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Sicario (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2015
GenreFilm score
Length54:19
LabelVarèse Sarabande
ProducerJóhann Jóhannsson
Jóhann Jóhannsson chronology
The Theory of Everything (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2014)
Sicario (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2015)
End of Summer
(2015)

Sicario (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson for Denis Villeneuve's 2016 film Sicario . It was released under Deutsche Grammophon on September 18, 2015, a week before the film's theatrical release.[1]

Background and recording[edit]

Sicario (2015) was the second collaboration between composer Jóhann Jóhannsson and director Denis Villeneuve after the 2013 film Prisoners. Jóhann admired Villeneuve's "aesthetic and visual sense" and the pair had a positive experience working together on Prisoners. After reading Sicario's "very original and unique" script, Jóhann was immediately convinced to score the film as he had a "strong feeling that [Villeneuve] would do something really interesting with it". Jóhann was particularly struck by the script's "sense of moral ambiguity", structure, topical themes and atmospheric style.[2][3] Discussions between the two began during pre-production, and Jóhann visited the film's set in New Mexico in order to "absorb the atmosphere and feel of the location and the land".[2][4][5]

Villeneuve, who considered Sicario as a war film, tasked Jóhann with writing "subtle war music", which he found challenging as the phrase seemed to him "almost a contradiction in terms".[3] The brief led to him to the idea of war drums, and he consequently decided to write a score focused on the low end of the frequency spectrum, particularly through the use low percussion instruments. He recorded five different drummers in Berlin, Los Angeles and Budapest, then heavily edited and processed the recordings until they sounded "almost artificial" in order to obtain an "ever-changing texture". The end result was a "tapestry of constant, throbbing, pulsating drums" that constituted the "heartbeat that runs throughout the film". From the 55-piece orchestra used for the score (recorded at the Hungarian National Radio studios in Budapest), he focused on the low strings (including eight double basses and a ten cellos) and low wind instruments (such as contrabassoon, contrabass clarinets, tubas and trombones). He also used low drones, many of which were recorded from the 32-foot pipes of an organ in Copenhagen.[3][6][7][8]

Sicario was shot without temp music, and the first rough cut of the film Jóhann received contained no music. He "[loved] working in this way" as it allows for greater freedom to experiment and "discourages falling into familiar formulas". While Villeneuve "had a strong sense of what he wanted", he still gave "gave [Jóhann] a lot of freedom in terms of how to implement that".[4][9] Villeneuve and editor Joe Walker received stems from Jóhann that acted as "separate layers" that they "could re-edit and re-compose".[10][11] Jóhann also tried to integrate his compositions with the film's sound design in order to prevent the music from sounding like "a layer that’s tacked on". He noted that "almost 30%" of his scores are completed in post-production through manipulation of his orchestra recordings.[3]

Musical content[edit]

Throughout the score, but particularly for cues such as "The Beast", Jóhann took influence from 1980s industrial bands such as Swans, Test Dept and Throbbing Gristle.[3] The orchestral writing, influenced by spectral composers such as Gérard Grisey and Horațiu Rădulescu, takes on a textural (rather than melodic) function, and makes significant use of extended techniques.[3]

Reception[edit]

Critical reception[edit]

Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War praised the soundtrack as "atmospheric", "almost frightening" and "tyrannical", particularly when listened to through headphones, and considered that it "exudes an enormous power".[12] AllMusic's Marcy Donelson found that it "delivers tension and off-kilter anxiety in both hushed and hyper musical moments".[13] Consequence critic Michael Roffman noted that score "heavily assists" the film's chaotic setting, describing it as "a haunting score that knees your guts".[14] Similarly, Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine called it "one of many elements that conjure a relentlessly terrifying realm of despair".[14]

Track listing[edit]

Sicario (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[15]
No.TitleLength
1."Armoured Vehicle"1:41
2."The Beast"3:13
3."The Border"2:58
4."Drywall"2:34
5."Explosion"1:06
6."Desert Music"5:07
7."Target"2:03
8."Convoy"2:57
9."The Bank"2:03
10."Surveillance"1:29
11."Reflection"1:55
12."Melancholia"4:38
13."Night Vision"3:45
14."Tunnel Music"4:40
15."Fausto"2:18
16."Balcony"1:36
17."Soccer Game"4:20
18."Alejandro's Song"5:47
Total length:54:19

Personnel[edit]

All music composed, arranged and produced by Jóhann Jóhannsson. Credits adapted from Jóhann's official website.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Yanick, Joseph (September 18, 2015). "Stream the Incredible New 'Sicario' Soundtrack by Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson". Vice. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, Sheila (September 19, 2015). "Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson on 'Sicario's Relentless Intensity, Working with Denis Villeneuve". Collider. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Grobar, Matt (February 10, 2018). "Encore: 'Sicario' Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson On Creating Propulsive Sound Of Drug War Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Weintraub, Steve (October 26, 2016). "Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson on 'Arrival', Preparing to Score 'Blade Runner 2049', and More". Collider. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  5. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (November 19, 2015). "Interview: Johann Johannssson on Scoring Sicario". Awards Daily. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Ravens, Chal (October 17, 2015). "How to compose an award-winning Hollywood soundtrack". Fact. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  7. ^ Cassidy, Kevin (November 20, 2015). "Composer Roundtable: 5 Music Masters Talk Anxiety, Demanding Directors and When No Sound Is Better". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Pritchard, Tiffany (January 14, 2016). "Composers: Johann Johannsson, 'Sicario'". Screen Daily. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  9. ^ Robertson, Emma (October 21, 2015). "Jóhann Jóhannsson: "Does It Speak Simply and Directly?"". The Talks. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Grobar, Matt (November 29, 2015). "'Sicario' Editor Joe Walker Discusses A Sequel, Directors And His Next Project: "Amy Adams & Aliens"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  11. ^ Galas, Marj (January 14, 2016). "'Sicario' Editor Joe Walker Found His Own Rhythm to Cutting Tense Film". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Scott-Bates, Paul (October 12, 2015). "Johann Johannsson: Sicario Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Jóhann Jóhannsson - Sicario [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Roffman, Michael (September 18, 2015). "Film Review: Sicario". Consequence. Retrieved July 25, 2022. Cite error: The named reference "Roffman-Sep2015" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Sicario (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Album by Jóhann Jóhannsson". Spotify. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Sicario – Jóhann Jóhannsson". johannjohannsson.com‎. Retrieved July 25, 2022.

https://deadline.com/2018/02/johann-johannsson-sicario-composer-oscars-best-score-1201664692/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/695nae/stream-the-new-sicario-by-composer https://collider.com/composer-johann-johannsson-sicario-interview/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/sicario-denis-villeneuve-how-emily-827486/ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/composer-roundtable-5-music-masters-842088/ https://variety.com/2015/artisans/production/sicario-score-johann-johannsson-1201594496/ https://www.wired.com/2016/02/sicario-composer-is-the-next-big-film-composer/ https://inews.co.uk/culture/music/johann-johannsson-blade-runner-arrival-sicario-33070 https://www.indiewire.com/2016/02/how-they-made-the-percussive-sound-and-score-for-oscar-nominee-sicario-174951/ https://the-talks.com/interview/johann-johannsson/ https://www.cyclicdefrost.com/2015/10/johann-johannsson-obsessive-repetition-of-ideas-interview-by-david-sullivan/ https://www.screendaily.com/awards/composers-johann-johannsson-sicario/5098958.article https://deadline.com/2015/11/sicario-editor-joe-walker-interview-denis-villeneuve-1201638837/ https://www.provideocoalition.com/art-of-the-cut-with-joe-walker-on-sicario-1/ https://www.motionpictures.org/2015/11/sound-fear-composer-johann-johannsson-scoring-sicario/ https://www.awardsdaily.com/2015/11/19/interview-johann-johannssson-on-scoring-sicario/