Thomas Newman's ELEMENTAL (2023)

[Jay 37,364]

FIrst clip w/ score

 

 

[Bespin 8,482]

I love this cheese!

[LSH 969]

So far so Newman. Nah, seriously, I'm looking forward to this one immensely.

 

I'm one of the biggest Newman apologists alive but even I hope that this is the project to break him out of the rut of rather pedestrian efforts recently. 

[Edmilson 7,456]

The animation looks great. As for the score, I hope it's more Finding Nemo and WALL-E than Finding Dory...

[LSH 969]

Early reviews are suggesting an Indian-flavoured score, something Newman has always impressed with.

 

"...it yields occasionally stunning images and thoughtful aesthetics — like Thomas Newman's incredibly effective Indian-inspired score..."

 

"Thomas Newman's score rushes in to uplift the entire film, with its use of classical Indian instruments like sitars, tabla drums, and bansuri flutes, and vocalizations in Indian raags that range from thrilling to soul-touching, especially when they’re peppered with the occasional subdued acoustic guitar or hint of electronica."

 

IndieWire

 

 

 

[Thor 7,504]

That's cool. Newman has always done well in that idiom, obviously for films with an obvious Indian angle (MALALA, MARIGOLD, VIC & ABD etc.), but also various ethnic colours for films that don't particularly have an Indian or ethnic angle. Sounds promising to me.

[JTN 2,019]

I like Little Women-Shawshank-Joe Black-Finding Nemo-Wall•E-Newman more than ethnic Indian music-Newman.

[Edmilson 7,456]

2 minutes ago, JTW said:

I love Little Women-Shawshank-Joe Black-Finding Nemo-Wall•E-Newman more than ethnic Indian music-Newman.

I agree. To me, stuff like his Marigold Hotel scores or Victoria and Abdul never did much for me. Still, I hope Elemental provides space for "emotional Newman" instead of just "wacky Newman" and "exotic Newman".

[LSH 969]

On 29/05/2023 at 12:44 AM, Edmilson said:

To me, stuff like his Marigold Hotel scores or Victoria and Abdul never did much for me.

 

That's a shame. I love classic Newman - probably as much as you do (and I'd love to hear that sort of stuff again) - but I do admire his ability to create so much with so little. His 'quirky' sensibilities still provide a lot of enjoyment, though I admit it's in danger of getting dry before too long. His recent score for A Man Called Otto is probably the most prototypical yet stale Newman score I've heard.

 

Countering your view, his Marigold Hotel scores are some of my favourites of his recently. He must have had a field day doing them. How can you not love this... makes me want to re-visit India:

 

 

[Edmilson 7,456]

I admit I need to revisit the Marigold Hotel scores, since it's been years since I heard them. Perhaps I'll do it this month in preparation for Elemental .

 

Still, since the movie is apparently an animated romantic comedy, I hope Newman wrote some romantic material, like in WALL-E:

 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

It's Pixar so I'm pretty sure they'll be some bigger orchestral moments.

 

As for Newman's drama scores, Saving Mr. Banks is one of my favorites!! So beautiful

[Drawgoon 100]

From the previews released so far I get the feeling that this might be one of those cases where the music will work exceptionally well for the film but one which won't translate too well for a stand-alone listening experience. Love what I am seeing/hearing so far nevertheless.

[LSH 969]

Cover

 

 

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

1 hour and 13 minutes (including a song).

 

Samples on itunes.

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/elemental-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1692392329

 

[Under-Terrestrial 51]

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/elemental-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1692392329

 

[Jay 37,364]

23 minutes ago, JNHFan2000 said:

1 hour and 13 minutes (including a song).

 

Samples on itunes.

 

https://music.apple.com/nz/album/the-flash-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1689341654

 

Wrong link

[Trope 527]

I'm so excited to listen to this! I can't believe it's already been 7 years since Finding Dory.

[Trope 527]

Thoughts following my first complete listen. I haven't seen the movie and I went into the score with no expectations other than I love Thomas Newman and was excited to hear new music from him:

 

- It's Newman through and through. There's no one else like him and his style permeates every second of music. The harmonies, the instruments, the production, etc. are all unmistakably him.

 

- It's very clearly Indian-inspired (as reviews suggested). It's closest to the Marigold scores, plus bits of Towelhead and Victoria & Abdul.

 

- It's the most creative and experimental he has ever been with vocals thus far in his career. Take the vocal effects of Tolkien, Finding Dory, Passengers and Marigold Hotel, process them even more, and then ramp them up to 11. I'll never know how he manages to conceive or craft these sounds. Are the vocals recorded live? Are they sampled effects? Are they EWIs/synthesisers? Probably some combination of these and more, but I don't know for sure and that's the magic.

 

- It is very eclectic overall, jumping between lots of different styles. It also contains some of the most contemporary/pop-influenced music he's ever written. He also co-wrote a song!

 

- Apart from the ever-present strings, the rest of the orchestral ensemble has little presence in this score. Brass are mainly used for dramatic clusters/swells, and the woodwinds are only heard clearly a few times. The focus is primarily on Tom and his usual group of performers improvising and coming up with interesting grooves and sequences.

 

- In keeping with his non-animated scores, there's not necessarily an identifiable "main theme" or clear motifs that appear (unless I completely missed something). There are particular musical "moments" which recur at different points (i.e. the opening and ending of the album use the same material).

 

- There are longer stretches of mood-setting/atmosphere music compared to his previous animated efforts, and in general it is much less Micky-Mousey (although it is still upbeat and excitable).

 

IMO it ranks below his previous three animated scores, but I'm sure it's extremely effective in the film. I may even go to see it just to get a better picture of the score's function.

[LSH 969]

Samples sound great. I love Newman in this mode.

 

EDIT:

 

Really enjoyed the first listen. For the most part, it really is an extension of the Marigold sound, but with some denser production in places. As @Trope mentioned, the production is fabulous; the highlights really prove Newman's ability at layering. Vocal and percussion work is superb.

 

You can tell he had fun making this. It's very upbeat and vibrant.

[Edmilson 7,456]

Just listened to it and, honestly, I really like it! More than I thought I would. It has the exoticisms of the Marigold scores and it's very much a "modern Newman" score, with echoes of The Help, Saving Mr. Banks, The Judge, some action music from Passengers, etc. Still, the mood it creates is very appealing. 

 

I guess I like the Marigold scores more than I thought!

[Jurassic Shark 12,076]

 

 

 

[Stark 316]

Some of Newman’s best in a while!

[Trope 527]

 

A rather insightful interview. Newman mentions that most of the vocals used in this score are heavily processed samples which are then played back on an EWI (electronic wind instrument). Fascinating! So that's how he achieves that beautiful blended vocal and woodwind sound where you can't tell if it's one or the other; turns out it's a bit of both! So cool.

[Thor 7,504]

I've sampled it once, and found it very underwhelming. As LSH mentions earlier, it needs a melody. But I'll give it a few more gos.

[Richard Penna 3,690]

I skimmed through a few tracks and it's Newman at his most typical - lots of textures, nothing obvious in the way of themes and an album that doesn't do the score any favours.

 

He must find doing music like this interesting in the context of the film, but I can't imagine watching it and having much impetus after to hear the music separately.

[Mephariel 451]

Same. A lot of textures but just too typical Newman for me.

[JNHFan2000 2,964]

For Scores episode with Newman