The creative hurdle with this score was immediate: the filmmakers had edited their entire cut to a temporary placeholder track. When a timeline is built around a specific piece of music for weeks, replacing that familiar energy is incredibly difficult. My brief was to capture the tempo, pulse, and underlying vibe they had grown attached to, while delivering a completely original composition.
To achieve this, I locked into the exact tempo of the original edit and built a hypnotic backbone: a minimal, raw, chugging electronic beat that mirrors the constant movement of the road. To lean into a late-1970s electronics feel, I used the soft analogue hiss of a Roland CR-78 drum machine’s high-hat circuit to drive the track forward. At specific breakout moments, I also sampled mechanical indicator clicks, weaving real automotive textures into the spaces in the rhythm.
Once that structural foundation was solid, I stepped away from the reference track entirely to let the music find its own space. Instead of a linear progression, I introduced a shift in the centre of the film.
The electronic pulse drops back to make way for an organic, orchestral string arrangement. Rather than building a massive swell, I kept the strings understated and slightly melancholic, mirroring the bleak overhead landscapes before dropping back into the driving electronic rhythm.
The project is currently in the final stages of post-production, with the visual edit being fine-tuned directly to the pacing and atmosphere of the finished score. I expect to share the locked film here on the website in the coming weeks.
