The King's Man (soundtrack) explained

The King's Man (Original Motion Picture Score)
Type:Soundtrack
Artist:Matthew Margeson and Dominic Lewis
Cover:The King's Man soundtrack.jpg
Released:22 December 2021
Genre:Film score
Length:1:18:00
Label:Hollywood

The King's Man is the soundtrack to the 2021 film of the same name, composed by Matthew Margeson and Dominic Lewis. Matthew Margeson, who worked with Henry Jackman in the previous Kingsman films, composed the film score with Dominic Lewis. Hollywood Records released the soundtrack digitally on 22 December 2021.

Development

Henry Jackman who scored the previous instalments in the Kingsman franchise was not involved in the prequel. Instead, Matthew Margeson, the co-composer returned as the recurring composer, joining with Dominic Lewis. While the predecessors had modern instruments which emphasized the nature of the spy genre, Lewis and Margeson however used an old-fashioned approach, consisting of classical and grandeur themes with traditional orchestra. He described The King's Man's score as an homage to the traditional film scores in the late-20th century, notably Lawrence of Arabia (1962).[1]

Lewis and Margeson moved to London in January 2019, where a writing room was set up on the film's sets so that the composers could visit the sets and take insights from the scenes that were shot to compose the score, instead of working on the score during post-production. Afterwards, a separate suite for post-production were set up in Long Cross for recording and editing the film's music. Margeson simultaneously worked on Rocketman (2019) while also scoring this film.[2]

Both Lewis and Margeson took 18–22 months on curating the film's score, in contrast to how the composers would individually work on 3–4 months for film scoring. Matthew Vaughn wanted to explore each avenue of the film's music which led the composers rewriting each cue to try different things. The delays caused by COVID-19 pandemic also helped the duo to experiment more on the film's music.

Release

The King's Man's score album was released by Hollywood Records on 22 December 2021, alongside the film.[3] [4]

The film features the original song "Measure of a Man" that is played during the end credits.[5] The song was performed by FKA Twigs and Central Cee being the featuring artist and was released on 18 November 2021;[6] [7] it was however not featured in the soundtrack.[8] An official music video for the song was released on 29 November.[9] [10]

Reception

Music critic Jonathan Broxton called it as an "absolutely first-rate film score" further describing it as the "best score in the Kingsman series to date". He admitted that "the new themes that Margeson and Lewis wrote for the film are strong and memorable, and the way they arrange the themes to illustrate a wide range of emotions is impressive" which resulted in the score being the "unexpected, top-drawer surprise for the end of the year".[11] Filmtracks.com wrote "Margeson and Lewis do not match the tight narrative arc and snazzy appeal of Jackman's coordination in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. A better combined presentation of final and unused music would be merited."[12] Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com called it "excellent" and the "best in the franchise so far, benefitting that thanks to the period setting".[13]

Additional music

Songs not included in the soundtrack, but featured in the film include the following:[14]

In promotional videos and trailers
During the film

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ames . Jeff . 2022-01-08 . The King's Man Interview: Composers Dominic Lewis and Matthew Margeson . https://web.archive.org/web/20221012180314/https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1205901-the-kings-man-interview-composers-dominic-lewis-and-matthew-margeson . 2022-10-12 . 2024-03-09 . ComingSoon.net . en-US.
  2. (Episode 269) The King's Man Film Composer: Dominic Lewis. . 26 December 2021 . Podcast . Monday Morning Critic Podcast . 10 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240310140737/https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/episode-269-the-kings-man-film-composer-dominic-lewis/id1210796291?i=1000544818590 . 10 March 2024 . Apple Music.
  3. Web site: 21 December 2021 . The King's Man Soundtrack Album Details . https://web.archive.org/web/20221111235652/https://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/12/21/the-kings-man-soundtrack-album-details . 11 November 2022 . 12 February 2022 . Film Music Reporter.
  4. Web site: Major . Michael . THE KING'S MAN (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Out Today . https://web.archive.org/web/20211222152548/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/THE-KINGS-MAN-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack-Out-Today-20211222 . 2021-12-22 . 2024-03-10 . BroadwayWorld.com . en.
  5. Blistein . Jon . 19 November 2021 . FKA Twigs Embraces Her Inner Crooner on New Song With Central Cee "Measure of a Man" . https://web.archive.org/web/20220212053001/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/fka-twigs-central-cee-new-song-measure-of-a-man-1260090 . 12 February 2022 . 12 February 2022 . Rolling Stone.
  6. Web site: 2021-11-11 . FKA twigs Releasing New Song "Measure of a Man" Next Week . https://web.archive.org/web/20220930092027/https://pitchfork.com/news/fka-twigs-releasing-new-song-measure-of-a-man-next-week/ . 2022-09-30 . 2024-03-10 . Pitchfork . en-US.
  7. Web site: Mendez . Chris Malone . FKA Twigs Releases ‘Measure of a Man’ From New ‘Kingsman’ Movie . https://web.archive.org/web/20211217123047/https://www.forbes.com/sites/cmalone/2021/11/18/fka-twigs-releases-measure-of-a-man-from-new-kingsman-movie/ . 2021-12-17 . 2024-03-10 . Forbes . en.
  8. Web site: FKA twigs shares clip of "Measure of a Man" single featuring Central Cee . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207174453/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/fka-twigs-shares-clip-of-measure-of-a-man-single-featuring-central-cee . 2022-12-07 . 2024-03-10 . The Line of Best Fit . en-US.
  9. Web site: Bastos . Margarida . 2021-11-29 . 'The King's Man': Music Video for 'Measure of a Man' Shows FKA twigs Wielding a Sword . https://web.archive.org/web/20211206224220/https://collider.com/the-kings-man-measure-of-a-man-music-video-fka-twigs/ . 2021-12-06 . 2024-03-10 . Collider . en.
  10. Web site: Benjamin . Patrick . 2021-11-30 . FKA twigs shares the new video for ‘Measure of a Man’ . https://web.archive.org/web/20211223015243/https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/54927/1/fka-twigs-shares-the-new-video-for-measure-of-a-man . 2021-12-23 . 2024-03-10 . Dazed . en.
  11. Web site: 2022-01-04 . THE KING’S MAN – Matthew Margeson and Dominic Lewis . https://web.archive.org/web/20220928185238/https://moviemusicuk.us/2022/01/04/the-kings-man-matthew-margeson-and-dominic-lewis/ . 2022-09-28 . 2024-03-09 . Movie Music UK . en.
  12. Web site: 2022-01-10 . Filmtracks: The King's Man (Matthew Margeson/Dominic Lewis) . https://web.archive.org/web/20220111043840/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/kings_man.html . 2022-01-11 . 2024-03-09 . Filmtracks.com.
  13. Web site: Bumbray . Chris . 2021-12-22 . The King's Man Review . https://web.archive.org/web/20220225173934/https://www.joblo.com/the-kings-man-review/ . 2022-02-25 . 2024-03-10 . JoBlo . en-US.
  14. Web site: January 11, 2024 . The King's Man 3 Soundtrack (2021). https://soundtracki.com/ . December 22, 2021 . December 30, 2021 . SOUNDTRACKI.
  15. Web site: Elvy . Craig . 2019-09-30 . What Is The King's Man Trailer Song? . https://web.archive.org/web/20191001143429/https://screenrant.com/kings-man-trailer-song-war-pigs-black-sabbath/ . 2019-10-01 . 2024-03-10 . ScreenRant . en.
  16. Web site: Roth . Dany . 2021-08-26 . What Is The Song In The King's Man Red Band Trailer? . https://web.archive.org/web/20210925004247/https://www.looper.com/587084/what-is-the-song-in-the-kings-man-red-band-trailer/ . 2021-09-25 . 2024-03-10 . Looper . en-US.