Acclaimed for film scoring in the past 15 years, Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has recently become the trusted go-to collaborator for director Denis Villeneuve and his stunning pictures, 2013's Prisoners and 2015's Sicario.
Now they have delivered their third collaboration, the sci-fi movie Arrival.
It should be noted foremost that Jóhannsson approached the score in a traditional way, recording everything with session musicians in assorted rooms, using the effect of layering to create texture with little use of sequencers, and relying on the processing of acoustics as opposed to digital manipulation.
The move has proven to be a bold one, as the score is an entirely unique contribution to the story that it's soundtracking.
The opening title track sets the tone, consisting of layer upon layer of piano drones that mesh between one another, some slightly higher in pitch than others, building to one of the most gradual, ominous crescendos you've ever heard.
"Heptapod B" introduces the first taste of vocal manipulation.
Recorded with vocal ensemble Theatre of Voices, indistinct voices segue, meld, and layer upon one another as distant, rumbling percussion and reverberated bass wash around the central theme.
"Sapir-Whorf" largely consists of the same vocals, while urgent violas cut in, giving us Jóhannsson's signature use of discordant bass tones, something that the composer has always done magnificently, transforming a stringed instrument into something that is effectively utilized as percussion.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ArrivalJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 12 MB |
| 2 | Heptapod BJoan La Barbara, Jóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Sapir-WhorfJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:16 | 2 MB | 6 MB |
| 4 | Hydraulic LiftJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| 5 | First EncounterJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 04:49 | 11 MB | 13 MB |
| 6 | Transmutation at a DistanceJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:34 | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| 7 | Around-the-Clock NewsJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:34 | 3 MB | 5 MB |
| 8 | XenolinguisticsJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| 9 | UltimatumJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:52 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 10 | Principle of Least TimeJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:20 | 3 MB | 4 MB |
| 11 | HazmatJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 04:48 | 11 MB | 19 MB |
| 12 | Hammers and NailsJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 02:31 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 13 | XenoanthropologyJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 13 MB |
| 14 | Non-Zero-Sum GameJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 16 MB |
| 15 | EscalationJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 02:02 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 16 | DecypheringJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 02:05 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 17 | One of TwelveJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 13 MB |
| 18 | RiseJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 01:47 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 19 | KangaruJóhann Jóhannsson | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 20 | Properties Of Explosive Material | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 13 MB |
| 56 mins | 129 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 237 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Simon Ashdown | Sound Design |
| 2 | Signe Asmussen | Soprano (Vocal) |
| 3 | Christian Badzura | Executive in Charge of Music |
| 4 | Joan La Barbara | Composer |
| 5 | Phillip Barth | Synthesizer Programming |
| 6 | Paul Bentley | Tenor (Vocal) |
| 7 | Thomas Bryla | Orchestration |
| 8 | Ellen Marie Brink Christensen | Alto (Vocals) |
| 9 | City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra | Orchestra |
| 10 | Paul Corley | Mixing Engineer |
| 11 | Francesco Donadello | Engineer |
| 12 | Hildur Guðnadóttir | Cello, Dorophone, Vocals |
| 13 | Jakob Soelberg Hammershøj | Bass (Vocal) |
| 14 | Paul Hillier | Chorus Master |
| 15 | Rutger Hoedemaekers | Programming |
| 16 | Jan Holzner | Engineer |
| 17 | Michael Hradisky | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Tim Husom | Composer's Assistant |
| 19 | Preben Iwan | Engineer |
| 20 | Jakob Bloch Jespersen | Bass (Vocal) |
| 21 | Jóhann Jóhannsson | Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Loop, Mixing Engineer, Orchestration, Primary Artist, Producer, Programming, Sound Design |
| 22 | Sam Jones | Orchestration |
| 23 | Vitek Kral | Assistant Engineer |
| 24 | Daniel Kresco | Mixing Engineer |
| 25 | Dan Levine | Executive Soundtrack Producer |
| 26 | Shawn Levy | Executive Soundtrack Producer |
| 27 | David Linde | Executive Soundtrack Producer |
| 28 | Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe | Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 29 | Kristin Mulders | Alto (Vocals) |
| 30 | Ólafur Björn Ólafsson | Engineer, Percussion |
| 31 | Leonie Petersen | Project Manager |
| 32 | Jason Richmond | Soundtrack Coordination |
| 33 | Owen Roberts | Arranger |
| 34 | Aaron Ryder | Executive Soundtrack Producer |
| 35 | Jens Schünemeyer | Booklet Editor |
| 36 | Will Slater | Sound Design |
| 37 | Randy Spendlove | Executive in Charge of Music |
| 38 | Colin Stetson | Lyricon, Saxophone |
| 39 | Lucie Svehlová | Concert Master |
| 40 | Theatre of Voices | Choir/Chorus |
| 41 | Else Torp | Soprano (Vocal) |
| 42 | Denis Villeneuve | Executive Soundtrack Producer |
| 43 | Chris Watson | Tenor (Vocal) |
| 44 | Anthony Weeden | Conductor, Orchestration |
| 45 | Rick Vincent Will | Studio Assistant |
| 46 | Adam Wiltzie | Guitar |
| 47 | Elenor Wiman | Alto (Vocals) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |