Jonny Greenwood has shared the first song from his score of the upcoming Spencer film – listen to ‘Crucifix’ below.
The Radiohead guitarist has scored the movie, which is released in cinemas on November 5. The soundtrack is out on November 12 via Mercury KX.
The instrumental score is described as “a poignant accompaniment to the film, of genre bending music that combines free jazz and classical baroque.”
It will be Greenwood’s ninth soundtrack, following four movies with Paul Thomas Anderson including There Will Be Blood and Inherent Vice, plus You Were Never Really Here for director Lynne Ramsey and his first score for Bodysong in 2003.
Spencer premiered at Venice Film Festival on September 3. You can listen to ‘Crucifix’ below.
In an exclusive interview with NME, Greenwood admitted he initially struggled not to make the film’s music “sound like the theme to Antiques Roadshow”.
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Speaking about how he got involved in the film, Greenwood explained: “I had an email from the director, Pablo Larrain. I didn’t know his work, so he sent me his film The Club, which I found very affecting. I enjoyed corresponding with Pablo, firing each other up with enthusiasm about what the music could be. He’s a very energetic, positive person.”
On the task of scoring the project, Greenwood added:“I explained to Pablo that there’s lots of baggage attached to classical music in films about the royals. You either use actual Handel or pastiche Handel. I watched a few royal films, which were full of sweeping shots of Buckingham Palace, with fanfare horns and tinkling harpsichords on top. I wanted instead to emphasise how chaotic and colourful Princess Diana was, in amongst all that baroque tradition. It’s what the film does too.”
Greenwood also recently told NME what’s to come from new side-project The Smile (also featuring Thom Yorke along with producer Nigel Godrich and drummer Tom Skinner of Sons Of Kemet).
“Lots of it is just about finished”, Greenwood revealed. “We’re sitting in front of a pile of music, working out what will make the record. We’re thinking of how much to include, whether it’s really finished or if there are a few guitars that need fixing. I’d hope it’ll come out soon, but I’m the wrong person to ask.
“I’m the most impatient of everybody in Radiohead. I’ve always said I’d much rather the records were 90 per cent as good, but come out twice as often, or whatever the maths works out on that. I’ve always felt that, the closer to the finish, the smaller the changes are that anyone would notice. I’d have said The Smile could have come out a few months ago, but it wouldn’t be quite as good. I’m always impatient to get on and do more.”