I can’t lie and pretend to be the biggest film score nerd around, but I like to think I know a good score from a bad one. And while I might not know all the composers working today, I am very familiar with the work by the late, great Jóhann Jóhannsson. The composer, whose life was tragically cut short earlier this year, was the man behind the incredible scores of such films like “Prisoners,” “The Theory of Everything,” “Sicario,” “Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049,” and the upcoming “Mandy.” Needless to say, the Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated musician created a legacy that is hard to top.
That’s why it’s with great pleasure we’re here to premiere an exclusive sneak peek at one of his final works, the score for the upcoming Nicolas Cage horror-thriller “Mandy.” As you can hear in the music used in the film, Jóhannsson was at the top of his game when working on this highly-anticipated film. The preview gives listeners examples of the beauty, dread, tension, and horror that can be found in the film, but just with the use of the incredible score.
In speaking about how Jóhannsson became involved with “Mandy,” friend and manager Tim Husom said:
“The last music he created before his death was the score to ‘Mandy.’ We were working on it right up until the film was delivered to Sundance in early January. Back in August of 2016 we received a call from Daniel Noah at SpectreVision about this crazy new horror film they were starting that starred Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roach, and directed by Panos Cosmatos. Jóhann had just finished his score for Denis Villeneuve’s film, ‘Arrival,’ when the ‘Mandy’ mood boards were sent over to us. They were unbelievably cool and scary. Our interest was hooked immediately. Jóhann’s first email response to me about the project was ‘Seriously, his (Panos) ‘Beyond The Black Rainbow’ film is a masterpiece! I love it. And the way he uses music.’ To Jóhann, the idea of working on ‘Mandy’ with Panos and SpectreVision was bringing some much-needed balance to his score career and a perfect next step.”
The “Mandy” soundtrack will be released by Lakeshore Records and Invada Records on September 14, timed to hit the same day as the film, which is produced by SpectreVision, XYZ Films, and Umedia with support from Legion M, and released by RLJ Entertainment.
Also, if you’d like to learn more about the newly formed Jóhann Jóhannsson Foundation, please check out the website.
Here’s the sneak peek at Jóhannsson’s final work and the cover to the soundtrack:
