By: Julie Skaggs
Trent Reznor offers listeners an instant “sneak peak” with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo score sampler
Ever since Trent Reznor parted ways with Interscope Records in 2007 he has become a one-man creative cottage industry, a fine example in regards to the benefits of (and the determination required to obtain) artistic independence. Shedding several former identities he has moved beyond his hegemony as the auteur of Nine Inch Nails (with the releases Ghosts I-IV and The Slip as well as touring for the final time in 2009) and embarked upon other projects, such as How To Destroy Angels (a musical collaboration with Reznor’s wife, singer Mariqueen Maandig, and creative partner Atticus Ross) as well as entering the world of film scoring.
But this kind of creative endeavor is not entirely unfamiliar to Trent, as during the NIN years he created the music for the video game Quake and was Mark Romanek’s first scoring choice for the film One Hour Photo (as the two had previously collaborated on several NIN videos, including the iconic visual tribute to Joel-Peter Witkin, “Closer”), but it was not used (some of the music can be heard on the Nine Inch Nails’ EP Still). Reznor’s first official foray into film composition came with the creation of the theme to Tetsuo: The Bullet Man in 2009.
Additionally, during the course of his recording career Trent has composed several instrumental tracks which could be said to be the formative expressions of his particular brand of atmospheric evocation which lends itself so well to cinematic accompaniment, such as “A Warm Place” (from 1994’s The Downward Spiral), The Fragile’s penultimate track “Ripe (With Decay)” and “Another Version of the Truth” from the 2007 concept album Year Zero.
Director David Fincher has long been a fan of Trent’s work, using a remix of “Closer” in the title sequence of his 1997 film Se7en (this same version – “Closer (Precursor)” – was also used in the film The Fan). So it was a perfect fit not only in the minds of the collaborators, but fans alike, when Fincher selected the duo to score the acclaimed not-really-a-biopic The Social Network, which garnered many accolades, and netted Reznor and Ross the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for a Motion Picture and the Oscar for Best Original Score.
Continuing their artistic triad, Reznor and Ross have spent the past fourteen months composing the score for Fincher’s American production of the adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s worldwide best-selling novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (which will open in theaters on December 21st), and have released as of December 2nd, by way of Reznor’s musical distribution imprint The Null Corporation, a free six-track sampler as a preview for the upcoming full score release on December 9th. Because Reznor is retaining the rights to distribution of his own work this kind of move is almost entirely unprecedented in the world of score and soundtrack releases.
These six tracks – over 30 minutes of music – provide a tantalizing glimpse into not only the soundscape of the film itself, but also considerations of Reznor’s own artistic direction and evolution, while still wholly indicative of the creative voice long-time fans have come to know and love.
The six tracks are “Hidden In Snow,” “People Lie All The Time,” “What If We Could?” “Oraculum,” “Please Take Your Hand Away,” and “Under The Midnight Sun.” The selection entire possesses a chill-laden crystalline quality which suits the milieu of the heart of the film: scenes amidst a snow-covered landscape. From gentle, subtle piano given underlying tension with layers of synthesizer to percussion-driven motifs overlaid with a filigree of exotic instrumentation, there is an emphasis on mood and emotion, which is the greater part of what any score hopes to achieve in composition.
These themes are well-articulated and yet densely constructed, illustrating perhaps a greater sophistication than those produced for The Social Network, while still retaining a sense of bleak spare menace appropriate to the film’s suspenseful narrative. It could be said this soundtrack will possess a more “organic” quality in regards to the use of instrumentation, with less emphasis on the more mechanical vibe of synthesized elements although there are some found sounds included on “Under The Midnight Sun.”
Film scorers often become noted for utilizing a certain style in regards to their motifs, and so now comes the test of endurance in regards to creating themes and cues specific to the experience of the film itself. In this I believe Reznor and Ross have succeeded in creating a work which moves beyond their previous score while still retaining the aesthetic of their musical forbearance.
Each theme, though haunting and spacious (much longer than we are accustomed to in regards to the construction of film scores), is then buoyed by a chorus of electronic elements which ebb and flow, the dynamic percussive elements of “Oraculum” are especially memorable in contrast to the more subdued expressions of “Hidden In Snow” and “Please Take Your Hand Away.”
Some of the instrumentation lends a decided Asiatic feel to the themes, with bell-like tones chiming over waves of orchestral melodies. Although there is a sense of economy in the arrangements, the layering provides a full-bodied sound with details emerging in stately progression. The overall mood is borderline-ambient, decidedly different from The Social Network’s more electronica-based vibe.
It’s a bold and yet entirely appropriate move to offer listeners a taste of what they can expect to spend their money on, given the instant-gratification considerations of modern-day digital distribution. And so it’s a calculated risk very likely to pay off for Reznor not only in regards to sales but the critical acclaim he has become long-accustomed to as he enters a new age of artistic relevance.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo six-track sampler is available now for download from The Null Corporation official site, visit http://www.nullco.com/GDT/# .
