"Rob wanted the world of The Northman to feel harsh and uncomfortable, and foreverything to feel like it was caked in mud and dry blood, so it was crucial for thescore to mirror that." Composers Robin Carolan (Tri-Angle Records) and SebastianGainsborough (Vessel) were given a task of epic proportions when director Rob Eggers(The VVitch, The Lighthouse) asked them to create the score for his ambitious and highlyanticipated new film The Northman, releasing on April 22nd. They needed to make ascore that both honored the immense research that had gone into the authenticity of thisViking era period piece and complimented the cinematic maximalism of the film for amodern audience. The artists stretched themselves to the depths of their creativity and theresulting album is a gorgeous sonic tableaux that places the listener right in the center ofthe film.While arranging the score the composers consulted musician and ethnographer PoulHøxbro for inspiration and insight into the history of Viking music. Having backgroundsin left field electronic music, Robin and Sebastian felt liberated by the constraint of usinga small selection of musical tools for this piece. "Electronic music has almost limitlesspotential when it comes to making sounds and that's obviously an incredible thing, butyou can also go down the wormhole and get lost in it sometimes. There's no risk ofthat happening when you only have a few primary instruments to draw upon." Robinremarked.They utilized traditional instruments such as the tagelharpa, langspil, kravik lyre, andsäckpip to build the cinematic world of The Northman but they also took creativefreedoms in adding instruments likes drums, which some academics believe wouldn'thave played a big part in Viking musical culture, simply due to the lack of archaeologicalevidence of actual drums. "One of the pieces we wrote was intended to emulate the soundof a bullroarer; an ancient instrument used in sacred rituals or in battle to intimidateenemies. It makes a really disorienting roaring vibrato sound and low frequencies capableof traveling insane distances." Robin says when asked about one of the more uniqueaspects of the score. Everyone involved put so much effort into both their research andtheir creativity and this richness is evident in every track. The album as a whole is acinematic masterpiece of sound and ambiance, both gorgeous and disturbing, like thefilm it so beautifully accompanies.
