Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

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!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is an Italian screenwriter and director who is absolutely charming company - and super-talented to boot. Ferdinando Cito Filomarino - or Ferdy for short! - has collaborated multiple times with former guest on this show, Luca Guadagnino, and also brought us a couple of feature films of his own. The latest of these is Beckett, which you can watch now on Netflix.  Starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, Beckett tells the story of a tourist who becomes the subject of a manhunt following an accident while holidaying in Greece. Excitingly, Ferdy's film is scored by none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto - who provides a typically layered soundscape. As always, we'll pepper plenty of his music throughout the conversation.

Our latest guest on soundtracking is an artist whose name has featured numerous times on Soundtracking, such is his stock in the world of film composition. Tyler Bates is the former lead guitarist for Marilyn Manson - but has, since the early 2000s, focussed the majority of his attention on movie scoring, working on projects like John Wick, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Watchmen. His latest offering is Dark Nights: Death Metal, a companion piece to the hugely successful series of comics and graphic novels by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. As ever, we'll hear examples of Tyler's music throughout the conversation.

We're 5 years old this week - hurrah!!! - and to celebrate our birthday, we thought we thought we'd go back to where it all began by speaking to Ben Wheatley, who appeared in the very first episode of Soundtracking and returns (appropriately enough) for a fifth time. Ben joined us with his longtime producer Andy Starke to discuss their film In The Earth, which was made in lockdown with all the considerable difficulties that brought. Set during a deadly global pandemic, In The Earth tells the story of a scientist and a park scout who embark on a mission to find a renegade botanist, conducting research into plant life deep in the woods. Much hallucinogenic mayhem ensues, referencing everything from Hammer horror to Hansel and Gretel and Dr Who, not to mention Ben's previous work. In The Earth is scored by our old friend Clint Mansell - who even rigged up his house plants to create sounds that feature in the music. Wonderful stuff ...

It's a triple header on this week's Soundtracking, as Edith is joined first by Edgar Wright to discuss his first foray into documentary filmmaking - The Sparks Brothers - and then by Russell and Ron themselves - the groundbreaking duo who've been smashing the mould for half a century. As well as getting the lowdown on his doc from Edgar, Russell and Ron, we also find out about Annette, the screen musical written by the brothers, which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard and was directed by Leos Carax. Then, of course, there's the odd anthem to feast your ears on!

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are a couple of young ladies who wowed Kevin Feige and his team at Marvel to collaborate on the studio's latest offering on Disney+. No mean feat, given the history of the franchise, and we couldn't be happier for them that they smashed it out of the park. Director Kate Herron and composer Natalie Holt combined to magnificent effect on Loki, the mind-bending take on the Norse god of mischief, as played by recent guest on this podcast, Tom Hiddleston.  We talk Easter eggs, the theremin, Tom's pissed singing and much, much more in this thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer who provided the music for one of the water-cooler TV series of 2021. We are, in case you're wondering, talking about The Serpent, for which Dominik Scherrer has delivered a properly brilliant soundscape. Based true events, The Serpent tells the story of serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who murdered young tourists in Thailand between 1975 and 2000.  As well as Dominik's score, the show also features loads and loads of needle-drops from the era, so you might get to hear a little bit of Serge Gainsbourg if you're lucky ...

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is a documentary maker returning to the podcast for a third time. Nick Broomfield is always splendid company, and joins us once more to discuss his new film, Last Man Standing - a companion piece to Tupac & Biggie, which he made back in 2002 about the murders of the eponymous rappers. Here, he delves deeper into the role Death Row Records impresario Suge Knight played in their deaths - and speaks to more of the characters who were central to this extraordinary narrative. Last Man Standing is scored by Nick's regular collaborator, Nick Laird-Clowes, who was kind enough to furnish us with a few cues.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is not only someone Edith's known for a very long time, but also someone who's been a great supporter of this podcast since day one. Tom Hiddleston is currently tearing up the screen as Loki on Disney +. It's a brilliant vehicle for one of Marvel's most enduring characters and a welcome return after - ahem, spoiler alert - what happened in Avengers: Infinity War. As well as discussing Natalie Holt's sonically adventurous score for the series, we also dive deep into Tom's passion for music and soundtracks, and discover the song he sang at his drama school audition. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are actor, writer and director Harry Macqueen and musician Keaton Henson, who makes his first foray into film scoring for Harry's deeply moving road movie, Supernova. Starring Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth, Supernova tells the story of a gay couple who travel to the Lake District - after Stanley's character Tusker has been diagnosed with early onset dementia. Given he's a film score newbie, Keaton has done a magnificent job with the music. And there are plenty of classy needle-drops too, including tracks by Dalton, Bowie and Waits. Enjoy!

It's becoming a bit of a thing, here on Soundtracking, having two guests for the price of one. But Edith is really pleased to welcome John Krasinski and Marco Beltrami to the podcast, given that A Quiet Place Part II was the first film she went to see in the cinema after the most recent lockdown. Written and directed by John, and scored by Marco, the film tells the story of a family forced to navigate a world inhabited by blind aliens with heightened hearing. Best not make much noise, it's safe to say!

Edith spoke to our latest guest on Soundtracking in the midst of our very first lockdown - not only when we were considerably more uncertain about things than we are today, but also before we knew what an extraordinary impact his film was going to have on lovers of cinema.  Since chatting to Florian Zeller, his directorial debut The Father has had all manner of critical acclaim and recognition, including the award for best adapted screenplay (from Florian's own play) and best actor for Anthony Hopkins at this year's Oscars.  Now we're not going to lie, there's not a huge amount of music in The Father, so we don't talk about it at great length, instead focussing on the very skillful way he tells a very challenging story. And we're also going to suggest that if you haven't seen it yet, DON'T LISTEN, because it really is one of those films best watched with as little foreknowledge as possible, and he gives a fair few trade secrets away. 

It's another double header for you on this week's Soundtracking, with a director and one of his leading ladies joining me to discuss their spin on one of Disney's most iconic villains. Craig Gillespie and Emma Stone have, quite simply, created a fabulous Cruella De Vil. Effectively a prequel to the original animated classic, Cruella also stars Emma Thompson and Mark Strong among many other fine actors, and tells the story of Estella Miller, a fashion designer making her way in 1970s punk London who eventually becomes the titular baddie. As well as featuring over 50 songs, the film is scored by our dear friend Nicholas Britell, who complimented the deluge of needle drops with what he told us was his first rock-driven score.