We have asked our interviewees to select five tracks from various scores that they think are interesting, forward-thinking or even underrated. There are no limits to which tracks our interviewees can choose; the aim is to give you, readers, a real glimpse into the composer’s tastes and musical identity.
Once a teacher, then a busker, the classically trained violinist and brilliant multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis now splits his time between his solo career as a musician and film composer. His first cinema solowork for Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s Mustang earned him a César Award for Best Original Music last year in 2016.
On the occasion of the release of Étienne Comar’s Django, his second solo scoring project, the Paris-based musician provided Score It Magazine with an inside look at his diverse career. He also shared with us a few of his favourite scores, from Bob Dylan to Tangerine Dream.
- ‘Billy 4’ — Bob Dylan (from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid by Sam Peckinpah, 1973). I think it’s one of Bob Dylan’s best records. I love the composing theme with the flute on that, it’s so beautiful.
- ‘Melancholia’ — Jóhann Jóhannsson (from Sicario by Denis Villeneuve, 2015). I found myself listening to soundtracks more and more for some reasons. I like this score by Jóhannsson, particularly during the overhead shots.
- ‘Maniac Theme’ — Jay Chattaway (from Maniac by William Lustig, 1980). I think that score is really great and perfectly achieves its threatening purpose.
- ‘Blade Runner Blues’ — Vangelis (from Blade Runner by Ridley Scott, 1982). I think Blade Runner has an extraordinary soundtrack. You could take your pick from any piece on that, Vangelis compositions were so futuristic at the time.
- ‘Sorcerer Theme’ — Tangerine Dream (from Sorcerer by William Friedkin, 1977). It’s interesting, because these days I mainly just listen to soundtracks. I really like Tangerine Dream very much, I think they were ahead of their time.
