Nope | ||||
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Film score by | ||||
Released | July 22, 2022 | |||
Recorded | 2021–2022 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
Length | 82:55 | |||
Label | Back Lot Music | |||
Producer | Michael Abels | |||
Michael Abels chronology | ||||
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Nope (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2022 neo-Western science fiction horror film Nope written, directed and produced by Jordan Peele starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun. The original music is composed by Michael Abels, Peele's regular collaborator, which consisted of a score that blends grand adventurous music and eerie sounds matching the film's script. Most of the themes were written before the film's production and were developed with a 60-piece orchestra and 30-member vocal choir recorded for a year.
The accompanying album comprised Abels' score and few songs heard in the film. It was released through Dolby Atmos via Back Lot Music in conjunction with the film's release on July 22, 2022. Abels' score met with critical acclaim directed on the soundscape and treatment of the film's music matching the situations, and the instrumentation choices, and received numerous accolades.
In July 2021, it was announced that Michael Abels would be composing the score for Nope. [1] Abels previously scored Peele's Get Out (2017) and Us (2019). [2] He described the score as having to meet the "threat level" described by Peele in the script and ideas inspired by the film's quote "What is a bad miracle?". The music is thereby carefully balanced to match the threat level in the script and storytelling and also compliment the visuals instead of overpowering them. Abels described the themes as a mixture of awe and terror, which signifies the bad miracle as discussed in the script. [3] Describing the genre blend of the film's score, Abels opined that: [3]
"The music needs to have both those senses together. Both a little bit of a sense of awe like we would have looking at the Grand Canyon, but then also the urge to run far away from the Grand Canyon because falling in would not be good. That’s the dichotomy that’s present in the film" [3]
The tone of the film's music being established in the opening credits, which Abels did for Get Out and Us. [3] [4] Some of the themes were written even before the film's production, this included the OJ and Em's heroic theme, which was written as the audience could feel the thrills of the protagonist's risks, that felt realistic and the tonal shift from adventurous to horror music. [5] [6] Besides the action adventure themes, Abels also wrote a theme for the brother-sister relationship and a family love story. [7] He added, "It's important to really start in all those places and kind of find where they all could join in a cohesive score." [7]
He utilized eerie soundscapes to curate a layered and unsettling audio experience, especially in times of onscreen crisis. [8] Some of the joyous and adventurous scenes which had been scored for the film were counterbalanced with eerie music for the unnerving sequences. [3] Abels described that most of the music being aleatoric and improvised on paper, with specific instructions provided for the music team to denote the parameters of randomness and the method it has been played and the notations used throughout the score. [9] [3]
Abels utilized a 60-piece orchestra and a 30-member vocal choir to produce the score. [10] [11] The players used instruments such as strings, brass, woodwinds and percussions as a part of the orchestra. The strings were predominantly used to create anticipation and build tension through airy high-pitched notes and aggressive additions during pivotal moments, while percussions and woodwinds were utilized to heighten its intensity and provide a variety of sounds, textures and melodies in the score. [3] Abels used the Wild West brass instrumentation in the climatic sequence to match the grandeur, a first for a Peele film. [3] Further, he used snap pizzicato in the basses to curate percussive and unique sound textures. [3]
Abels closely worked with the sound engineer Johnnie Burn, who mixed the soundtrack in Dolby Atmos. [12] As silence being an integral part of the film, he admitted that: [3]
"The tension between the negative space and the music is actually part of the music. Leaving room for the sound design, even when there’s a cue playing, was an important part of the way I approached it. A lot of times in the scariest parts, especially in the earlier parts of this film, you’re listening to what you hope you’re not going to hear or what you thought you might have heard. The stillness allows you to freak out in that way." [3]
Universal Pictures' in-house label Back Lot Music released the soundtrack day-and-date with the film on July 22, 2022. [13] [14] The 34-track album featured the songs "Walk On By" by Dionne Warwick, [15] "Strange Animal" by Lawrence Gowan, [16] "This Is the Lost Generation" by the Lost Generation, "Exuma, the Obeah Man" by Exuma, [17] and a screwed version of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night". [18] The remainder of the album is accompanied by Abels' score. On August 12, Waxwork Records announced the vinyl edition of the soundtrack set for pre-order. [19] The album is being packaged in a double LP 180-gram "Cloud and Pennant Banner" colored disc along with 12-inch booklet and an artwork designed by Ethan Mesa and liner notes from Tyree Boyd-Pates. [20] [21] The vinyl edition was eventually released on December 16. [19]
Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Michael Abels' pulsating score help sustain the film right up through its transfixing end." [22] Jimmy O. of JoBlo.com wrote "The score by Michael Abels adds a sense of mystery and fright." [23] Phil de Semlyen of Time Out summarized that Abels' "terrific orchestral score" and the "magnificently loud and unearthly sound design" underlines the creepiness of the film. [24] In contrast, critic based at Filmtracks.com wrote "The entirety of Abels' narrative arc for Nope is haphazard and unsatisfactory, leaving the score as one that relies on suspenseful execution from moment to moment to appeal." [25] IndieWire ranked it as the second-best film scores of 2022. [26]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Haywood Ranch" | Michael Abels | Abels | 2:55 |
2. | "The Muybridge Clip" | Abels | Abels | 3:34 |
3. | "La Vie C'est Chouette" |
| Jodie Foster | 2:44 |
4. | "Jupiter's Claim" | Abels | Abels | 1:43 |
5. | "Brother Sister Walk" | Abels | Abels | 1:18 |
6. | "Walk On By" |
| Dionne Warwick | 2:54 |
7. | "Growing Up Haywood" | Abels | Abels | 1:29 |
8. | "This Is the Lost Generation" |
| The Lost Generation | 3:34 |
9. | "Not Good" | Abels | Abels | 2:00 |
10. | "What's a Bad Miracle" | Abels | Abels | 1:32 |
11. | "The Oprah Shot" | Abels | Abels | 1:51 |
12. | "Ancient Aliens" | Abels | Abels | 2:08 |
13. | "Park Kids Prank Haywood" | Abels | Abels | 1:08 |
14. | "It's in the Cloud" | Abels | Abels | 2:37 |
15. | "Holy Sh*t It's Real" | Abels | Abels | 2:09 |
16. | "Progressive Anxiety" | Abels | Abels | 3:02 |
17. | "The Star Lasso Expeeerrriii..." | Abels | Abels | 0:35 |
18. | "Arena Attack" | Abels | Abels | 1:23 |
19. | "Sunglasses at Night" (Jean Jacket Mix) | Corey Hart | Hart | 4:38 |
20. | "Blood Rain" | Abels | Abels | 1:47 |
21. | "The Unaccounted For" | Abels | Abels | 2:36 |
22. | "Preparing the Trap" | Abels | Abels | 2:41 |
23. | "Purple People Eater" | Sheb Wooley |
| 1:35 |
24. | "Exuma, the Obeah Man" | Exuma | Exuma | 6:12 |
25. | "Man Down" | Abels | Abels | 6:02 |
26. | "WTF Is That" | Abels | Abels | 1:13 |
27. | "The Run (Urban Legends)" | Abels | Abels | 1:42 |
28. | "Abduction" | Abels | Abels | 1:58 |
29. | "Havoc" | Abels | Abels | 0:46 |
30. | "Em & Angel Fly" | Abels | Abels | 2:20 |
31. | "A Hero Falls" | Abels | Abels | 2:47 |
32. | "Pursuit" | Abels | Abels | 1:49 |
33. | "Winkin' Well" | Abels | Abels | 3:42 |
34. | "Nope" | Abels | Abels | 2:31 |
Total length: | 82:55 |
Credits adapted from liner notes. [27]
Orchestra
Instruments
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ASCAP Awards | May 15, 2023 | Film Score of the Year | Michael Abels | Won | [28] |
Black Reel Awards | February 6, 2023 | Outstanding Score | Nominated | [29] [30] | |
Florida Film Critics Circle | December 22, 2022 | Best Score | Runner-up | [31] | |
Georgia Film Critics Association | January 13, 2023 | Best Original Score | Nominated | [32] | |
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | November 16, 2022 | Best Original Score in a Horror Film | Won | [33] | |
International Film Music Critics Association Awards | February 23, 2023 | Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film | Won | [34] [35] | |
Saturn Awards | October 25, 2022 | Best Music | Nominated | [36] [37] | |
Seattle Film Critics Society | January 17, 2023 | Best Original Score | Nominated | [38] |
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