Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is Alex Garland, joining Edith to discuss his latest film as a writer / director, Civil War, scored by our old pals Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow. The narrative follows a group of journalists who travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating second American Civil War, with Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Nick Offerman among the cast. It also features some tremendous needle-drops, as discussed by Edith and Alex

Our latest guests are Dev Patel and Jordan Peele, who joined Edith for the first Soundtracking Everyman Film Club of 2024 to discuss Dev's debut feature, Monkey Man, recorded live at Screen On The Green in north London. As well as writing and producing the film (with a little help from Jordan), Dev also directed - on what was, as you'll hear, an extremely challenging shoot. Monkey Man is ostensibly a revenge thriller, drawing from the rich tradition of classic kung-fu movies. But peel back the layers and you'll find so much more - not least razorsharp socio-political commentary.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is Neo Sora, son of Ryuichi Sakamoto and director of a final gift to the Japanese composer's fans, Opus. Recorded in late 2022, with just Ryuichi and a Yamaha grand, Opus sees him perform his most haunting, and delicate melodies in equally haunting and delicate black and white. It is a wonderfully tender, meditative and moving film, which we recommend you all to go and see.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is Issa Lopez, creator, writer and director of True Detective: Night Country, which is available to watch in its entirety on Sky and Now TV - in the UK at any rate. Starring Jodie Foster & Kali Reis, it's set in a remote Alaskan town during a winter spell of perpetual darkness, and follows an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of eight men at a research station. The visuals are stunning ... the performances are stunning ... the music is stunning. As well as boasting a suitably chilling score by Vince Pope, it also features a range of incredible needle drops and a title track by none other than Billie Elish.

Our guest this week is Max Richter - composer extraordinaire who has provided the music for Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan's new film, Spaceman. Directed by Johan Renck, it tells the story of a Czech astronaut sent to the end of the solar system who encounters a creature that helps sort out his issues back on earth. We love having Max on the podcast, so brilliant is he at articulating the intricacies of composing a score. Enjoy!

What a treat we have for you today, as Denis Villeneuve & Hans Zimmer join me to discuss Dune 2. Denis and Hans were on cracking form as they discussed their second outing together adapting a book they both loved as children.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is director Thea Sharrock, who joins me to discuss her hilarious new film, Wicked Little Letters. Based on a true story, Wicked Little Letters stars Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley, and sees the residents of Littlehampton start receiving missives filled with profanity, prompting a group of the town's women to investigate. It's scored with her usual aplomb by Isobel Waller-Bridge. 

We have a bonus episode for you, as director Fernando Meirelles and composer Ed Cortes join me to discuss the 21st Anniversary of City Of God. This is a film that was hugely important to Edith in her journey as a film fan - as she, like many other people, had never seen anything quite like it when it hit cinemas. In addition to Fernando's visual flair, Ed's score (which he put together with Antonio Pinto) is outstanding and super-cool.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is composer Laura Karpman, who joined Edith to discuss her Oscar nominated score for American Fiction. Written and directed by first-timer Cord Jefferson (who picked up a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay), it follows a frustrated novelist-professor who writes an outlandish satire of stereotypical 'black' books, only for it to be mistaken by the liberal elite for serious literature.

We have finally netted one of our white whales on Soundtracking, as after literally years of trying, Edith finally managed to get an opportunity to sit down with the one and only Martin Scorsese. Martin joins us to discuss Killers Of The Flower Moon, which is available to watch right now on Apple TV - though we ended up covering so much more than that - including Taxi Driver, Casino, Raging Bull, Mean Streets and The Last Waltz ... Mean Streets to 

We have a very special bonus episode of Soundtracking for you today, as Matthew Vaughn, Lorne Balfe, Giles Martin, Gary Barlow and Stuart Price join Edith to discuss the music of Argylle. As you'll hear, each made very specific contributions to the film, but channelled the spirit of collaboration to provide score, original songs and that new Beatles track! 

We have a Poor Things double-header for you today, as first Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone join me to discuss their collaboration on the film, before their composer Jerskin Fendrix. As well as producing the film, Emma stars as Bella Baxter, a young woman in Victorian London , who is resurrected by a scientist following her suicide and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery. It's the first time Yorgos has used a composer in the conventional sense, and also the first time Jerskin has written for film.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are writer / director Andrew Haigh and composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, who joined Edith to discuss their work on Andrew's film, All Of Us Strangers. We don't want to say to much about it if you haven't seen it yet, but it stars Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy, and tells the story of a lonely gay man who mysteriously meets his parents on visiting his childhood home, despite the fact they died in a car crash when he was a young boy.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are childhood friends Jamie Childs and James Drummond, who joined Edith to discuss Jamie's debut feature as a writer / director, Jackdaw. Set in Hartlepool, it follows an eventful night in the life of former motocross champion and army veteran, Jack, whose decision to take a job from a criminal results in all kinds of mayhem. Jamie enlisted James, who has a background in the music industry, as music supervisor, while the score is provided by Deadly Avenger & Si Begg. 

The last time we had our latest guest on the podcast, he was up for an EE BAFTA Rising Star award, which he duly won. How far Daniel Kaluuya has come since then? although, to be fair, he was quite some distance down the road alread. Now Daniel joins Edith to discuss his debut as a writer/director, The Kitchen. Music for the film is provided by Labrinth and Alex Baranowski, to whom we owe huge gratitude for providing us with as-yet unreleased cues of a Sunday morning, when he should have been reading the paper and eating croissants. Thank you, Alex! 

Our latest guest on this bonus episode of Soundtracking is Alexander Payne, who joined me to discuss his new film, The Holdovers. Set in the early 1970s, it stars Paul Giamatti as a strict teacher at a New England boarding school, who is forced to chaperone a handful of students with nowhere to go on Christmas break.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is the wonderful Jodie Comer, who joined Edith to discuss her role in Mahalia Belo's new film, The End We Start From. Based on the book by Megan Hunter, it tells the story of a mother and her baby who flee London after an ecological crisis, and sees Jodie star alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Katherine Waterstone and Mark Strong. They also talk about the music moments in Killing Eve, Free Guy & her stage play, Prima Facie.

2024 is rolling on in fine style here on Soundtracking - after Sofia Coppola kicked it off - as director George Clooney and his leading man Callum Turner join Edith to discuss The Boys In The Boat. Based on a true story, The Boys In The Boat is a classic sporting underdog tale, with the narrative charting a rowing crew from the University of Washington on their journey to the Berlin Olympics in 1936. It's scored by previous guest on the podcast, the genuinely great Alexandre Desplat 

Our first guest of 2024 is the wonderful Sofia Coppola, who joined us for a Soundtracking Everyman Film Club in front of a live audience to discuss her latest film, Priscilla. Based on her Priscilla's memoir, Elvis & Me, this tells the story of her complex relationship with the iconic musician.

Our gift to you this Christmas morning is Taika Waititi talking about his new film, Next Goal Wins.Based on a true story, Next Goal Wins stars Michael Fassbender as a coach charged with turning around the fortunes of the American Samoan national football team, widely regarded as one of the weakest in the world. 

Our latest Christmas present of a guest for you here on Soundtracking is the legendary Michael Mann, who joins Edith to discuss his biopic Ferrari, which follows the personal and professional struggles of Ferrari founder Enzo during the summer of 1957. Starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, it has all the visceral thrills and visual thrust that you'd expect of a Michael Mann film about very fast cars, but also real emotional punch, particularly in the performances of Adam and Penelope as Enzo and his wife, Laura. Ferrari is scored by friend of the show Daniel Pemberton - who provided the music in around about a week!

Without wishing to sound unduly self-congratulatory, it is slightly mind-boggling to us that one week Edith gets to introduce Sam Esmail and Julia Roberts to you on the podcast, and the next Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. Bradley and Carey joined us to discuss Maestro, which Bradley co-wrote and directed and focuses on the relationship between Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre. 

It's a Wonka special for you today, as writer director Paul King, songwriter Neil Hannon and composer Joby Talbot join Edith to discuss their origin story of the eccentric chocolate maker, who is brilliantly played by Timothée Chalamet. It's a beautiful, all-singing, all-dancing spectacular, with all the characteristic charm of Paul's work, and with fine contributions from Neil and Joby.

We can't quite believe I'm saying this, but our latest guests on this bonus episode of Soundtracking are Sam Esmail and ... Julia Roberts! We had a lovely wee chat about the music in their new movie, Leave The World Behind, which you can watch right now on Netflix. A deeply unsettling psychological thriller, it tells the story of a family whose holiday on Long Island is interrupted by two mysterious strangers bringing news of an imminent blackout.

Last week we had Mark Ronson, and this week it's the turn of another great producer, musician, and crate digger to join Edith on Soundtracking. David Holmes is back with new music in the shape of his album that sees him collaborate with Raven Violet. As as well as talking about that, we discuss his score and music supervision work for film and TV for the likes of Steven Soderbegh, and also his experience of producing Sinead O'Connor's final work, which has yet to be released. As you can see, we also got to meet his dog, Maisie ...

We're bringing you another of our Soundtracking Everyman Film Clubs today, recorded live following a screening of American Symphony in London. Edith was joined by married couple Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad and documentary maker Matthew Heineman to discuss their film, which chronicles a year in Jon and Suleika's life as he goes about creating the symphony of the title in the face of her potentially terminal leukemia diagnosis.

400! 400! We have reached 400 episodes. Holy cow. How did we do that? And what better way to celebrate it than with Mark Ronson - one of the greatest music producers in the world and now a composer of score. Mark joined me after I messaged him out of the blue to discuss his music for Barbie. What a legend. With no compulsion from a PR company, Mark gave Edith, and by proxy you, half an hour of his time to talk about Greta Gerwigs's brilliant film.

It's another bonus episode of Soundtracking during this particularly busy time, as Todd Haynes returns to the podcast for a fourth time to discuss his film, May December. A deliciously dark and unsettling drama, with lashings of beautifully observed comedy, May December tells the story of an actress who travels to meet and study the life of the controversial woman she is set to play in a film, with Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore exquisite in the leading roles. Interestingly, Marcelo Zarvos's music is a reworking of Michel Legrand's score for the 1971 film, The Go-Between. 

We are very excited to be bringing you the first of a series which we hope will be a  long-running addition to the podcast - namely the Soundtracking Everyman Film Club. This new project will see Edith get together with people who bring you a film ... their film ... and have a wee natter about it before or after a screening, and then share conversation with everyone who couldn't be in the room on that day in pod form. On this occasion, it's Emerald Fennell talking about the music of Saltburn, which is incredibly important to the movie's narrative drive, and an element, as you'll discover, she thinks an enormous amount about. As a bonus, Edith also caught up with her composer Anthony Willis, in an interview you'll get to hear after the conversation with Emerald.

We recently had Charlotte Regan on the podcast to discuss her brilliant debut feature, Scrapper, and we're following up on that episode with her composer Patrick Jonsson. Scrapper tells the story of 12-year-old Georgie and her estranged father Jason, who comes into her life for the first time after her mother dies. Told very much from Georgie's perspective, the music had to communicate her innocence and wonder - and also the childlike way in which she is dealing with her grief.

We have a double-header on our latest episode of Soundtracking - so busy are we at the moment. First up are writer/director Molly Manning Walker and songwriter, producer, DJ and composer James Jacob - who goes by the professional soubriquet of Jakwob. They join Edith to discuss Molly's powerful and important debut feature, How To Have Sex, which has already scooped a major award at Cannes. How To Have Sex deals with that very particular rite of passage for girls of a certain age, as three young female friends travel to Crete in search of sun, sand and, possibly, you know what ...

We also have writer / director Kitty Green to talk about her psychological thriller, The Royal Hotel, which sees two backpackers land jobs in a remote Australian bar, with events uncoiling thereafter in a truly gripping and suspenseful fashion.

We are taking a deep dive into the music of Top Gun: Maverick in this bonus episode of Soundtracking, as editor Eddie Hamilton and music editor Cecile Tournesac join Edith to discuss their work on the film. Needless to say, this conversation features plenty of spoilers, but it's not one you'll want to listen to unless you've seen the film, so wonderfully granular is the detail they go into. They give us the stories behind the original songs, the needle-drops, the score and the sound design - and also serve up a rather lovely easter egg for you to look out for next time you watch the movie. Trust us when we say it is a BRILLIANT chat.

We can't quite believe our luck to have David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads to discuss the remastered re-release of their seminal concert film, Stop Making Sense. These guys are so lovely and humble and, of course, groundbreaking and brilliant, it really is a pleasure to bring you the interview - with a little taster of the live recordings from Jonathan Demme's film thrown in for good measure.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is Garth Davis, who makes a welcome return to discuss his psychological sci-fi thriller, Foe. Based on the book by Iain Reid, it stars Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal as a couple whose life is turned upside down when a stranger arrives at their farm to tell them one of them will be sent to a space station, while the other will be left in the company of a robot. Unusually, Foe is scored by 3 composers, so find out right here what Garth had in mind with that decision ...

It's three for the price of one this week, as Edith is joined by writer / director Philip Barantini and composers Aaron May & David Ridley to discuss their collaboration of Phil's BBC television spinoff of his film, Boiling Point. Featuring many of the original cast, the episodic format allows Philip and his co-writers to flesh out the characters, as you can see by checking out the whole season on the BBC iPlayer right now.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking has scored one of films that has most profoundly affected Edith in recent years, such is the gravity of the subject matter. 20 Days in Mariupol is genuinely harrowing, but also genuinely necessary and important documentary, charting in quite heart-wronching fashion the besieging of the Ukrainian city during the Russian invasion. Jordan Dykstra composed the music for the film, and we're thrilled he took the time to talk to us.

As Edith has noted before, our latest guest on Soundtracking has effectively created his own genre of naturalistic musical cinema, in which the songs featured feel organically rooted in the landscape of the narrative. John Carney is the man who brought us Once and Sing Street - and now blesses us with Flora And Son, which you can watch on Apple TV and in selected cinemas. It tells the story of a mum struggling to deal with her rebellious son, whose fortunes start to change after she rescues a beat-up guitar from a skip. John enlisted the help of Gary Clark of Danny Wilson fame for the original songs and the score, and you'll hear examples of his music throughout the conversation.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking was also one of our very earliest, when he joined me to discuss his brilliant contribution to the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One. And Gareth is back with The Creator - which he wrote and directed, and is a quite simply extraordinary addition to the sci-fci canon. It's hard to tell you too much about it, aside from the fact that it puts a hugely compassionate twist on the classic battle between humans and machines and artificial intelligence. Oh yes, and it's scored by our old friend Hans Zimmer ...

We continue to celebrate independent film on Soundtracking this week in the company of Prasanna Puwanarajah and Niall Lawlor - respectively director and composer of Ballywalter, a bittersweet comedy set in the Northern Irish village, which counts among its stars Seána Kerslake and Patrick Kielty

She's back, with that infectious laugh of hers, and we couldn't be more delighted. Hildur Guðnadóttir is one of my very favourite composers of film music, and she joins me to discuss Kenneth Branagh's latest take on Agatha Christie, A Haunting In Venice. Darker and more claustrophobic than the previous two Poirot mysteries he directed and starred in, A Haunting In Venice sees the Belgian detective investigate a murder while attending a Halloween seance at a palazzo in the floating city.

Continuing our recent theme of featuring low-budget British films on Soundtracking, our latest guest is Charlotte Regan, writer and director of the superb Scrapper. Featuring a remarkable central performance by 11-year-old Lola Campbell, Scrapper tells the story of Georgia, who is forced to confront a new domestic reality when, among other things, her estranged father turns up out of nowhere. The film is scored by Patrick Jonsson, who was kind enough to share some of his as yet unreleased cues for us. 

For the second week running, we're celebrating a low budget British film. Last week, writer/director Neil Maskell and composer Andy Pettitt joined me to discuss Neil's Klokkenluider, while this week Ryan Hendrick is here to discuss his horror thriller, Mercy Falls. Set in the Scottish Highlands, it sees a group of friends head off in search of a long lost cabin, only for tragedy to strike and carnage to ensue. Mercy Falls is scored by Stephen Wright, and Ryan was very kind to furnish us with a couple of his yet unreleased cues.

Director Neil Maskell & Andy Pettitt of Shortwave Set fame join Edith to discuss Neil's writer / director debut, Klokkenluider, which also saw Andy make his first foray into writing screen music. It's a cracking chat with two pals who are simply thrilled to have collaborated on a film together.

We have something slightly different for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking, as I'm joined by producer Matthew Metcalfe and journalist and organised and cyber crime expert Misha Glenny, author of McMafia and Dark Market. They joined me separately to discuss Billion Dollar Heist, a documentary about one of the most daring cyber heists of all time - the Bangladeshi Central Bank Theft

Our latest episode of Soundtracking is with composer Paul Saunderson, who has scored the BBC documentary Earth, which is available to watch now on the BBC iPlayer. Hosted by the wonderful Chris Packham, the show explores some of the most significant moments in our planet's history, from asteroid bombardments to extreme changes in climate to the collision of continents, using groundbreaking science and effects. The fact there are informed recreations of seismic events in the past affords Paul plenty of scope to push the sonic envelope - almost as if he were scoring a science fiction film rather than a traditional documentary. The results are magnificent.

What a joy to welcome Ludwig Göransson back for a fourth time to reflect upon the incredible music he provided to Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. And in person, too!

In a change to our billed interview with Ludwig Göransson, we're putting out Edith's chat with Kathryn Ferguson. Kathryn directed the Sinéad O'Connor documentary, Nothing Compares, which very specifically concentrates on the tumultuous period in her life between 1987 and 1993, during which she became a global sensation, but also the victim of a character assassination in the media, having spoken out against abuse in the Catholic church. In a cruel twist of fate, Kathryn and Edith spoke just three days before Sinéad passed away, but - with Kathryn's blessing - we thought it timely that we share the story of the beautiful, powerful and illuminating film.

Recorded before the SAG strike began, our latest guest on Soundtracking is the legend that is Christopher Nolan. Criminally, it's the first opportunity Edith has had to speak to him on the podcast, so it was an absolute joy to welcome him on to discuss Oppenheimer, which sees him reunited with our good friend, Ludwig Göransson.

In an interview recorded before the actors strike began, Greta Gerwig returns to Soundtracking for a third time, to discuss the music of her extraordinary take on Barbie, which is witty, funny, smart and cerebral. Among the many points for discussion are Mark Ronson's involvement, who has a key hand to play in both the score and frankly incredible soundtrack.

Our guests today are Cécile Tournesac and Eddie Hamilton, who are respectively the music editor and editor of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part I), directed by our old friend Christopher McQuaurrie, and scored by our even older friend, Lorne Balfe.