logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2019
1h 6m

Episode 130: Composer Nicholas Britell O...

Edith Bowman
About this episode

If the release of If Beale Street Could Talk gave us a much needed excuse to get Barry Jenkins onto our screen music podcast, Soundtracking, then it also provided the perfect opportunity to invite his composer Nicholas Britell back for a second time.

Nicholas's turn in episode 46 was a delight, illuminating the nuances of his Oscar-nominated score for Moonlight in ways that were quite beyond anything we'd imagined.

His work on Beale Street is equally layered, encapsulating with its mournful strings and wistful horns the old adage that the course of true love never runs smooth. It is, from start to finish, gut-wrenchingly beautiful, and has quite rightly seen him nominated by the Academy again. At the time of recording, we don't know if he landed the gong, but he'd certainly make a worthy winner.

We also discuss his work on Adam McKay's Vice too - a film with a mere 8 Oscar nominations - and Battle Of The Sexes, which was directed by former guests on this show, Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton.

Up next
Jul 7
524: Alexandre Desplat On The Music Of Jurassic Park Rebirth
We're back with the second of our Jurassic Park Rebirth specials to kick off your week. We released Edith's chat with director Gareth Edwards a little earlier. Now it's the turn of his composer Alexandre Desplat, who of course had to contend with the legacy of all the wonderful m ... Show More
25m 47s
Jul 7
523: Gareth Edwards on The Music Of Jurassic World Rebirth
It's another two show week here on Soundtracking, as first director Gareth Edwards and then composer Alexandre Desplat join us to discuss their work on Jurassic World: Rebirth. In this first of the interviews, Gareth gives us the inside line on how he got the gig, cast members pe ... Show More
30m 19s
Jun 30
522: Composer Antonio Sanchez On The Music Of The Studio & Birdman
King Of The Drums, Antonio Sanchez, joins us to discuss his work on Apple TV+ hit, The Studio, and his seminal, groundbreaking score for Birdman. He is an absolute delight, and fascinating in his exploration of his process. 
45m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2019
Nicholas Britell
Emmy Award-winning composer, Nicholas Britell, is enjoying a moment right now. The Oscar-nominated talent behind the scores of films like “Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Vice” and television series like “Succession” is as in-demand as they come, an artist who appro ... Show More
41m 48s
Mar 2023
David Cieri Scores Silent Film The Passion of Joan of Arc
Hear new music for silent film by composer David Cieri with his music for Carl Th. Dreyer’s 1928 silent film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc. Joan of Arc is said to have heard voices – strange, unearthly voices. So Cieri’s score, by turns visceral and transcendent, includes Sardinian ... Show More
32m 17s
Jul 2023
Hans Zimmer - Summer Staff Picks
Our staff picks continue at “Here’s The Thing,” where throughout the summer, members of our team select their favorite interviews from the archives. This week, we revisit Alec’s 2021 interview with Hans Zimmer, one of the most celebrated and successful film composers of all time. ... Show More
51m 23s
Sep 2016
Elliott Gould: Mash Notes on a Long Career
Elliott Gould has lived a life in show business. He was just 12 when he started singing and dancing in a vaudeville routine in 1951. Dancing has been a fixture: Gould says he tangoed with his mother to "I Get Ideas" at his own bar mitzvah, perhaps hinting at the career-long mix o ... Show More
44m 45s
Dec 2021
The Triumph of Merry Clayton
(Recorded October 6, 2021) Even if you don’t know the name Merry Clayton, you know her voice. It’s the one belting on The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter and it is remarkable - you can actually hear Mick Jagger hooting and hollering in the background after Clayton sings the hook. C ... Show More
42m 8s
Dec 2021
Tony Palmer Made the Original Behind the Music
(Recorded in June 2021) Filmmaker Tony Palmer’s more than 100 documentaries have featured everyone from Cream to Stravinsky; Jimi Hendrix to Yehudi Menuhin; Leonard Cohen to Richard Wagner. He collaborated with Frank Zappa on the surreal cult-classic 200 Motels and with his frien ... Show More
44m 30s