Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (soundtrack)

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"For me, bringing in the sound of Brooklyn meant not only the syncopated rhythms and the bounce of that music, but also bringing in the iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine, which is really the bedrock of so many hip-hop tracks from that area. You'll definitely hear it that 808 throughout the Brooklyn parts of the score. This is not a hip-hop score, this is a Transformers cinematic score, but I wanted to have a little bit of seasoning, and I decided to use that drum machine as the seasoning for that part of the score."

— Jongnic Bontemps [6]

The film was set in 1994 period of Brooklyn, and Bontemps who was born in Brooklyn, felt the particular beats which was "the sound of hip-hop, the 808 drum machine, having those syncopated rhythms and grooves". [5] For Peru, he went into the Afro-Peruvian traditions and recruited prominent soloists, including Peruvian percussionist Alex Acuña, Mexican bassist Abraham Laboriel playing guitarron and charango, Venezuelan musician Pedro Eustache playing Latin woodwinds, and composer Erick Del Agula served as music consultant. [6] Having worked with several composers Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri and Alexandre Desplat where he was asked to build technology in their studios, so that they could write sufficient music before recording the orchestra, Bontemps felt that he could simulate the orchestra and synths, where he could build the piece of music pretty close to the final product he anticipated. After writing the music and playing it for the studio music department and producers, who provide their insights on the score before they could approve, he started creating the sheet music for all the musicians to play, and created the Pro Tools recording sessions, which were used as a part of the recording. [6]

The sessions happened for ten days at the Newman Scoring Stage in 20th Century Studios lot in Burbank, California and Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros. [8] with a 74-piece orchestra performing the score. It consisted of six percussions, 25-piece brass section, twelve horns, six trombones, three brass trombones, three cimbasso and tuba, and a rare brass tubax, a modified contrabass saxophone, along with a drum set built almost entirely out of rubber tires, being used to create a unique sound. He first recorded the string elements and layered it with the pre-recorded synths and drum machines. Later John Chapman, was brought in to mix the score. [6] While, the recording was nearing completion, the producers hired Jablonsky serving as the score consultant and producer, while also scoring three of the cues in the score. [9] Bontemps felt that "he was really wonderful in helping me craft some of this music and really think about how it should play in the entire soundscape of the film". [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jongnic Bontemps, except where noted

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Music from the Motion Picture)
Transformers, Rise of the Beasts (Music from the Motion Picture).png
Film score by
ReleasedJune 9, 2023 (2023-06-09)
Recorded2021–2023
Studio
Genre
Length65:44
Label
Producer
Jongnic Bontemps chronology
Redfall
(2023)
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
(2023)
Jagged Mind
(2023)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Maximals" 2:36
2."Unicron / Scourge" 3:36
3."Autobots Enter" 0:56
4."What Are You" 1:28
5."More Than Meets the Eye" 1:31
6."Mirage" 1:58
7."Museum Heist" 1:14
8."Battle at Ellis Island" 2:28
9."Fallen Hero" 1:48
10."Chris Meets Mirage" 1:55
11."Arriving in Peru" 2:22
12."Hiding in Plain Sight" 1:29
13."The Cave" 2:30
14."Switchback Chase" Steve Jablonsky 4:21
15."The Village" 3:48
16."Saving Elena" 2:56
17."One Last Stand" 3:07
18."The Final Battle Begins" 3:19
19."Unicron Approaches" 1:30
20."Home Team" 2:22
21."Volcano Battle" 2:58
22."No Matter the Cost" 1:55
23."Till All Are One"Jablonsky1:54
24."Humans and Autobots United"Jablonsky2:31
25."Here's My Card" 2:46
26."A Long Time Ago" 6:26
Total length:65:44

Reception

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter commented the film's story and setting provided "plenty of opportunity for the soundtrack inclusion of classic ‘90s-era hip-hop cuts to complement the thundering score by Jongnic “JB” Bontemps". [10] Calling the music as one of the important aspects, Melissa Thompson of We Are Movie Geeks commented "The score from film composer Jongnic “JB” Bontemps is fantastic, but what really connects is the early 90's hip hop tracks that are used to pump up the action sequences. They fit nicely into the time frame and has the audience moving in their seats. This fun film will delight fans of the classic ’90s animated television series Beast Wars: Transformers ." [11] Jeremy Mathai of /Film commented that the score by Bontemps "largely recedes into the background". [12]

Curated soundtrack

Rise of the Beasts, also featured hip hop and electronic music from popular artists. [3] Caple Jr. announced the inclusion of rap groups Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest, being brought in to be authentic to the film's setting. In an interview to The Hollywood Reporter, he mentioned an unreleased song that comes along with the film, and a legacy artist from the 1990s would contribute to the track. [13] The aforementioned track was titled as "On My Soul"; composed and performed by Tobe Nwigwe and Nas and featuring Jacob Banks, the track was released by Mass Appeal Records on May 19, 2023. [14] Similar to Age of Extinction (2014) and The Last Knight (2017), no official soundtrack album for the songs featured in the film has been released. [15] A separate playlist was released by Paramount Pictures to music streaming platforms. [16]

No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)" (Wu-Tang Clan feat. Buddha Monk, Inspectah Deck, Method Man and Raekwon) David Porter, RZA and Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (expanded edition)4:12
2."Check the Rhime" (A Tribe Called Quest) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip and Malik Taylor The Low End Theory 3:36
3."Anything" (SWV, Allen Gordon Jr. and Arty Skye) Brian Alexander Morgan It's About Time 4:07
4."Represent" (Nas) Christopher Martin and Nas Illmatic 4:12
5."Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Digable Planets)Digable Planets Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) 4:21
6."The Choice Is Yours" (Black Sheep) Dres and William McLean A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing 3:23
7."Mama Said Knock You Out (Sam Wilkes Remix)" (LL Cool J and Sam Wilkes)Bob Erwin, James Mccants, Leroy Mccants and Marlon Williams Mama Said Knock You Out 4:25
8."Hypnotize" (The Notorious B.I.G.)Andy Armer, Deric Angelettie, Sean Combs, Randy Alpert, Slick Rick and Ronald Lawrence Greatest Hits 3:50
9."On My Soul" (Tobe Nwigwe and Nas featuring Jacob Banks)Tobe Nwigwe, Nas and Jacob Banks2:40

Album credits

Credits adapted from Paramount Music. [2]

Orchestra
Choir
Musicians

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References

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