Damien Chazelle’s new film Babylon finally arrived in UK cinemas this weekend – and although the reaction to the three-hour epic has been decidedly mixed, one thing that just about every critic can agree on is that it features one of the very best scores of the year.
Justin Hurwitz – who has collaborated with Chazelle on each of the director’s four features – has provided a host of jazzy compositions for the film, while the soundtrack also includes a couple of more familiar tunes, including the iconic Singin’ in the Rain.
“We wanted to give Babylon a musical universe of its own, a sound that wouldn’t be so anachronistic as to take anybody out of the 1920s, but also a far cry from the usual depiction of quaint ’20s jazz,” Hurwitz explained.
“It’s a lot wilder and more aggressive. Something to keep in mind is that the music which was recorded and survived from the ’20s is just a tiny sliver of the music that was actually being played in Los Angeles at the time.
“There was underground music that was never recorded,” he added. “We wanted to imagine the depth and variety and wild range of sounds that could have been, though we’ll never know. Music that we felt hadn’t been depicted on film before.”
The score has already picked up the Golden Globe for Best Original Score – and you can find a full list of tracks below.
Babylon soundtrack
All tracks composed by Justin Hurwitz unless otherwise stated
- Welcome
- Manny and Nellie’s Theme
- King of the Circus
- Jub Jub
- Coke Room
- My Girl’s Pussy – composed by Harry Roy
- Idaho
- Voodoo Mama
- Gold Coast Rhythm (Wallach Party)
- Ain’t Life Grand
- Babylon
- Morning
- Kinescope Ragtime Piano
- Kinescope Erhu (Orientally Yours)
- Kinescope Carnival Music
- Kinescope Organ Music
- Night on Bald Mountain
- Herman’s Hustle
- Gold Coast Sunset
- Champagne
- Wild Child
- New York
- See You Back in LA
- Red Devil
- I Want a Man
- Orientally Yours
- Gimme
- Singin’ in the Rain – music by Nacio Herb Brown and lyrics by Arthur Freed
- Pharoah John
- Meet Miss LaRoy
- Call Me Manny
- Hearst Party
- Damascus Thump
- All Figured Out
- Nea Smyrni
- Waikele Tango
- Toad
- Blockhouse
- Jack’s Party Band
- Gold Coast Rhythm (Jack’s Party)
- Levántate
- Señor Avocado
- Heyo
- Gold Coast Rhythm (Juan Bonilla)
- Te Amo Nellie
- Gold Coast Rhythm (Sidney’s Solo)
- Manny and Nellie’s Theme (Reprise)
- Finale
The Babylon score is available to listen to in full on Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL and more.
Babylon is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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