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''Annihilation (Music from the Motion Picture)'' is the
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
to the 2018
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...
''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy a ...
'', directed by
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English author, screenwriter, and director. He rose to prominence with his novel '' The Beach'' (1996). He received praise for writing the Danny Boyle films '' 28 Days Later'' (2002) and '' Sun ...
. The film score is composed by
Ben Salisbury Ben Salisbury (born 1970) is a British composer, particularly known for his work in film and television. He has also worked as a co-writer, arranger and musician with a number of bands. He studied music at Newcastle University and Bournemouth ...
and
Geoff Barrow Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak, and Quakers, and he has scored several films. Portishead was formed in 1991. He named the band after the ...
and released through
Lakeshore Records Lakeshore Village Entertainment, LLC was an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum. Lakeshore Entertainment is headquartered in Bev ...
in the United States, and
Invada Records Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak, and Quakers, and he has scored several films. Portishead was formed in 1991. He named the band after the ...
in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2018.


Development

In August 2016, it was announced that Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow would compose the musical score for the film; the duo previously worked with Garland on their debut film ''Ex Machina'' (2014). The duo worked on the film's musical score for a year. According to Salisbury, as the film "vaguely references – like ''
Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American naturally fruit-flavored whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. Whi ...
'' – those searching-in-jungles-and-backwoods-of-America-type films, it just felt right to put acoustic guitar there." Examining the psychedelic nature of the film, Salisbury had to utilize synthesizers in a distorted effect to provide thrills as the characters' DNA being affected by "the shimmer" (the mysterious place the characters visit). Salisbury and Baroff had to compose a bigger cue that represent the mystic place. They had written five different versions of the score, but at one point, the four notes of that theme existed throughout the score in an orchestral version, and they did not use synthesizers. In the final version, the theme was used harmonically throughout orchestral theme and used an acoustic guitar that heard throughout the film. However, the version used in the trailer had them using synthesizers and being put through various processes which led to the said version. The thematic approach was the same way the duo did for ''Ex Machina''. Salisbury recalled that when they first saw the alien sequence in the lighthouse, they were "blown away" and composed a choral arrangement for the 12-15-minute-long sequence. The piece "The Alien" had four sections, where the duo conjointly scored the orchestral parts, and separately scored the electronic and choral parts, respectively and stitched the pieces. From the onset, they refrained from the use of synthesizers. The duo used a
waterphone A waterphone (also ocean harp) is a type of inharmonic acoustic tuned idiophone consisting of a stainless steel resonator ''bowl'' or ''pan'' with a cylindrical ''neck'' and bronze rods of different lengths and diameters around the rim of the bo ...
to produce weird noises in the early part of the film, as it referenced
Lalo Schifrin Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (born June 21, 1932) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film and TV scores since the 1950s, incorporating jazz and Music of Latin America, Lati ...
's score for ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...
'' (1971) in the sound effects. However, they tried to bring a waterphone choir out of it, hence, Salisbury would sing the notes in the control room and Barrow would bow that tone out of it, which was like a steel octopus. He added "Because it's not tunable, it would never produce perfect results, it always wobbled and was weird," which eventually made as the perfect tune for the Shimmer. Since they recorded most of the portion without synthesizers, they however found that the lighthouse scene felt suitable for using the electronics. The four-note bed that composed for the score was produced with the sound of waterphone and strings interspersed with guitar elements. The theme was a bigger cue in the original version which Garland wanted to use in the climax, so as to get the desired impact. The proper use of themes helped them on the scoring process.


Release

The soundtrack album was distributed by Lakeshore Records in the United States and Invada Records in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2018, coinciding with the film's release, and was later made available in CDs and vinyl LPs. The album's track listing order unfolds in the same sequence as the music in the film, as the score had a journey of narrative arc. Salisbury added that by not replicating the narrative arc on the record, it makes it difficult to listen for those who have not seen the film. This process would help the audiences to like the music, the same way they liked the film.


Reception


Critical reception

''Annihilation''s score was positively received by music critics. Aaron Vehling of ''Vehlinggo'' wrote "On ''Annihilation'', Barrow and Salisbury achieve this profoundly and with great reward for listeners and, notably, filmgoers." Kaya Savas of ''Film.Music.Media'' called it as a "much more daring and more complex experience" in comparison with the duo's previous album ''Ex Machina''. Rob Wacey of ''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'' wrote "The score for ''Annihilation'' is a refreshing listen for soundtrack aficionados and proves that Salisbury and Barrow have plenty of tricks up their sleeves as innovative composers." Pete Simons of ''Synchrotones'' gave a negative review, summarizing "other than unease, they offer no emotion, no storytelling, no dramatic arch." Film critics, however, responded to the score more positively. Todd McCarthy of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote "The rumbling, churning electronic score by Ben Salisbury and Portishead's Geoff Barrow, who previously collaborated on the score to ''Ex Machina'', finds a path directly to the viewer's anxiety button and presses it incessantly."
Ann Hornaday Ann Hornaday is an American film critic. She has been film critic at ''The Washington Post'' since 2002 and is the author of ''Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies'' (2017). In 2008, she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ea ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' wrote the film's "meditative tone deepened by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury's counterintuitive score, composed largely of soothing acoustic guitar riffs, rather than the usual synthesized bloops and beeps." Kimberly Jones of ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'', reviewed that it "adds an emotional complexity with its mix of heartland guitar, spooky AF strings, and submerged-sounding synths." Julian Roman of ''
MovieWeb Valnet, Inc. is a Canadian media company established in August 2012 by Hassan and Sam Youssef in Montreal, Quebec. It operates primarily in the entertainment media industry, where it has sought to acquire producers of content in this space. In ...
'' called that the score was instrumental in building anxiety with the use of "odd sound effects, followed by guitar melodies to alternately creep; then lull before pivotal scenes. It's a winning combination that delivers some first-rate scares." Henry Stewart of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' wrote "Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury's score evokes that unsteady imbalance, mixing acoustic, finger-pickin' folk with dissonant droning, respectively evoking the organic and the inhuman."


Best-of lists

* 8th – David Ehrlich, '' IndieWire'' * 26th – Jeremy D. Larson, ''
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'' (top 50) * Honourable mention – Adam Chitwood, ''
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...
'' * Bilge Ebiri, ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
'' (sorted alphabetically) * Claire Lobenfeld and John Twells, ''
Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
'' (sorted alphabetically)


Controversy

On January 31, 2019, rapper
Lil Pump Gazzy Fabio Garcia (born August 17, 2000), known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as part of the SoundCloud rap scene in the late 2010s, gaining distinction for his minimalist music and rambunctious pu ...
released the single " Racks on Racks" from his second studio album '' Harverd Dropout'' (2019). Two days later, Barrow through his
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
(now X) account, accused him of sampling the track "The Alien" for the song "Racks on Racks" without his permission and also criticized the song for its sexist lyrics.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. * Ben Salisbury – composer, producer, guitar, percussion, electronics * Geoff Barrow – composer, producer, guitar, percussion, electronics * Jerry Crozier-Cole – guitar * Alison Garner – vocals * Charlotte Newstead – vocals * Judith Ogden – vocals * Chamber Orchestra of London – strings * RSVP Singers – choir * Elizabeth Purnell – orchestrator, conductor * Gareth Griffiths – contractor * Simon Ashdown – sound design * Stuart Mattews – recording * Nick Taylor – recording * James Trevascus – recording assistance * Adam Miller – recording assistance * Shawn Joseph – mastering * Rupert Coulson – mixing * Yann McCullough – music editor * Darrell Alexander – score coordinator * Jason Richmond – album coordinator * John Bergin – art direction * Brian McNelis – executive producer * Skip Williamson – executive producer * Scott Rudin – executive producer * Randy Spendlove – executive in charge of music


Accolades


Release history


References

{{reflist 2018 soundtrack albums Ben Salisbury soundtracks Geoff Barrow soundtracks Lakeshore Records soundtracks