Gravity (soundtrack) explained

Gravity: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Type:Soundtrack
Artist:Steven Price
Cover:Gravity, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.jpg
Released: (download)
(physical)
Recorded:2012
Studio:Abbey Road Studios and British Grove Studios (London, United Kingdom)
Genre:Soundtrack
Length:71:44
Label:WaterTower Music

Gravity: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album of the 3D science fiction thriller film Gravity, written by British film composer Steven Price. The album was released in 2013 via WaterTower Music label.

Price's score was universally applauded by film critics and audiences alike, leading Price to win and receive nominations for several Best Original Score awards at ceremonies, including a BAFTA Award, a Satellite Award and an Academy Award, as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Development

Composer Steven Price was originally called in to help out for three weeks on the music design of Gravity.[1] After having a creative discussion with director Alfonso Cuarón, Price began coming up with a template of sounds and noises that eventually led to him being hired as the film's composer.[2] As work began on the film's score, Cuarón and Price set ground rules for distancing the score from conventional Hollywood-style action scores such as omitting the use of percussion.[3] "Ordinarily in an action film you're often competing with explosions and god knows what else, whereas with this [movie] music could do things a different way," said Price. "With everything we did we would try and look beyond the normal way of doing things. [For] some of the action sequences where there are explosions, I knew that [...] those explosions had to be inherent."[4]

The score was recorded in small groups or single instruments as opposed to a collective orchestra in order for each sound to be electronically processed and mixed individually to create a layered and surrounding effect.[5]

Reception

Steven Price's score has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, in particular for its two final tracks, "Shenzou" and "Gravity". It was nominated for and won multiple awards in the Best Original Score category at several ceremonies: it received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 71st Golden Globe Awards and won Best Original Music at the 67th British Academy Film Awards and Best Original Score at the 86th Academy Awards.[6] James Southall of Movie Wave awarded the album five stars out of a possible five and said that "it feels like the most intelligent and most satisfying score for a science fiction movie since Ennio Morricone's stunning, dishearteningly lambasted Mission to Mars."

Accolades

AwardDateCategoryResult
Academy AwardsMarch 2, 2014Best Original Score
Alliance of Women Film JournalistsDecember 19, 2013Best Music or Score
Awards Circuit Community AwardsFebruary 28, 2014Best Original Score
British Academy Film AwardsFebruary 16, 2014Best Original Music
Broadcast Film Critics AssociationJanuary 16, 2014Best Score
Central Ohio Film Critics AssociationJanuary 2, 2014Best Score
Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 13, 2013Best Original Score
Denver Film Critics SocietyJanuary 13, 2014Best Original Score
Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 12, 2014Best Original Score
Grammy AwardsFebruary 8, 2015Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
Houston Film Critics SocietyDecember 15, 2013Best Original Score
San Diego Film Critics SocietyDecember 11, 2013Best Original Score
Satellite AwardsFebruary 23, 2014Best Original Score
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics AssociationDecember 16, 2013Best Musical Score
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationDecember 9, 2013Best Score

Track listing

Notes

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic and from the liner notes of Gravity: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.[7]

Performers and musicians
Technical personnel

Notes and References

  1. Oscars 2014: How Steven Price created a 3-D score for 'Gravity'. Lindsey Bahr. Entertainment Weekly. February 21, 2014. August 28, 2016.
  2. Web site: Schweiger. Daniel. Interview with Steven Price. Film Music Magazine. Global Media Online, Inc.. October 7, 2013. September 30, 2013.
  3. Web site: Rosen. Christopher. 'Gravity' Composer Steven Price On The Film's Incredible Soundtrack. The Huffington Post. AOL. October 7, 2013. October 4, 2013.
  4. Web site: Watercutter. Angela. The Sound of Silence: How Gravity Created a Terrifying Score for Outer Space. Wired. Condé Nast Publishing. October 7, 2013. October 7, 2013.
  5. Web site: Girkout. Alexa. How Do You Score Outer Space? Silence and 'Overwhelming' Sound, Says 'Gravity' Composer. The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. October 7, 2013. October 3, 2013.
  6. Web site: The 86th Academy Awards | 2014.
  7. Web site: Gravity [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] - Steven Price Credits ]. AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. October 7, 2013.