Alien: Romulus (soundtrack) explained

Alien: Romulus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Type:film
Artist:Benjamin Wallfisch
Released:August 16, 2024
Recorded:2024
Genre:Film score
Length:56:56
Label:Hollywood
Producer:Benjamin Wallfisch
Prev Title:Alien: Covenant
Prev Year:2017
Chronology:Alien

Alien: Romulus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2024 science fiction horror thriller film Alien: Romulus directed by Fede Álvarez, the seventh installment in the Alien franchise. Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film score which blends orchestral and electronic music and referenced themes and music from previous instalments. The score was released under the Hollywood Records label on August 16, 2024, and is set to be released through vinyl LPs in November 2024.

Background

In March 2024, it was announced that Benjamin Wallfisch would write the score for Romulus in his first collaboration with Álvarez.[1] The score incorporated themes and cues from the Alien films, such as Jerry Goldsmith's score for Alien (1979), James Horner's for Aliens (1986) and Marc Streitenfeld's from Prometheus (2012).[2]

The score began with complete silence, allowing Wallfisch to consider the impact of music and how it could enhance emotional moments without overshadowing them.[3] Wallfisch designed each character's themes to reflect their emotional journey. Rain's theme evolved from a "sunrise theme" to "rain theme" that symbolized her quest for hope and light. The relationship between Rain and her brother Andy was central to the score, which Wallfisch aimed to connect their themes musically; Andy's theme was derived from Rain's theme, which reinforced their emotional ties. He experimented with a combination of chords and layered sounds with tape delays and woodwinds, providing an auditory experience that resonated with the film's themes.[4]

Wallfisch juxtaposed the orchestral themes with electronic sounds to create the blend with a familiar and alien theme. All those themes were interconnected, so that it could share the same thread of the musical DNA. The use of woodwinds was to evoke the vastness of the film's space, while the choir was to explore non-human sounds. A 100-piece orchestra was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios, London which were utilized without strict themes allowing a fluid and organic rhythm that matched the film's themes of exploration and danger.

Release

Alien: Romulus score was released by Hollywood Records on August 16, 2024, alongside the film.[5] The album featured 20 tracks from Wallfisch's score as heard in the film. In addition to this, a vinyl edition of the album will be distributed by Mutant and featured six bonus tracks of the film score, packaged in a 240-gram LP record with liner notes from Álvarez and artwork by illustrator Kilian Eng;[6] it is scheduled for release on November 15.[7] [8]

Reception

Zanobard Reviews assigned 7.5 out of 10 for the album, stating "Benjamin Wallfisch’s fittingly unnerving score for Alien: Romulus tries thematically to have it all, to some pretty superb – but not perfect – results, all said."[9] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote "Benjamin Wallfisch’s turgid, discordantly sentimental score is at its most glaring when Rain and Andy are sharing some moment of emotional angst, strangely maudlin notes in a movie that is otherwise steadfastly cruel to its characters."[10] Space.com wrote "Composer Benjamin Wallfisch's inventive score is another of the absolute highlights of Alien: Romulus, operating within and dancing around thematic cues found in Jerry Goldsmith's symphonic masterpiece in Alien and James Horner's thunderous military tracks from Aliens. But where his genius really excels is in the injection of industrial-edged synthesizer music paired to many of the hardcore action set pieces that fondly reminds us of '90s techno tunes and vintage Nine Inch Nails."[11] James Mottram of NME described it as "a gets-right-under-the-skin score from Benjamin Wallfisch".[12] Kyle Anderson of Nerdist called it as "a big, sweeping, orchestral soundscape that actively calls back Jerry Goldsmith’s score from Alien [...] keeping with the aesthetic of the 1970s-style of futurism, a full orchestra and leitmotifs really add an air of classiness. It’s a standout, for sure."[13] Chris Evangelista of /Film called it as a "frightening score".[14]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Film Music Reporter[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: . March 20, 2024 . Benjamin Wallfisch Scoring Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240415060524/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2024/03/20/benjamin-wallfisch-scoring-fede-alvarezs-alien-romulus/ . April 15, 2024 . March 20, 2024 . Film Music Reporter.
  2. Gilchrist . Todd . August 18, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Score From Benjamin Wallfisch, Which Pays Homage to Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, Due on Vinyl in November . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815161122/https://variety.com/2024/artisans/news/alien-romulus-score-benjamin-wallfisch-vinyl-1236106988/ . August 15, 2024 . August 18, 2024 . Variety.
  3. Web site: McCue . Michelle . August 18, 2024 . Listen To Composer Benjamin Wallfisch Talk About His Score For Alien: Romulus . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240818202425/https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2024/08/listen-to-composer-benjamin-wallfisch-talk-about-his-score-for-alien-romulus/ . August 18, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . We Are Movie Geeks . en-US.
  4. Alien: Romulus (Big Score) . August 16, 2024 . Wallfisch . Benjamin . Benjamin Wallfisch . . August 21, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240818193832/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q4QPk7c56M . August 18, 2024 . YouTube.
  5. Web site: . August 18, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Soundtrack Album Details . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240814170633/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2024/08/14/alien-romulus-soundtrack-album-details/ . August 14, 2024 . August 18, 2024 . Film Music Reporter.
  6. Cremona . Patrick . August 16, 2024 . Alien: Romulus soundtrack and score – What music features in the new film? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817020450/https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/scifi/alien-romulus-soundtrack/ . August 17, 2024 . August 18, 2024 . Radio Times.
  7. Web site: Cavanaugh . Patrick . August 15, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Score Getting Vinyl Release From Mutant . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240816023430/https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-romulus-music-score-soundtrack-vinyl-mutant/ . August 16, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en.
  8. Web site: Scott . Ryan . August 16, 2024 . The Alien: Romulus Soundtrack On Vinyl Can Now Be yours . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240816215250/https://www.fangoria.com/alien-romulus-soundtrack-vinyl/ . August 16, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Zanobard . August 16, 2024 . Alien: Romulus – Soundtrack Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240816205907/https://zanobardreviews.com/2024/08/16/alien-romulus-soundtrack-review/ . August 16, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . Zanobard Reviews . en.
  10. Lawson . Richard . August 14, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Wants to Be All the Alien Movies at Once . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815205535/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/alien-romulus-movie-review . August 15, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en-US.
  11. Web site: Spry . Jeff . August 16, 2024 . Alien: Romulus is a visceral return to form for a venerable sci-fi franchise (review) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240817103528/https://www.space.com/alien-romulus--movie-review . August 17, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en.
  12. Web site: Mottram . James . August 14, 2024 . Alien: Romulus review: as thrilling and scary as the original . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815122142/https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/alien-romulus-review-3783797 . August 15, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en-GB.
  13. Web site: Anderson . Kyle . August 14, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Is Mostly a Welcome Return to Horror Form . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240815070730/https://nerdist.com/article/alien-romulus-review/ . August 15, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . Nerdist . en-US.
  14. Web site: Evangelista . Chris . August 14, 2024 . Alien: Romulus Review: This Occasionally Effective Sequel Plays Things Too Safe . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240816175254/https://www.slashfilm.com/1641960/alien-romulus-review/ . August 16, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . . en-US.
  15. Web site: August 15, 2024 . Alien: Romulus – Music Team Credits . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240821180151/https://filmmusicreporter.com/music-team-credits/alien-romulus/ . August 21, 2024 . August 21, 2024 . Film Music Reporter . en-US.

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