- ‘Deborah’s Theme’ – Ennio Morricone (from Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone, 1984)
I think I could listen to this track every day, this is such an amazing theme. When I am writing a cue for an emotional scene, I very often refer to ‘Deborah’s Theme’, it has the perfect balance, very lyrical, over the top and heartbreaking at the same time. - ‘Le Vieux Fusil’ – François de Roubaix (from The Old Gun by Robert Enrico, 1975)
The simplicity of this arrangement, the very high piano melodic theme, the beautiful mix of analog sounds with the orchestra and the banjo strumming in the background. I will always remember the feeling I had when the music started at the end of the film after the terrible scene, this fake lightness, extremely disturbing. Great reminder of the power of music in a film. - ‘Crash’ – Howard Shore (from Crash by David Cronenberg, 1996)
Very surprising to discover this side of Howard Shore’s music. This film and its score were a big influence for me when I started to use electric guitars in my scores, especially for Patrice Chéreau’s Persécution. I am not a trained guitar player, I was dying to use this instrument and decided to experiment on it, without properly learning HOW to play it. There are not so many electric guitar scores, see next choice! Electric guitar is a fantastic instrument to create mental and electric scores, it also blends with orchestral elements very nicely. - ‘Dead Man Theme’ – Neil Young (from Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
Another masterpiece, mainly recorded improvisating in front of pictures. - ‘The Beast’ – Johann Johannsson (from Sicario by Denis Villeneuve, 2015)
An incredible score, noisy, contemporary, hybrid, amazing sound. Arrival was also a big shock for me.I was disappointed he could not score Blade Runner 2049 in the end, he is such an interesting composer.
