February 16, 2018
Ludwig Göransson infuses the sounds of Marvel’s Super Heroes with the African landscapes of Wakanda in BLACK PANTHER score
Marvel Music/Hollywood Records have released a digital album of the BLACK PANTHER score, composed by Grammy®-nominated composer and songwriter Ludwig Göransson, on February 16, 2018, coinciding with the arrival of the movie in US theaters.
The film is directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole wrote the screenplay. The movie marks Göransson’s third collaboration with director Ryan Coogler, after CREED [aka THE ROCKLY LEGACY] and FRUITVALE STATION. The Swedish-born composer wrote the original songs for CREED and has also produced albums for Childish Gambino, Haim, and Chance the Rapper.
Göransson recorded the BLACK PANTHER score in London with a 132-piece western classical orchestra, African percussionists, and a 40-person choir. Göransson said, “After reading Ryan’s first draft of the script, I quickly realized that the only way I could properly score BLACK PANTHER was to travel to Africa to record, research, and learn from as many musicians I could find. I was introduced to Senegal’s most incredible musicians and storytellers, and from there it all started to come together. One of the instruments that especially caught my attention was the talking drum, which together with West African sabar drums and ceremonial rhythms, became the foundation for the score.”
Göransson infused a wide array of African instrumentation into the score and character themes. Speaking about the score’s creation, Göransson notes: “The talking drum is used for T’Challa’s main theme, with one hit per syllable of his name played on the drum.” For Erik Killmonger’s theme, the name was sung and screamed into a fula flute to convey the “musical interpretation of the character’s ferocity.” Sabar drums were used to “propel the story and to highlight both the country of Wakanda and T’Challa’s movements, especially in his fight scenes.” Sabar drums are used in traditional African wrestling “making them perfect for the action scenes.”
Göransson’s biggest challenge was to blend a western classical orchestra and modern production with traditional African rhythms and harmonies. He adds, “Together with Ryan Coogler, we worked out new ways of combining the three elements into something traditionally authentic and truly unique, that I hope embodies the heart and soul of Wakanda.”
For more information on the score, see Jon Burlingame’s interview with Göransson in Variety.
In addition to Göransson’s proper score album, a “songs from and inspired by BLACK PANTHER” soundtrack album was released by rapper Kendrick Lamar on Feb 9th.
The BLACK PANTHER digital score album is available for pre-order HERE
The soundtrack can be streamed HERE
Listen to Track 3, “Wakanda,” from the original score album, on YouTube:
