M83

M83

M83 released the titular track from their soundtrack for the Tom Cruise sci-fi action flick Oblivion and the track’s brilliance has once again proved how much the growing presence of synths and electronica in the music world might actually be a massive helping factor to film.

While there’s some excitement about Oblivion itself, the anticipation surrounding the soundtrack to the film is possibly even higher in musical circles following the French group’s incredible 2011 album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’. Having watched the trailers for the film and heard two tracks from the soundtrack, it’s definitely the latter that living up to expectations more than the former.

While the first track to leak from the soundtrack ‘StarWaves’ might be dominated by traditional instruments, the electronic edge added to them rise to a whole different level all together.

This isn’t the first time that the anticipation surrounding an electronic artist going to the movies has hit though, and it’s surely not going to be the last.

Remember back to 2010 and the build-up to the movie Tron Legacy. Does anyone remember bouncing up and down in preparation for the film? No, but I bet you do remember being all giddy about Daft Punk’s musical accompaniment for the film.

It’s the music for the film that’s become the movie’s legacy, much more so than the movie itself, with the soundtrack a demonstration as to why Daft Punk are held in such high regard by us all. Sweeping, majestic, but still very much a Daft Punk record, it proved all of us right when we thought that Tron and the Parisian pair would make a perfect match.

A year later, The Chemical Brothers were the next electronic wizards to have a crack at a film soundtrack, being brought in to provide the music on Joe Wright’s action film Hanna. Their music was one of the film’s greatest strengths, able to be light and delicate one moment and then rip through the screen like a chainsaw the next, something that’s only really capable when all your instruments are 1’s and 0’s.

This, in itself is what movie soundtracks are all about. Being able to shift moods at the snap of a finger is imperative for a truly cinematic sound. This has only been made with the steps forward that electronica has made in the last decade or so.

Drive’s soundtrack was massively influenced by electronica, with the film’s incredible soundtrack being made up of abstract, dark and incredibly cinematic synthetic music. It was a soundtrack that wouldn’t have been possible without electronica and was a crucial part of the film.

Now dubstep mastermind and purveyor of perhaps the worst haircut in music Skrillex is getting involved. His is the creative mind behind the soundtrack to the Selena Gomez and James Franco movie Spring Breakers, and while reports about the film itself have swung dramatically, the soundtrack is being widely regarded as possibly the best part of the package.

Of course we've had synth based soundtarcks before, but wile those of the eighties have dated rather poorly, this new crop (apart from Skrillex) might not have the same issue. This is all due to the way the electronics are used.

In the eighties, they were all that was used, now they're being used to augment, alter and accompany more traditional instruementation, giving it a much more rounded and complete feel musically.

We can’t wait to see which electronic artist it is that gets to put their stamp on a multiplex near you, but we know that if they’re worth their salt and prove themselves in the same way M83 are on Oblivion, the results should once again be fantastic.

What do you think, are the next great film composers going to come from the world of the synth instead of the orchestra? Let us know in the comments section below.

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