the turbulent relationship of the eponymous teenager and her mother - with the narrative by turns irreverent, hilarious, brutally honest and deeply moving.  The score is provided by Jon Brion, who has that uncanny ability to blend traditional orchestration with a tone that's modern and offbeat. The soundtrack, meanwhile, is an absolute gem, featuring the likes of The Monkees, John Cale, Justin Timberlake and Reel Big Fish. While it would have been tempting to include super-cool records - for want of a better expression - Greta instead went for songs that her characters would have been listening to at the turn of the Millennium.

As anyone who's paid attention to Edith talking film over the years knows, she's a big fan of how Marvel Studios have transposed their comic book universe to the big screen. So it gives us great pleasure here at Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs to report that the latest addition to the canon, Black Panther, is a rip-roaring success. And it gives us even greater pleasure to welcome writer / director Ryan Coogler and Executive Producer Nate Moore to the programme.You'd have to go a long way to find a more suitable movie for us to discuss. For starters, there's the accompanying album, 'Black Panther: Music From And Inspired By ...', which was masterminded by Kendrick Lamar and features the likes of Anderson Paak, James Blake, SZA and Vince Staples. Then there's the wildly inventive and original score courtesy of Ryan's friend and longtime collaborator, Ludwig Göransson, who also worked with him on Fruitvale Station and Creed. It was a real labour of love for Ludwig, who spent a considerable amount of time in Africa working with local musicians to capture authentic instrumentation, tone and rhythm. And as you'll hear, it was time very well spent ...