Us (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Us Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack by Michael Abels
Cover

Publication
(s)

15th March 2019

Label (s) Back Lot Music

Format (s)

Download

Genre (s)

Classical music, choral music, west coast hip-hop , rap

Title (number)

35

Studio (s)

Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage from Sony Pictures

The music for the horror thriller Wir (original title Us ) by Jordan Peele was composed by Michael Abels . The soundtrack released by Back Lot Music on March 15, 2019 also contains some pieces of music selected by the director.

Emergence

The score for the horror thriller Wir (original title US ) by Jordan Peele was composed by Michael Abels , with whom Peele already worked for Get Out .

In the film, Adelaide and Gabe Wilson plan to spend the summer with their children Zora and Jason in a vacation home in Northern California, where Adelaide spent their childhood vacations. After a day on Santa Cruz Beach, where they met Kitty and Josh Tyler and their two daughters Becca and Lindsey, they return to their house in the evening. There she tells her husband about the events of her childhood there in Santa Cruz and the associated trauma that suppressed her all her life. Suddenly some uninvited visitors appear. Four figures in red overalls, holding hands, stand in silence in their driveway. The strangers invade their house and turn out to be the family doppelganger. Abels and Peele had spoken beforehand about the concept of duality and about things that could be placed next to each other in a context in which you normally cannot hear them together, Abels explained. In addition to strings and percussion, Abels also used an Eastern European instrument, the cimbalom , which makes a “quang-like sound” when the clappers hit the strings. When experimenting with a violin paired, very dissimilar sounds collide. The result was the sound of Umbrea, Zora's evil doppelganger. The recording was made at Sony Pictures' Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage.

A 30-strong choir was also involved, a third of whom were children. Peele's motto was: “Take the innocent and put it in a context in which the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.” He and Peele used music several times in the film that sounds nice on its own, but in combination with what is shown on the screen, not so much, so the film composer. In the first track, Anthem , you can hear a children's choir accompanied by percussion and a glockenspiel. The piece of music increases in intensity and should sound like “preparation for battle,” explained Abels. “The voices are not a language, they are nonsensical syllables, so you concentrate more on their feelings and the music. [...] It was important that they sounded like no known culture. ” Abels had already included Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga in Jordan Peele's film Get Out, a piece of music that the average viewer would not understand.

The original version of I Got 5 on It is the sixth track on the album and with it Club Nouveau's Why You Treat Me So Bad? that was sampled into the song . At the beginning of the film, the Wilsons are in the car and the song comes on the radio. The family has a discussion about what the song means. “It's about drugs,” Zora says to her younger brother Jason. “It's not about drugs. No drugs, ”Gabe tells the children. The last song on the album is I Got 5 on It in a remix to which orchestral sounds have been added to integrate it into Abel's score. In this version, I Got 5 on It was also included in a first trailer for the film, which was released in December 2018. The idea of ​​using the song came naturally to Peele since his film is set in Northern California and I Got 5 on It was a hip-hop classic from the Bay area: “I feel like the beat is in this song possesses this cryptic energy, which is almost reminiscent of the soundtrack to Nightmare on Elm Street . "

For the piece Pas de Deux , which is included on the soundtrack towards the end , Abels used Tchaikovsky's Pas de deux from The Nutcracker from Pyotr Ilyich , which was the inspiration for the epic final battle in the film. Pas de deux, which means “steps / dance for two” from French, describes a duet and is often the climax of a ballet. Abels also embed I Got 5 on It here , slowing down the familiar beat and adding the must-have violins, creating a crescendo of high-pitched, discordant sounds, according to Piya Sinha-Roy of Entertainment Weekly . The piece is assigned to Red, the doppelganger of Adelaide. As the last track on the album, I Got 5 on It is almost entirely in this style.

publication

The soundtrack, which comprises a total of 35 pieces of music, including I Got 5 on It by the rap duo Luniz , was released for download on March 15, 2019 by Back Lot Music.

Track list

  1. Anthem (2:57)
  2. I Like That - Janelle Monáe (3:22)
  3. Outernet (0:46)
  4. Spider (1:17)
  5. Ballet Memory (1:11)
  6. I Got 5 on It (feat.Michael Marshall ) - Luniz (4:15)
  7. Beach Walk (1:23)
  8. First Man Standing (0:44)
  9. Back to the House (1:10)
  10. Keep You Safe (1:36)
  11. Don't Feel Like Myself (2:00)
  12. She Tried to Kill Me (1:46)
  13. Boogieman's Family (1:25)
  14. Home Invasion (4:11)
  15. Once Upon a Time (2:59)
  16. Run (4:39)
  17. Into the Water (2:23)
  18. Spark in the Closet (2:58)
  19. Escape to the Boat (1:18)
  20. Femme Fatale (2:13)
  21. Silent Scream (1:24)
  22. News Report (2:02)
  23. Zora Drives (1:42)
  24. Death of Umbrae (0:55)
  25. Somber Ride (1:07)
  26. Immolation (1:40)
  27. Down the Rabbit Hole (2:34)
  28. Performance Art (1:20)
  29. Human (4:03)
  30. Battle Plan (0:59)
  31. Pas De Deux (2:51)
  32. They Can't Hurt You (1:45)
  33. Final (3:05)
  34. Les Fleurs - Minnie Riperton (3:16)
  35. I Got 5 on It (Tethered Mix from US) (feat.Michael Marshall) - Luniz (1:43)

reception

Marietta Steinhart from Zeit Online explains that the soundtrack also reflects the juxtaposition of hope and hopelessness in the film: “A completely innocent little song here suddenly turns into a terrible beep, a whistle into frenzied desolato. Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys is played one moment to lighten the mood and the next as a death waltz. ”Steinhart added that Jordan Peele and his composer Michael Abels know exactly how to create a feeling of fear.

Daniel Kothenschulte writes in the Frankfurter Rundschau that Abels' music is just as unusual as the film. Instead of suspicious pop songs or music seeking effects, they decided on a highly reputable, minimal music -based accompaniment with quiet emotionality.

On the selection of the other songs selected by director Jordan Peele for the soundtrack, Matt Miller of Esquire writes that Janelle Monáes I Like That looks like a sigh of relief. Miller goes on to say that in the context of the film it is interesting that the doppelgangers who have a relationship with humans lived underground in the USA and were forgotten there in the shadows, which reminds a little of Michael Marshall himself, who worked with The Luniz I Got 5 on It .

Awards

At the upcoming Academy Awards 2020 , the film was shortlisted in the Best Film Music category . Below is a selection of other awards and nominations.

Black Reel Awards 2020

Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2020

Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2019

  • Award for the best film music - horror film (Michael Abels)

NAACP Image Awards 2020

  • Nomination for Best Soundtrack / Compilation Album (Michael Abels)

Online Film Critics Society Awards 2020

Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards 2020

  • Award in the category Original Score for a Studio Film (Michael Abels)

World Soundtrack Academy Awards 2019

  • Award in the Discovery of the Year category (Michael Abels)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Abels to Reteam with Jordan Peele on 'Us'. In: filmmusicreporter.com, July 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Paula Parisi: Michael Abels on Delivering a Frightfully Good Score for Jordan Peele's Horror Flick 'Us'. In: billboard.com, March 22, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b c d Piya Sinha-Roy: How Jordan Peele's composer conjured scares for Us - listen to two new tracks. In: Entertainment Weekly, March 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Daniel Schweiger: Interview with Michael Abels. In: filmmusicmag.com, March 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ By Bo Tefu: A native of note: Phoenix Boys Choir alum scores hit movie 'Get Out'. In: azpbs.org, May 15, 2017.
  6. ^ A b Matt Miller: The Important Role Music Plays in Jordan Peele's Us. You'll never hear "I Got 5 on It" the same again. In: Esquire, March 21, 2019.
  7. ↑ a b Piya Sinha-Roy: Jordan Peele breaks down the frightening first Us trailer. In: Entertainment Weekly, December 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Pas De Deux (from US)" by Michael Abels. by Back Lot Music on Youtube (audio).
  9. ↑ Jasmine Ting: The 'Us' Soundtrack Puts A Creepy Twist On Hip-Hop & Soul Classics. In: bustle.com, March 20, 2019.
  10. ↑ Soundtrack Details for Jordan Peele's 'Us'. In: filmmusicreporter.com, March 14, 2019.
  11. ↑ Todd Spangler: Jordan Peele Talks About 'Us' Soundtrack and Music in Film in Spotify's First-Ever Movie Takeover. In: Variety, March 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Marietta Steinhart: "We": Monsters like us. In: Zeit Online, March 20, 2019.
  13. ↑ Daniel Kothenschulte: "We": Our fear of the foreign. In: Frankfurter Rundschau, March 21, 2019.
  14. ↑ Erik Anderson: 2020 Oscar Predictions: The Shortlists. In: awardswatch.com, December 15, 2019.
  15. ^ Wilson Morales: 20th Annual Black Reel Awards - Nominees Announced. In: blackfilm.com, December 11, 2019.
  16. ↑ 2019 HMMA Winners . In: hmmawards.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  17. ↑ Erik Anderson: 2020 NAACP Awards: Billy Porter, Lizzo, Regina King, Angela Bassett up for Entertainer of the Year. In: awardswatch.com, January 9, 2020.
  18. ↑ Erik Anderson: Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) nominations: 'The Irishman', 'Once Upon a Time…', 'Marriage Story', 'Parasite' lead. In: awardswatch.com, December 23, 2019.
  19. ↑ Erik Anderson: Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) Awards: Hildur Guðnadóttir a double winner for 'Joker', 'Chernobyl'. In: awardswatch.com, January 8, 2020.
  20. ↑ Patrick Hipes: Nicholas Britell, 'Chernobyl' Composer, "Shallow" Among World Soundtrack Award Winners. In: deadline.com, October 18, 2019.