Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer we've been trying to pin down since day one of the podcast, back in 2016.

Alexandre Desplat is a true giant of the film scoring business, having been nominated for numerous Oscars and winning one for his work on Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel and one for the The Shape Of Water. And if you were in any doubt as to his credentials, he's worked with the likes of - in no particular order - George Clooney, Stephen Frears, Greta Gerwig, David Fincher, Terrence Mallick, Nora Ephron, Roman Polanski and Ben Affleck.

But it's to discuss his latest collaboration with Wes that Alexandre joins us today - the typically idiosyncratic The French Dispatch. As always, his music beautifully compliments the quirky visuals, humour and narrative presented to us by everyone's favourite offbeat director.

We're really excited about our latest episode of Soundtracking, seeing as it does the return of Denis Villeneuve.
The French-Canadian director joins Edith to discuss his adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic Dune - which boasts a stellar cast including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin and many, many more.
Dune is scored by Hans Zimmer, who we're thrilled to announce is going to be a guest on the podcast in the next couple of weeks too. Happy days!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking has been on twice before, and returns for a third time to discuss his documentary about one of the most influential bands of all time.

The Velvet Underground is Todd Hayne's idiosyncratic love letter to the visionary punk-rockers, featuring beautiful footage and contributions from founding members John Cale and Maureen Tucker, among others. It's available on Apple TV and selected cinemas, and is a treat whether you're a fan of the band or not. 

This latest episode of Soundtracking is another live outing for the podcast, with a man who we've no doubt is thoroughly sick and tired of being described as a national treasure.
But, let's be honest, he is ...

Sir Michael Palin's CV is simply too long to run through - but we all know and love him from Monty Python, the accompanying films and his truly wonderful travelogues for the BBC.

Michael was kind enough to venture out of the safety and comfort of his home to join me and a live audience at the Widescreen festival at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, which we recorded just for you ...

We have two guests for you this week, who have formed a hugely close and productive creative partnership over the course of a number of films.
David Lowery is returning for his third visit to the podcast, while composer Daniel Hart is making his debut having been discussed at length on several previous occasions.
David and Daniel are with us to discuss The Green Knight, David's adaptation of the 14th century poem, Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. In keeping with the source material, Daniel's score draws on medieval musical idioms, but is also infused with many contemporary twists. As always, you'll hear plenty of it throughout the conversation ...

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are members of a band I hugely admire, who have done plenty sterling work on film and television in addition to their studio albums.

Stuart Braithwaite and Barry Burns are half of Mogwai, whose screen work includes The Returned, Atomic, Zidane, The Fountain, Before The Flood and ZeroZeroZero. Their latest album, meanwhile, is As The Love Continues, which reached number one in the UK charts and was also nominated for a Mercury Prize. 

This week's episode of Soundtracking sees us joined by a fantastically gifted and humble screenwriter, whose work includes Skins, This is England 86, 88 & 90, His Dark Materials, The Eddy and Enola Holmes, 

Jack Thorne's latest offering is Help, a show which Edith absolutely loved and is available on All 4 now. Starring Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, Help tells the story of Sarah, a care home worker who looks after Tony, a man beset by Alzheimer's far to young - as if there's ever a good time. It's an exceedingly powerful piece of storytelling - and a profound, moving and poignant reflection on some of the serious questions raised about British society's priorities in the wake of the pandemic.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a producer and director who has worked extensively in theatre and film, most famously (in cinematic terms, at least) on Mamma Mia and The Iron Lady, which saw Meryl Streep win an Oscar for best actress.

Phyllida Lloyd's latest offering is Herself. Written by and starring Clare Dunne, Herself tells the story of Sandra - a struggling single mum who decides to build her own home when the housing authority refuses to offer her one. In doing so, she rediscovers herself with the help of a kindly community, only for her abusive ex-husband to return to haunt her ...

The film is scored by former guest on this show Natalie Holt, and we must say thank you to her for sending us her unreleased music from the film.

We've been wanting to put out this latest episode of Soundtracking for some time now, featuring as it does two people who were instrumental in bringing us Black Widow.
First up is our old pal Lorne Balfe, returning to the podcast for a third time to discuss his excellent score for the film. Then we'll bring you a chat Edith had with director Cate Shortland, who's put a very distinctive spin on the story of Natasha Romanov.
If you haven't seen it, it is still showing in a few cinemas, but is also available on Disney+ to customers with Premier access, and coming out on blu-ray and DVD on 13th September. It's cracking fun, and both Lorne and Cate have brought plenty new to the MCU table.

Our latest guest is a composer who has been on the podcast before, but is appearing by herself for the first time.

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch joined me, Carly Paradis and Amelia Warner for a very special Soundtracking Live at the BFI back in June 2019. In this episode, she's here to discuss her work on Censor, a smart, scary British horror which is out in cinemas now.  Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond and starring Niamh Algar, the film tells the story of Enid, a video nasty censor who links a particularly disturbing movie with the disappearance of her sister. 

It is beautifully scored by Emilie - at once acknowledging the classic video nasties of the 70s and 80s while having its own distinctive voice. And the good news is, it's soon to be released on vinyl by our good pals at Invada Records. Hurrah!