While no-one can touch #JohnBarry at the top of the #JamesBond music pyramid, the only person that even comes close is #DavidArnold. Arnold scored five James Bond films, from 1997s Tomorrow Never Dies to 2008s Quantum of Solace, but was replaced for Skyfall by Sam Mendess usual music man Thomas Newman. James Bond will return. So will Sam Mendes. But will Arnold be back in the studio filling in the gaps between what he calls the explosions and the car squeals and the gear changes and the punctures? Ahead of his Bose Universal Conductor live immersive collaboration with Ella Eyre, Digital Spy caught up with the composer, and when we finished grilling him on all things Doctor Who, we got round to 007. I always said that Id go back if they asked me, Arnold said when we brought up the inevitable. I know that Sam Mendes is directing and he always works with Tom Newman. Ive stayed in touch with everyone, Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [G Wilson] from production, theyre so lovely. Ive always said if they ever want to give me a holler Ill be back in a heartbeat. Ive loved doing them, I also love watching them. For me its a great relief for the Eye of Sauron to fall upon someone else for a year or two! And if I go back to it, fantastic; if I dont, Ive discovered now this latest thing Im doing - this West End musical [Made in Dagenham] - is a different set of muscles. Ive loved that experience as well - Im kind of trying to find another musical to write. Im doing a couple of films next year. Doing these odd one-offs with people like Ella - there arent many people like Ella! - but doing those kinds of things always feels really exciting. Of his favourite Bond music, Arnold said: I could never favour anything Ive ever done over Johns stuff. I always think the ski chase from On Her Majestys Secret Service is fantastic. Its just such an evil piece of music. Its simple. Its just a fantastic tune and a fantastic, simple orchestration and production. John Barry had this thing - play the tune, play the tune, play the tune. By the time you come out of one of his films, youre not really aware of how many times youve heard it, but you know its in your head. Its stuck there. Like a great chorus, you shouldnt be afraid of it having it playing again and again and again. With a great song, or with a great theme for a TV show, youve got to make your point in 30 seconds If you dont make your point in 30 seconds then the moments gone, theyre on to the next piece of information that comes past. You have to be quite concise or quite economic. Sometimes as a writer you can do that, sometimes you dont, but you always aim to write the thing that is the key to cluing people in as to what it is theyre about to experience and drawing them into the world that youre creating. Asked who he would like see sing a Bond theme, Arnold said: Over the years there are always whispers about who might or who might not be doing them. Björk used to come up, principally because of the thing we did together, and we did a version of You Only Live Twice as well. Every year the rumour mill starts. Theres going to be a new one, whos it going to be? Beyoncé is nearly always on that list. Rihanna is now on the list. Whoevers hot - Lady Gaga. The way that theyre chosen - you hope to find someone for me who could almost be in the film. You would imagine that [Garbages] Shirley Manson could easily have been in a Bond movie, in a very particular style, a singular style. Thats what appeals to me. Somebody that either looks or sounds or is like someone from that world that were making for that particular film. With Chris Cornell in Casino Royale, he sounded like how Daniel Craig punched. Somehow the way that he moved and the way that he was. When Chris opens up and does that scream that he can sing so brilliantly, you kind of imagined him coming towards you, like a proper alpha male noise. It was interesting at that time, especially if youre looking for whos a contemporary Robert Plant or Bruce Springsteen. The move in male vocalists has been much more towards sensitive singer-songwriters. Theres been far fewer, for want of a better word, blokes. Youre still thinking, Is there a contemporary Rod Stewart? In terms of the attitude in the Faces days, rather than The American Songbook, the latter stuff. Someone whos sort of a rocker but not an idiot. And substantial. You realise thats a shrinking pool of people you get to choose from. Alternatively, women performers are much more exposed, theres many more of them. This upsurge happened with Amy really, with Amy Winehouse. People suddenly became aware of how amazing these women performers are and seem to have kicked the whole thing apart. It was amazing watching Kate Bush coming back and all the stuff that Adeles done. [FKA] twigs, whos around at the moment - shes just an extraordinary performer. You watch it and go, This would never get anywhere on any of the talent shows that are on telly. You would never discover someone like that through a talent show. Shes just a raw, arrived fully-formed entity. Theres so many of them. Ellas another one of those. Shes 20 and she just sings and its ridiculous that shes doing that at 20. He added of Eyre, with whom he recorded a cover of Bastilles Pompeii for Bose: Whats always a relief is when you get someone whos as effortlessly talented as Ella is and is so lovely with it as well. Its so easy, shes really happy singing and shes amazing at singing... I probably would never have come across the opportunity to work with her had this not come up. Shes at that point in her career where every day shes got something incredibly exciting and exotic going on. Shes one of those rare, raw talents, so itll be fascinating to see where that all goes with her. Its got to the point now where Id love to write something with her. This kind of threw us together in a hermetically sealed box, itd be nice to write something and do something else. Listeners have been invited to create their own personal version of the song using the BoseSoundTrue headphones and then share it over social media. Free listening events take place at Elys Yard in London on October 3-5 (VIP ballot winners on October 2nd) and at Great Northern in Manchester on October 10-12 (VIP ballot winners on October 9th).
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 11:17:13 +0000
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