John Williams’s music in the episodic Star Wars films is the stuff of legend but as the galaxy far, far away continues to expand, it opens up the opportunity to experiment.
Ludwig Göransson’s work on The Mandalorian was revolutionary and now, with the arrival of Andor, the music of Star Wars is taking on a whole new dynamic yet again.
But who composed the score of Andor and what makes the newest Star Wars soundtrack so fascinating?
- REAL-WORLD LOCATIONS EXPLORED: WHERE WAS ANDOR FILMED?
Andor | Official Trailer | Disney+
Andor’s soundtrack
The opening scene of Andor’s first episode wastes no time in setting its dark and gritty tone with some eerie synth sounds that wouldn’t feel out of place in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as Cassian makes his way through the seedy back streets of Morlana One.
From there, the music only continues to push the boundaries with episode 2 notably ending on a drum-heavy rock anthem which is juxtaposed by some sorrowful strings.
Episode 3 adds to the already impressive soundscape with a section that is arguably not music at all as the townspeople of Ferrix clang on pieces of metal to single the alarm, adding ever-more tension as the action draws near.
All of this builds to a rousing crescendo in the final moments of episode 3 as a wave of strings underscores the moment where Cassian’s present-day timeline mirrors that of his childhood as Kassa as he is whisked away on a new journey.
Like the first three episodes as a whole, the music of Andor is very different to what we’ve heard before and with plenty more in the pipeline, we can’t wait to see what the score has in store in the coming weeks.
Who composed Andor’s score?
Andor’s bold score is the work of composer Nicholas Britell.
The 41-year-old New York-born musician has been scoring music for films and TV series since the mid-2000s and has grown increasingly in demand over recent years.
Britell has more than 40 composing credits to his name with his most notable projects including HBO’s Succession, for which he won an Emmy Award, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, The Big Short, 12 Years a Slave, Vice and Disney’s Cruella.
On top of that, Britell also scored the trio of films Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk and Don’t Look Up, all of which earned him Oscar nominations.
Andor’s title themes available to stream now
To coincide with Andor’s arrival on Disney+, the title themes from episodes 1-3 have been made available on the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.
The short pieces of music are taken from the moment in each episode where the Andor title appears on screen.
All of which are slightly different, although all include the melancholy string melody that has underscored much of the series so far.
Andor is available to stream now on Disney+ after premiering on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
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