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Influential musicians, composers, directors and actors reveal secrets and insights around their favourite film and television music. Get your weekly dose of great music and great stories now! Hosted by Jodhi May.
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Great Music and Great Stories
Teaser
FOR YOUR EARS ONLY
Influential musicians, composers, directors and actors reveal secrets and insights around their favourite film and television music. Get your weekly dose of great music and great stories now! Hosted by Jodhi May.
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EPISODE 17
LORNE BALFE
Lorne Balfe is one of the most prolific film composers working today. His brilliant work on the Mission: Impossible franchise makes him a perfect candidate to talk us through some of the best music from the world of espionage and beyond. The Scottish composer has scored films from the Terminator series, the Assassin's Creed Series, the Call of Duty video games, and the Netflix series The Crown. Here he discusses the music of Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer, Stuart Copeland, and his experience adapting the classic Lalo Schifrin theme to Mission Impossible for the sixth instalment in the series.
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EPISODE 16
JAMES GAY-REES
Senna, Amy, and Maradona are some of the most captivating and commercially successful documentary films ever made. This trilogy, directed by Asif Kapadia, uses archive footage to shed new light on iconic figures. Choosing the music this week is the Oscar winning producer behind all these and more. James Gay-Rees also produced the film Exit Through The Gift Shop which looked at the contemporary art world through the eyes of the artist Banksy. He produced the 2016 film Supersonic charting the rise of British band Oasis in the mid 90s. And most recently he distilled the music and politics of the early 70s into a documentary series for Apple - 1971: The Year That Changed Everything. Here he picks some of his favourite music from his own films and beyond.
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EPISODE 14
LESLEY BARBER
94% of the 250 top box office releases of 2018 were scored by men, according to the Centre for the Study of Women in TV and Film. As a member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, Lesley Barber is working to make sure that stats like that become a thing of the past. The Canadian composer scored the 1999 Jane Austin adaptation Mansfield Park, the 2019 Mindy Kaling comedy Late Night, and the Oscar nominated Manchester by the Sea. Here she talks about her own compositions along with some of her favourites from others working in the field such as Thomas Newman, Angelo Badalamenti, and Oneohtrix Point Never.
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EPISODE 13
JAMES LAVELLE
James Lavelle adopted his musical moniker from the 1960s TV spy series The Man From UNCLE. UNKLE have been making music since the early 90s and have featured a rotating cast of musicians over the years - DJ Shadow, Josh Homme, Thom Yorke, Mike D, Michael Kiwanuka and more - but the man at the centre of it all is James Lavelle. Cinema has been a huge influence on James. The branding and merchandise around Star Wars inspired much of the output on his label Mo'Wax, which he founded aged 18, and his love of films such as Blade Runner, ET, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind led to him naming their debut album Psyence Fiction. The 2008 album End Titles… Stories For Film is a collection of work inspired by the medium. Here he guides us through the music of some of his favourite films.
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EPISODE 12
HANNAH PEEL
The Game of Thrones documentary The Last Watch began Hannah Peel's career as a soundtrack composer. Despite already being a BBC broadcaster, a producer, and a musician, it's in the world of TV and film that she has always wanted to reside. Hannah Peel creates unique soundscapes by weaving together elements of traditional folk, classical orchestration, electronic music, and found sounds, often inspired by science and nature. Space travel, our own neural networks, and the northern English countryside have all featured as themes for her work. It was the birds of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror that helped inspire her eerie soundtrack to the psychological thriller The Deceived. And in 2019 she received an Emmy nomination for her score to The Last Watch, a series shot largely in her native Northern Ireland. Her latest album Fir Wave was recently nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Here she takes us through some of her favourite soundtracks from the likes of Clint Mansell, Thom Yorke, and Ennio Morricone.
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EPISODE 11
KEITH LOCKHART
Film composer John Williams conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra for 15 years before handing over the reins to today's host. Keith Lockhart has been at the helm of this storied American institution for over 25 years, bringing classical music and film scores to the masses via their concerts around the world. Keith has conducted at Super Bowl and NBA finals, at Queen Elizabeth's diamond Jubilee, and at the BBC Proms as chief guest conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra. Here he takes us through a number of his favourite film scores, from the likes James Newton Howard, Alexandre Desplat, and of course John Williams - many of which he has performed over the years.
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EPISODE 10
BASEMENT JAXX
Felix Buxton is one half of the British dance music behemoth Basement Jaxx, and has been playing parties, club nights, arenas and festivals for more than 25 years. During that time Basement Jaxx have released number 1 dance singles, multi platinum selling albums, and some truly iconic videos. In 2011 they made their film soundtrack debut, working with composer Stephen Price to score the Joe Cornish sci-fi horror comedy Attack The Block, and in this episode Felix takes us through some of his favourite film music.
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EPISODE 9
PHOENIX
Laurent Brancowitz AKA Branco is one quarter of the two-time Grammy Award winning French band Phoenix. He was also at one stage in a band called Darlin' with two friends Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, a band Melody Maker described as "a daft punky thrash". After they disbanded Branco formed Phoenix and no one knows what became of the other two... Phoenix's music has featured in several films over the years, notably Lost In Translation and On The Rocks which were both directed by Sofia Coppola, who happens to be married to the band's frontman Thomas Mars. In this episode, Branco guides us through some of his favorite movie music from the likes of Ennio Morricone, Serge Gainsbourg, John Barry, and Philip Glass.
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EPISODE 8
ANNA MEREDITH
Anna Meredith composed the brilliant score to Bo Burnham's award winning 2018 coming of age drama Eighth Grade and in this episode talks through her process, along with some of her favourite tracks from film and TV. Classically trained but working largely within an electronic framework, Anna is one of the UK's most exciting contemporary musicians. She discusses the influence of Trainspotting on her as a Scottish teenager, her affection for action films, and the tv series Fargo.
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EPISODE 7
FRASER T SMITH
Adele, Stormzy, Sam Smith, Kano and Dave are just some of the British Pop artists that Fraser T Smith has worked with. So far, he has 8 UK number 1 singles to his name and, as you will shortly hear, is throwing his hat in the ring to produce the next James Bond theme. In this episode, he talks about his favorite Bond songs, working with Adele, and the classic soundtracks he loves.
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EPISODE 6
ANNE DUDLEY
Oscar winning composer Anne Dudley has scored The Full Monty, American History X, The Crying Game and several films for Dutch director Paul Verhoeven - Elle, Black Book and Benedetta. All this after a successful career in pop music as both a member of Art of Noise and writing for artists such as Debbie Harry, Tom Jones, Sting, Seal, Rod Stewart and Marc Almond. Here she talks about music from the thrillers that have influenced her own work and the reasons why they stand out.
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EPISODE 5
JOHN TAYLOR
Did you know Duran Duran's John Taylor is a James Bond super-fan? Here he provides a comprehensive guide to Bond music past and present, from pop songs to film cues, and talks about the influence of Bond on the band and how they came to write the hit song That Fatal Kiss for the fourteenth film in the series A View To A Kill. He calls it his 'Themes and Martinis James Bond Playlist'.
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EPISODE 4
NILE RODGERS
Nile Rodgers has shaped the sound of pop music for the past half century. Chic, Bowie, Madonna, Diana Ross, Daft Punk, Duran Duran, INXS, Lady Gaga, Bryan Ferry, Grace Jones... we could go on. However, alongside his pop successes came work for TV and film. This week, Nile Rodgers talks about Coming to America and a selection of other film music he either made or was inspired by.
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EPISODE 3
ANNA CALVI
Peaky Blinders soundtrack composer and multiple Mercury Music Prize nominated artist Anna Calvi is this week's guest, with a special focus on her love for the classic scores of Bernard Herrmann. She talks about the way films have inspired her work as a solo artist, and her desire to do more soundtrack work after the success of Peaky Blinders.
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EPISODE 2
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON
Tenet composer Ludwig Göransson talks about working with Christopher Nolan and Travis Scott on one of the biggest films of 2020, and presents a playlist of his favorite music of contemporaries and past masters working in the genre. The Swedish composer has worked on Marvel films such as Black Panther and Venom, has scored Rocky films Creed and Creed II, as well as hit series such as The Mandalorian, New Girl, and Community. He's produced music for Haim, Chance The Rapper, and Childish Gambino, including his Grammy Award winning single This Is America.
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EPISODE 1
PAUL EPWORTH
Five-time Grammy winner Paul Epworth - famed for his work with Adele, Florence & The Machine and Rihanna - is our guest this week, taking us on a journey from Hitchcock to Quincy Jones, and from James Bond to the outer reaches of the galaxy.
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EPISODE 1
PAUL EPWORTH
RELEASE MAY 14
EPISODE 2
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON
RELEASE MAY 20
EPISODE 3
ANNA CALVI
RELEASE MAY 28
EPISODE 4
NILE RODGERS
RELEASE JUN 4
EPISODE 5
JOHN TAYLOR
RELEASE JUN 11
EPISODE 6
ANNE DUDLEY
RELEASE JUN 18
EPISODE 7
FRASER T SMITH
RELEASE JUN 25
EPISODE 8
ANNA MEREDITH
EPISODE 9
PHOENIX
EPISODE 10
BASEMENT JAXX
RELEASE JULY 16
EPISODE 11
KEITH LOCKHART
RELEASE JULY 19
EPISODE 12
HANNAH PEEL
RELEASE JUL 23
EPISODE 13
JAMES LAVELLE
EPISODE 14
LESLEY BARBER
RELEASE AUG 6
EPISODE 16
JAMES GAY-REES
RELEASE AUG 20
EPISODE 17
LORNE BALFE
RELEASE AUG 27
Teaser
FOR YOUR EARS ONLY
RELEASE 05 MAY

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