Annette is the 2021 musical romantic drama film directed by Leos Carax, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The film featured original music composed by Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks, with lyrics co-written by Carax, and two soundtracks were released for the film. The "Cannes Edition" soundtrack, consisting of 15 songs were released first ahead of the film's Cannes' debut and was preceded by two singles–"So May We Start" and "We Love Each Other So Much". The "Ultimate Edition" soundtrack was released in digitally and as a double CD shortly after and contains virtually all of the music from the film as well as demo music produced for the album.
Ron and Russell initially conceived the script of Annette as a concept album in late-2010, but wanted it to be adapted into videography–feature film, as "We learned since then that movie people really need the physical, typed-out screenplay. But since the piece is pretty much wall-to-wall singing, we were really in a way bypassing the step of there being a screenplay." [1] Much of their music had been developed when they conceptualised it as an album, and Carax asked them to write few more songs, including "Girl from the Middle of Nowhere" and "Sympathy for the Abyss" which were written for the film. [2] [3]
While initially planning tas a stage production, Ron wanted to conduct the orchestra, Russell intended to play Henry McHenry (Driver's character) and opera singer Rebecca Sjöwall providing soprano vocals and serve as the female vocalist, adding that "the origin of it really was that they enjoyed doing the Ingmar Bergman project, but there were so many characters involved in order to be able to tour with that that we wanted to have a piece that had fewer featured performers. So it was working backwards in a certain way." [1] Once the script was adapted into a film, they decided to play cameos over lead parts, giving the roles to Driver and Cotillard which would help the theatrical prospects. [4] For the puppet, Carax had used a real girl for vocals, though Ron and Russell did not intend to, but appreciated the idea. [2]
Carax wanted their actors to sing live for the film, despite not being trained, [5] even though Cotillard and Driver had sung in previous film roles and the former had a musical career outside film. [5] This led Ron and Russell impressed with their musical approach. [2] Speaking to Simon Thompson of Forbes , Ron opined: "I think it is more fun, but not necessarily that we're molding them, but naturally, they're more in keeping with the stylistic approach that we prefer for a movie musical." Ron did not feel it as an artifice of mimicking Broadway performers or reality show talents (such as American Idol ), and not that "they are unable to convey exactly the right sort of tone through what they were projecting vocally in the film; it's authentic. They knew what the material was, so they worked to fit their vocals within those musical pieces." [6]
The sound of the film varies from wide range of songse with each scene, as Russell and Carax wanted "the music doesn't necessarily all have to be consistent, stylistically. It can be things that sound a bit more like a band. But then there's songs that are more orchestrated, and ones that sound a bit more classical, and ones where the dialogue is being conveyed in a more sung-spoken sort of way", which became one of the trademarks of the film, which refers to "the music is kind of all over the map in a certain way." [7] He further opined that pop music has a certain form, adding "They're three and a half minute songs in a general way, but that within that format, you should always be an artist trying to push the boundaries of what you can actually do within that three or three and a half minute form. And so we've kind of always taken a bit of pride in trying to push ourselves and challenge ourselves to find new ways to experiment within the form." [8]
Russell appreciated the visualization of the two-dimensional versions in the album, citing two of the scenes. He said "A scene like this crazed waltz that the character Henry suggests they do aboard the ship during the storm, that was in our original version, but the way Leos brought it to life was beautiful and surprising in a great way to us. There had been some discussion of what would be the best way to shoot that scene, and whether it should be done on a real ocean in a real boat, or on a soundstage in a more artificial way [as in the end result]. The scene when Henry and the baby Annette wash up onto the island almost looks like a theater piece, done incredibly well." [1]
The album's first single track was named "So May We Start", released on 31 May 2021. [9] The video form of that song was released on 9 July. [10] Russell wanted the song opening the film that was "both kind of in the film and outside in a way where the actors, the directors, the writers, would all be commenting on the fears and difficulties of actually making this particular production". [8] The song was one of the initial music, that was not changed in the script, as Russell said "We always had that idea from the beginning, where we wanted the characters outside of their roles, in street clothing, and musically, it was comfortable for us to come up with. Leos embraced that idea and anything that was off-kilter in presenting a movie musical in this day and age." [11]
Russell in an interview to The Hollywood Reporter had said that the song also became "a de facto anthem" for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, which opened in venue on France nearly a year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led the 2020 edition to be cancelled; [12] [13] he added "there was an optimism about the pandemic situation. So to have a song [in] the spirit of 'So May We Start,' it was kind of like "so may we start ... cinema getting back together again, the way it should be seen on a big screen in front of a lot of people.'" [12]
The second single accompanied the soundtrack, "We Love Each Other So Much" was released on 21 June 2021 (World Music Day). [14] [15] The song is a duet sung by Driver and Cotillard, depicting the romantic relationship between those characters. [15] A demo version of this song is performed by Rebecca Sjöwall, featured in the extended soundtrack.
Annette (Cannes Edition – Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 2 July 2021 | |||
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Genre | ||||
Length | 40:52 | |||
Label | Sony | |||
Producer | ||||
Sparks chronology | ||||
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Singles from Annette (Cannes Edition –Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Annette (Cannes Edition –Selections from the Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the first soundtrack album released for the film,on 2 July 2021 by Sony Music Entertainment France. [18] The album was promotional release for the film,to commemorate its Cannes premiere as the first film in the 2021 edition, [13] followed by the theatrical release in France. It consists of 15 tracks from the original music composed by Sparks,and features performances from the cast members. [19] The album was distributed by Milan Records for the United States release on 23 July 2021 and further saw a CD release on 30 July 2021, [20] with a vinyl edition of the album releasing on 3 September. [21]
Reviewing for the album,Steve Krakow of Chicago Reader commented that the Sparks "continue their renaissance with the soundtrack". [22] Darryl Sterdan of Tinnitist wrote that "The Mael brothers go Hollywood with this sophisticated,star-studded soundtrack". [23] Ad Amorossi of Flood Magazine wrote "Annette comes across as successfully as it does—with caustic,dry-icy wit at the peak of its stagey reality cop-and-court drama—comes down to each of its parts interlocking,a soundtrack bound to its weird and torrid tale,and a mesmerizing cinematic display that would be nothing without a Mael song." [24]
All tracks are written by Sparks and Leos Carax.
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "So May We Start" | 3:44 | |
2. | "True Love Always Finds a Way" |
| 1:25 |
3. | "We Love Each Other So Much" |
| 3:32 |
4. | "I'm an Accompanist" | Helberg | 1:24 |
5. | "Aria (The Forest)" |
| 3:17 |
6. | "She's Out of This World!" |
| 2:23 |
7. | "Six Women Have Come Forward" |
| 2:03 |
8. | "You Used to Laugh" |
| 2:13 |
9. | "Girl from the Middle of Nowhere" | Cotillard | 2:57 |
10. | "Let's Waltz in the Storm!" |
| 3:33 |
11. | "We've Washed Ashore / Baby Aria (The Moon) / I Will Haunt You, Henry" |
| 4:49 |
12. | "Premiere Performance of Baby Annette" |
| 2:13 |
13. | "All the Girls" | Driver | 1:19 |
14. | "Stepping Back in Time" |
| 2:04 |
15. | "Sympathy for the Abyss" |
| 3:51 |
Total length: | 40:52 |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [25] | 68 |
French Albums (SNEP) [26] | 72 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] | 90 |
Annette (Unlimited Edition – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Sparks | |
Released | 5 November 2021 |
Studio |
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Genre |
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Length | 111:23 |
Label | Sony |
Producer |
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Annette (Unlimited Edition – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the extended edition of the soundtrack album released digitally on 5 November 2021. [28] The album consisted of nearly 57 tracks of the original music featured in full in the film, and six demo tracks being produced for the album. It was released in double-disc formats on 25 November. [29]
All tracks are written by Sparks and Leos Carax.
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "So May We Start" |
| 3:53 |
2. | "True Love Always Finds a Way" |
| 1:24 |
3. | "How 'bout a Smile, Ann?" | Sparks | 0:43 |
4. | "We Love Each Other So Much" |
| 3:39 |
5. | "Show Biz News (Tied the Knot)" | Rebecca Sjöwall | 0:20 |
6. | "I'm an Accompanist" | Helberg | 1:24 |
7. | "Forest Intro / Aria (The Forest)" |
| 3:39 |
8. | "Finale" |
| 1:30 |
9. | "Show Biz News (New Born Girl)" | Sjöwall | 0:22 |
10. | "She's Out of This World!" |
| 2:22 |
11. | "Calm Before the Opera" | Trinity Boys | 1:24 |
12. | "Six Women Have Come Forward (Film Version)" | Six Women | 2:14 |
13. | "You Used to Laugh" |
| 2:13 |
14. | "Girl from the Middle of Nowhere" |
| 3:04 |
15. | "Lalalala" | Cotillard | 1:21 |
16. | "My Star's in Decline" | Driver | 0:33 |
17. | "Show Biz News (Respective Success)" | Sjöwall | 0:32 |
18. | "Lullaby for Annette" |
| 2:30 |
19. | "Let's Waltz in the Storm!" |
| 3:32 |
20. | "We've Washed Ashore" |
| 1:43 |
21. | "Baby Aria (The Moon)" |
| 1:11 |
22. | "I Will Haunt You, Henry" |
| 1:53 |
23. | "We Are the Police" |
| 1:22 |
24. | "I'm a Good Father" |
| 1:50 |
25. | "Baby Aria (She's a Miracle)" |
| 1:12 |
26. | "The Conductor" | Helberg | 2:49 |
27. | "Something That Will Blow Your Mind / Baby Aria (Can You Explain It?) / It's Not Really Exploitation" |
| 3:03 |
28. | "Every Night the Same Dream" | Driver | 2:42 |
Total length: | 54:23 |
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Premiere Performance of Baby Annette" |
| 2:13 |
2. | "Baby Aria (First Performance)" |
| 2:14 |
3. | "We Love Annette!" |
| 2:01 |
4. | "We Love Each Other So Much (Lullaby)" |
| 1:56 |
5. | "All the Girls" |
| 1:18 |
6. | "So Glad to Be Back at Home / We Love Each Other So Much (Annette) / You Had No Right!" |
| 3:35 |
7. | "Murder of a Conductor" |
| 3:04 |
8. | "Show Biz News (Never Again)" | Sjöwall | 0:35 |
9. | "Hyper Bowl" |
| 4:08 |
10. | "True Love Always Finds a Way (Reprise)" |
| 0:47 |
11. | "He Is a Murderer!" | Sparks | 1:34 |
12. | "Stepping Back in Time" |
| 1:59 |
13. | "Courtroom Spirit" |
| 0:38 |
14. | "Abyss Intro" |
| 2:29 |
15. | "Sympathy for the Abyss (Film Version)" |
| 5:53 |
16. | "The Lamp" | Sparks | 0:52 |
17. | "We Love Each Other So Much – End Theme" | Sparks | 2:40 |
18. | "It's the End" |
| 2:31 |
19. | "Intro to Henry's Show (A)" |
| 1:25 |
20. | "The Zygomatic Rap" | Driver | 0:19 |
21. | "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh (A)" |
| 1:01 |
22. | "Ok, Ready, Laugh!" | Driver | 0:29 |
23. | "So Why Did I Become a Comedian?" | Driver | 0:34 |
24. | "So Why Did You Become a Comedian?" | Driver | 1:12 |
25. | "Introspective (A)" |
| 2:31 |
26. | "Opera Bows" |
| 0:52 |
27. | "Laugh, Laugh, Laugh (B)" |
| 1:20 |
28. | "Intro to Henry's Show (B)" | Alberto Chromatico | 0:57 |
29. | "Introspective (B)" | Driver | 1:44 |
30. | "We Love Each Other So Much (First Demo)" | Sjöwall | 3:08 |
31. | "Worth Her Weight in Gold (Demo)" | Sparks | 3:27 |
32. | "You Used to Laugh (Demo)" | Sparks | 2:56 |
33. | "This Is a Baby" | Sparks | 1:22 |
34. | "Is She Legitimate? (Demo)" | Sjöwall | 1:33 |
35. | "Upstaged (Demo)" | Sparks | 2:36 |
Total length: | 67:50 |
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cannes Film Festival | 6–17 July 2021 | Cannes Soundtrack Award | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Won | [31] |
Chicago Film Critics Association | 15 December 2021 | Best Original Score | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Nominated | [32] [33] |
Florida Film Critics Circle | 21 December 2021 | Best Score | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Nominated | [34] [35] |
Lumières Award | 17 January 2022 | Best Music | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Won | [36] |
Chlotrudis Awards | 21 February 2022 | Best Music in a Film | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Nominated | [37] |
César Awards | 25 February 2022 | Best Original Music | Ron Mael and Russell Mael | Won | [38] |
Ronald David Mael is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger brother Russell Mael in 1971. Mael is known for his quirky and idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, his intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style and for his deadpan and low key, scowling demeanour onstage often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron Mael is also noted for his conservative clothes and distinctive moustache. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.
Russell Craig Mael is an American singer best known as the lead singer for the band Sparks which he formed in 1971 with his elder brother Ron Mael. Mael is known for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching falsetto. He has a flamboyant and hyperactive stage presence which contrasts sharply with Ron Mael's inexpressive demeanour. The band released an album with British rock band Franz Ferdinand, as the supergroup FFS, titled FFS, released in 2015. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.
Sparks is an American pop and rock duo formed by brothers Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) in Los Angeles. The duo is noted for their quirky approach to songwriting; their music is often accompanied by sophisticated and acerbic lyrics—often about women, and sometimes containing literary or cinematic references—and an idiosyncratic, theatrical stage presence, typified by the contrast between Russell's animated, hyperactive frontman antics and Ron's deadpan scowling. Russell Mael has a distinctive wide-ranging voice, while Ron Mael plays keyboards in an intricate and rhythmic style. Their frequently changing styles and visual presentations have kept the band at the forefront of modern, artful pop music.
Kimono My House is the third studio album by American rock band Sparks, released on May 1, 1974, by Island Records. The album is considered to be their commercial breakthrough, and was met with widespread acclaim.
Alex Christophe Dupont, best known as Leos Carax, is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was Boy Meets Girl (1984), and his notable works include Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991), Holy Motors (2012) and Annette (2021). For the last, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. His professional name is an anagram of his real name, 'Alex', and 'Oscar'.
Sparks, originally titled Halfnelson, is the debut album by the Los Angeles rock band Sparks. The album was first released as Halfnelson, the band's original name, and reissued a year later under the group’s new name.
Propaganda is the fourth studio album by American rock band Sparks, released on November 11, 1974. Following up their commercial breakthrough, Kimono My House, released earlier the same year, it was a moderate success in the United States and peaked at No. 9 in the U.K. in 1975. The album cover features an image of a tied-up and gagged Mael brothers, titled "Welcome on Board," which was taken by photographer Monty Coles.
Indiscreet is the fifth album by Sparks. It was released in 1975 and later re-released with three bonus tracks. The album was a departure from the glam rock sound of Kimono My House and Propaganda, and emphasised the theatrical elements of their work, with greater use of orchestral arrangements and drawing from non-rock orientated styles such as jazz, big band, swing, vaudeville, and classical music. The album was produced by Tony Visconti, with whom the group reunited in 1997 to produce several tracks for their retrospective album Plagiarism. The song "How Are You Getting Home?" was used in Leos Carax's film Holy Motors.
Angst in My Pants is the eleventh studio album by American pop and rock band Sparks. The album was released in 1982 by Atlantic Records in both the US and UK, and this was the sixth overall label that the band was signed to in the US, and, for the first time since the mid-1970s, the band would be signed to the same label in both the US and UK for three consecutive studio albums.
Lil' Beethoven is the 19th album by the American rock band Sparks, released on November 26, 2002. The album was a radical musical departure compared to their previous works. The band only used strings, piano, and voices but sporadic drums: the result was both classical and pop music.
The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman is the 22nd album by American rock group Sparks, released in August 2009. The duo's first work in the radio musical genre, the album is built around an imaginary visit to Hollywood by Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1950s. Its storyline focuses on the divides between European and American culture, between art and commerce. Unlike other Sparks albums, the work is conceived as a single piece, to be listened to as a whole, rather than a collection of stand-alone songs.
Rebecca Sjöwall is an American singer and recording artist.
Adam Douglas Driver is an American actor. Recognized for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers, he is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.
Hippopotamus is the 23rd studio album by American rock group Sparks. It was released on September 8, 2017, through BMG Rights Management and The End Records, their first record issued on a major label for decades.
Annette is a 2021 musical romantic drama film directed by Leos Carax in his English-language directorial debut. The film's story and music were written by Ron Mael, Russell Mael, and Carax, with lyrics co-written by Carax. The film, which has been described as a rock opera, follows a stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife, and how their lives are changed when they have their first child. Simon Helberg and Devyn McDowell also appear.
A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip is the 24th studio album by American rock group Sparks. Recorded in gaps between Sparks' film projects, the album uses a full rock-group format to draw on the band's full range of musical styles and was universally acclaimed by critics, who praised both its lyrical and melodic content.
The Sparks Brothers is a 2021 British-American documentary film about Ron and Russell Mael, members of the pop and rock duo Sparks. The film, directed by Edgar Wright, and produced by Wright, Nira Park, George Hencken and Laura Richardson, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released the following summer. It received critical acclaim.
The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after the COVID-19 pandemic in France scuttled plans to have him head the jury of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.
David Kendrick is an American musician who is currently a member of the experimental pop band Xiu Xiu. A former member of Gleaming Spires and Devo, he has recorded and toured with Sparks, Andy Prieboy and Revolushn. He is based in Los Angeles, California.
Songs of the Spires is the debut album by American new wave pop group Gleaming Spires. It features the single "Are You Ready for the Sex Girls?" and was produced by Stephen Hague.
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