New section ahead! 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.
To debut this new section of the magazine, we are delighted to begin with video game composer Jessica Curry’s track choices. Curry wrote the music for genre-defying video games such as Dear Esther and BAFTA-winning Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. We had the chance to chat with her about her inspiring career and the launch of her new radio show dedicated to video game music, hosted on Classic FM.
Enter her world with this moving film score selection.
- ‘Struggle for Pleasure’ — Wim Mertens (from The Belly of an Architect by Peter Greenaway, 1987) is one of my favourite pieces of music of all time from one of my very favourite films of all time, The Belly of an Architect. I can listen to this piece of music over and over again—it’s heartbreaking, life-affirming, beautiful, triumphant and tragic. The scene in the film is masterful and should be taught to every film student on the planet. Yes, I’m obsessed.
- ‘Whisper of a Thrill‘ — Thomas Newman (from Meet Joe Black by Martin Brest, 1998). This, for me, is Thomas Newman at his best. It’s a gorgeous performance by the strings and I’d argue that it’s one of the strongest musical themes in a film. It’s such a gorgeous, tender scene with a lovely and very rare representation from Hollywood of how it is to make love with someone that you’re really in love with. No acrobatics but so much tenderness. Brad Pitt’s okay too.
- ‘The Imitation Game’ — Alexandre Desplat (from The Imitation Game by Martin Tyldum, 2014). I don’t quite know why this film affected me so, so deeply but the scene at the end of the film where they’re burning all their research just had me in pieces when we first saw it. I was sobbing. I love the mix of electronic and orchestra in this track and that mixture of the pulsing rhythm with that sweeping string line gets me every time.
- ‘Part 8’ — James Horner (from Iris by Richard Eyre, 2001). Iris is a film about love, life, creativity, memory and what we leave behind. I love everything about this film and James Horner did a cracking job with the score. Kate Winslet opens this track with her beautiful and very natural voice and then enters the gorgeous wind and harp scoring that Horner does so well. It shows so much restraint and that’s very inspirational to me. Joshua Bell’s solo playing on this soundtrack is stunning. This is a lesser known score by Horner and everyone should give it a listen.
- ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ — Philip Glass (from Koyaanisqatsi by Godfrey Reggio, 1982). My life changed when I first heard this track. It blew my mind. The film, the music—I’d never seen or heard anything like it before. This track never fails to send a shiver down my spine. I loved that the music and visuals took an equal footing, something that inspires me when it comes to my own work with The Chinese Room. Simple perfection and a piece that’s so close to my heart.
