Moog Music shared this behind-the-scenes look at Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and his score for the new film Uncut Gems.
Uncut Gems is a new crime thriller starring Adam Sandler and created by the Josh and Benny Safdie. Sandler plays a jeweler and gambling addict in New York City’s Diamond District who gets in over his head with loan sharks and has to retrieve an expensive gem in order to pay off his debts.
Lopatin‘s score is inspired by the music of classic synth artists like Vangelis, Tomita and Tangerine Dream. Lopatin joins a growing number of artists creating modern synth soundtracks for mainstream films.
amazing! we live in the ultimate age of electronic instruments and a total dark age of electronic music. all this super cool stuff around us and so little of the sounds are new or interesting, they would have been interesting 35 years ago, i mean they’re good sounding copies of old sounds, thanks nostalgia fetish!
There’s a lot of variety out there and it’s all at your fingertips. I guess it is a dark age though if you want everything to be “new” and “interesting” and exactly what you’re looking for. Hopefully you’re busy scoring a movie with those very sounds yourself…
You could say the same thing about electric guitar, drums, bass etc. Are you looking for new music or “new sounds”? Are you a “new sound” fetish-ist? This soundtrack sounds cool to me, whether or not the building blocks are new sounds.
I guess after awhile you get besides preset sounds, preset composers and preset music. You can see even from the way the guy talks it is going to be a boring, lazy affair. Moroder, Stallone films, 13 step sequence, blah blah. blah, so little time to finish the project, blah blah blah.
The fact you refer to Daniel Lopatin as ‘the guy’ suggests you’re not familiar with his work as a composer? His last couple of efforts have not been my cup of tea, but he has more than proven his knowledge of electronic music and ability to weave historic and contemporary narratives into his work.
Much of what was exciting about electronic music 40 years ago was sheer novelty.
After 60+ years of electronic soundtracks, though, novelty is going to be harder and harder to find.
So the question is not whether you’ve ever heard that sound before anymore, but is the composer making interesting music with these instrument, and does it serve the movie?
“but is the composer making interesting music with these instrument, and does it serve the movie?” BINGO!
“so little of the sounds are new or interesting” You must not actually listen to electronic music.
Maybe you don’t like listening to the artist explain the process of scoring this documentary, but don’t tell me we live in the dark age of electronic music.
Put on a nice set of headphones and listen to Oneohtrix Point Never Replica all the way through, try Jam City Classic Curves next, and then any thing by Andy Stott.
That is the 2010’s. I am excited to see what get created in the 2020’s.
I am going to watch Uncut Jems for the soundtrack (the same way I watched Oblivion for the sound track)
thanks for the Jam City Classic Curves recommendation. Hadn’t heard this yet. Really really good.