The Northman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

***The Northman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)*** is a soundtrack album containing Robin Carolan & Sebastian Gainsborough's score of *The Northman*.

## Description

The evocative early Nordic folk inspired original score by Robin Carolan and Sebastian Gainsborough for the new Robert Eggers (*The Lighthouse*, *The VVitch*) movie starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy and Björk.

"Robert wanted the world of *The Northman* to feel harsh and uncomfortable, and for everything to feel like it was caked in mud and dry blood, so it was crucial for the score to mirror that" said the composers.

They needed to make a score that both honored the immense research that had gone into the authenticity of this Viking era period piece and complimented the cinematic maximalism of the film for a modern audience. The artists stretched themselves to the depths of their creativity and the resulting album is a gorgeous sonic tableaux that places the listener right in the center of the film.

While arranging the score the composers consulted musician and ethnographer Poul Høxbro for inspiration and insight into the history of Viking music. Having backgrounds in left field electronic music, Robin and Sebastian felt liberated by the constraint of using a small selection of musical tools for this piece. "Electronic music has almost limitless potential when it comes to making sounds and that's obviously an incredible thing, but you can also go down the wormhole and get lost in it sometimes. There's no risk of that happening when you only have a few primary instruments to draw upon." Robin remarked.

They utilised traditional instruments such as the tagelharpa, langspil, kravik lyre, and säckpip to build the cinematic world of *The Northman* but they also took creative freedoms in adding instruments likes drums, which some academics believe wouldn’t have played a big part in Viking musical culture, simply due to the lack of archaeological evidence of actual drums. "One of the pieces we wrote was intended to emulate the sound of a bullroarer; an ancient instrument used in sacred rituals or in battle to intimidate enemies. It makes a really disorienting roaring vibrato sound and low frequencies capable of traveling insane distances." Robin says when asked about one of the more unique aspects of the score. Everyone involved put so much effort into both their research and their creativity and this richness is evident in every track. The album as a whole is a cinematic masterpiece of sound and ambiance, both gorgeous and disturbing, like the film it so beautifully accompanies.

140g gatefold double vinyl, each variant comes with its own exclusive center label based on viking shields. Packaging includes poster of nordic inspired statue from the film set.

## Tracklist

1. Approaching Hrafnsey
2. The King
3. Entering the Temple
4. Last Teardrop
5. Blood Tree
6. Strike, Brother
7. Escape
8. I Will Avenge You, Father
9. The Land of the Rus
10. A Burning Barn
11. Seeress
12. Raven's Omen
13. Storm At Sea / Yggdrasill
14. Iceland
15. I Will Save You, Mother
16. Slave Work
17. Guðrún
18. Follow The Vixen's Tail
19. He-Witch
20. Draugr
21. Mound Dweller
22. To The Games
23. Birch Woods
24. First Of Many
25. Trollish Sorcery
26. Svið Night, Part 1
27. Svið Night, Part 2
28. I Am Your Death
29. Come Morning
30. I Am His Vengeance
31. Óðinn
32. Valkyrie
33. Vestrahorn
34. Hidden Valley
35. Blood Tree, Part 2
36. Blóð Inside / I Choose Both
37. A Maiden King
38. The Wolf has Grown
39. The Gates of Hel / Slain by Iron
40. Hekla
41. Cut the Thread of Fate
42. Make Your Passage / Valhöll
43. Ættartré / End Credits

## Credits

* Bagpipes [Säckpipa], Nyckelharpa, Talharpa [Tagelharpa] – Vicki Swan
* Choir – London Voices
* Conductor – Jessica Cottis
* Coordinator [Score Coordinator] – Hilary Skewes
* Directed By [Choir Director] – Ben Parry
* Editor [Music Editor] – Neil Stemp
* Engineer [Assistant Engineers] – Adam Miller, Chris Barrett, Gianluca Massimo, Jack Mills
* Engineer [Recording And Mix Engineer] – Nick Wollage
* Engineer [Recording Engineer (Denmark)] – Thomas Li
* Engineer [Recording Engineer (Sweden)] – Otto Wellton
* Leader [Orchestra Leader], Violin [Solo Violin], Instruments [Langspil] – Rakhi Singh
* Lur [Various Lur], Horn [Birch Horn], Carnyx, Conch – Laetitia Stott
* Lyre – Jonny Dyer
* Lyrics By – Haukur Þorgeirsson, Robert Eggers, Sjón
* Mastered By [Mastering] – Heba Kadry
* Music Consultant, Horn [Vallhorn], Flute [Bone Flute], Horn [Gjallahorn], Bones [Rhythm Bones] – Poul Høxbro
* Orchestra – London Recording Orchestra
* Orchestrated By [Orchestrator] – Dave Foster
* Overtone Voice [Throat Singer], Jew's Harp [Jaw Harp] – Visy Bloodaxe
* Percussion – Frank Ricotti, Joby Burgess, Paul Clarvis
* Producer [Music Producer] – Daniel Elms
* Score [Original Score] – Robin Carolan, Sebastian Gainsborough
* Vocals [Kulning] – Karin Ericsson Back
* Vocals [Shouters] – David Brooks, Dean Williamson, Jukka Hiltunnen, Lars Knudsen
* Vocals [Singer] – Adrian Peacock, Björk, Dessislava Stefanova, Lyra Pramuk

## References

1. ↑ Mark Korven: The Lighthouse: Original Soundtrack – Sacred Bones Records

## See Also

* The Northman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on Wikipedia
* The Northman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on YouTube
* The Northman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on Spotify