June 6, 2022
New UK TV Series THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS Composed by Hannah Peel
– Randall D. Larson
John Wyndham’s durable 1957 science fiction novel “The Midwich Cuckoos,” source of several notable films including VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960 and 1975; and the former’s 1964 sequel CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED) has been adapted into an seven-part TV series by David Farr, The series stars Keeley Hawes as Dr Susannah Zellaby, and Max Beesley as a local police officer. It was shown on Sky Max in June 2022.
The series score, an evocative mix of eerie suspense, aggressive synths, and delicate tonalities, has been composed by Northern Irish, Emmy-nominated composer Hannah Peel. Known for her solo electronic, synthesizer-based music, which often includes classical scoring and sound design, she has scored music for television, film, theatre, and dance, including GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH (2019; a special documentary) and the 2020 mystery thriller series THE DECEIVED.
“Creating the [MIDWICH CUCKOOS] score was a constant endeavor to find the balance between darkness and light, fear and beauty,” explained Peel in an interview for the loudersound website. “It was a very fine and intricate equilibrium between the normal sunlit logical world as we know it, and a subversive unfamiliar musical language.”
The soundtrack is currently available from Invada Records in the UK (see amazon.uk) and will be released on vinyl later in the year; it can also be ordered digitally worldwide via the composer’s bandcamp page, here.
Film music journalist Jon Mansell has described Peel’s score as “just as sinister as the children themselves, with Hannah Peel fashioning wonderfully haunting soundscapes that become an integral part of the unfolding story.” (see his review of the MIDWICH CUCKOOS soundtrack in his latest MovieMusicInternational column, here.)
Listen to the track “Scared” from THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS soundtrack:
