Tron: Legacy Soundtrack Preview Event
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A personal passion for electronic music led Kosinski to think of recruiting Daft Punk, the French duo consisting of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Kosinski first met with them over breakfast at the 101 Coffee Shop in Hollywood, where their year-long courtship and subsequent two-year-long working relationship on the film started. Bentley, who had worked with Kosinski on some prior projects, was also instrumental in bringing Daft Punk on board.
Much of the music was imagined before filming even began to take place. Armed with only the script and the original test teaser shown at Comic-Con in 2008, Daft Punk began to write. When Kosinski received the first 24-track demo, he immediately sat down and put on his headphones. Using the rating system on iTunes (one to five stars) he rated each track and made use of the comment section. He noted his thoughts and ideas on each tune and even gave some of them titles: “Light Cycles”, “Sirens”, Flynn’s Theme”, etc.
Scoring a film before footage is available, or even shot, is rare in the industry, but can prove to have its advantages. While filming a scene in the movie that takes place at the End Of Line club, “Our Cantina scene,” Kosinski laughed, he was able to have the actual song playing on set that will be playing during that point in the movie, allowing a true synchronization of movement. Kosinski noted that it did take a bit of persuasion to get Daft Punk to cameo in that scene, but as they were playing DJs dressed up as robots, it wasn’t a huge stretch for the mysterious duo.
If you’re expecting the soundtrack to be filled solely with the kind of fantastic dance tunes Daft Punk have become famous for, think again. The vision for the film shared by Kosinski and Bentley was to create a score that organically married orchestration with electronica. To achieve this marriage, Daft Punk were not initially intended to be the only composers.
Bentley fondly recalled taking them around to meet with A-List composers such as Hans Zimmer in attempts to decide who they would collaborate with in scoring the film. In the end, Daft punk decided they wanted to attempt the entire score themselves. Both Bentley and Kosinski had been so impressed with the duo’s meticulous, well-though out approach to everything they had done on the project so far that they agreed.
While they were in Los Angeles, Daft Punk put a room together at the old A&M Studios, now the Jim Henson Studios, to work on the score. Ultimately, however, they wanted to do the majority of their work in Europe. They eventually ended up recording with an 85 piece orchestra at London’s AIR Lyndhurst Studios, a vast, cathedral-like space. Kosinski spoke of working with them via the internet using a program “like iChat” to be virtually present at each recording session, able to give notes and continue immediate collaboration from over 5000 miles away.
Interspersed throughout the discussion, the attendees were treated to five cues from the film score. With their background firmly rooted in electronica it should come as no big shock that Daft Punk have a serious love affair with arpeggios. Some might find it surprising, however, to discover how enamored the duo has become with strings. Bass, cello, viola and violin figured prominently in the tracks presented, combining beautifully with the electronic instruments. Brass and woodwinds held fewer starring roles in what was heard, but their entrances and exits were made with considerable panache, their times in the spotlight no less dazzling.
These were the five cues previewed in the order that we heard them:
“Solar Sailer” - This was one of the first tracks Kosinski and Bentley heard. It starts off with a soothing repetitive baseline, looping synth arpeggios, joined by strings as the piece begins to rise. You can easily imagine yourself in the grid, soaring along a beam of energy. A beautifully ethereal piece that finally sets you down lightly as more synth arpeggios dribble away. The piece for this scene was rewritten, though both were recorded with the orchestra and Kosinski ended up switching back to this one at the last minute. Kosinski noted that because the change took place at the 11th hour the version heard may not be the one on the soundtrack, so keep an ear out for it in the film.
“Recognizer” - This is “The part of the movie where the 3-D really kicks in,” Kosinski said. The strings begin, impressing that you don’t quite know what’s going on - Tones that hit in large bursts as the tempo picks up supply an unsettling, ominous feeling. The brass comes in with crescendos into decrescendos, further evoking elements of danger. Soon woodwinds come to the party, adding a lighter, but no less perilous edge. A dark, sinister number that decrescendos to a single note at its conclusion.
“Adagio For Tron” - As one of his favorite pieces, Kosinski wanted to give some film background behind it without giving too much away. It accompanies the flashback sequence where Kevin Flynn tells the story of how he got to be where he is - the world of TRON. Extremely symphonic in nature, this piece allows you to realize what a command Daft Punk has of the orchestral and how they truly began to indulge it. A gorgeous narrative track that lends itself to storytelling.
“Disc Wars” - A bit more electronic in nature than the others heard thus far, this track gets your blood pumping with tribal-like drumbeats beneath low strings. The synth arpeggios start slow then increase in time and intensity with no change in the overall tempo. You can feel the adrenaline surge as though you are throwing, leaping and catching the discs yourself while the music intensifies, leaving you breathless as the tune fades down and finally exhales a lonely, high, bass (or possibly cello) note.
“Tron Legacy (End Titles)” - As the track commences, you think “Aha! This is what I expected from Daft Punk.” This is danceable electronica in all its grandeur. Soon, though, the orchestral elements sneak their way in, culminating in that marriage Kosinski and Bentley spoke about, making you ponder if Daft Punk will be continuing down this road in future album endeavors. Here’s to hoping, as it adds another layer to an already great band.
Beyond simply scoring, another goal Kosinski had for the film was to see the elements of sound design and music blurred together, having orchestral, electronic and granular layers. Many elements in the TRON world have their own, unique sounds: the hum of a lightcycle engine, the electronic buzz of a room. Kosinski has taken the sound emitted by these entities and tuned their frequencies to the same key as the music accompanying the scenes.
With the amount of buzz generated by this soundtrack, there was a rash of fake online “leaks” from those claiming to have everything from a single track to the final full score.
Aside from the headaches it must have caused, Kosinski found it flattering that people were so excited for the music to come out that they were creating tunes themselves. Bentley only half-joked that he thought Disney should release a companion disc to the soundtrack composed of the fake tracks, as some very good music was to be found there.
Kosinski recounted a message he received from Daft Punk’s Bangalter at one point during the process which said their hard drives had crashed, all the music was lost, and requesting that he send a hard copy of everything to an address in France. Kosinski immediately called Bangalter, who replied, “What are you talking about?” Hmm …I guess you can’t blame a desperate fan for trying.
The soundtrack will be released on December 7 and “TRON: Legacy” hits theaters December 17.
KCRW is now offering the preview event in its entirety - the discussion with Bentley and Kosinski as well as the exclusive track previews. Click here to view.
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-- Posted November 30, 2010