(MUSE) TWILIGHT: “TRASHY FILMS, GOOD MUSIC...”

NME

29th May 2010

With Muse, Battles, Fanfarlo and others releasing new music on Twilight’s newly announced soundtrack, Dan Martin investigates how the films are changing the game for music fans

Earnest mathrockers Battles aren’t an easy fit with vampire-chastity metaphor and film series Twilight. And a Bombay Bicycle Club fan would probably watch True Blood instead. Yet, incredibly, both bands, along with Metric and tiny London Fanfarlo, feature on the soundtrack album to the new instalment, Eclipse, out on June 7th. 

  Ever since Paramore broke big on the first movie with ‘Decode’, the soundtrack series has taken on a life of its own that is infinitely cooler and edgier than the books and Robert Pattinson-starring films they promote. Artists have long come up with new material for movie soundtracks, but where this has recently meant new 

Linkin Park runes for Transformers, coaxing exclusives out of artists of this calibre is unprecedented - for New Moon, that ultimate icon of integrity Thom Yorke donated ‘Hearing Damage’. And, for the third movie, the producers have got new material out of Muse and The Dead Weather - hardly bands who need a vampiric payday.

  The irony is not lost on Fanfarlo’s Simon Balthazar. In contributing new track ‘Atlas’, his band are well aware that this alone could mean the difference between the big time and the dumper. “There’s this whole weird phenomenon where they’re trashy films,” he admits, “but they’re trashy films with really good soundtracks. We’ve turned a lot of other stuff down, but I feel like we’re in good company.”

  The first Twilight soundtrack sold 3 million copies, dwarfing the performance of other movie soundtracks and most of the featured bands. That makes music supervisors Paul Katz and Alexandra Patsavas two of the most powerful A&Rs in the biz. Alexandra claims there’s no cynicism in getting credible bands on board. “We have forward-thinking directors and they have a progressive music taste,” she outlines. “It’s completely natural.”

  Although Paul Katz is British, he insists it’s coincidence that UK acts such as Bombay Bicycle Club feature. “It’s about the best piece of music for the scene,” he says. “But we do like the role of introducing new acts. We’ve got Muse, but then there’s Metric, who are maybe not as well known, and then we have Eastern Conference Champions, who we’ll be introducing.”

  Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig won’t be queuing for a cinema ticket when the film's out, but says he had a good reason to donate their track ‘Jonathan Low’, “People have asked us, ‘Do you feel like you predicted the vampire trend by naming your band?" We said, ‘No no no’, but, as time’s gone on, the best thing we could do is embrace it.” He also pointed out that, for fans, the chance to get a new song between albums is pretty sweet. “When it comes to our own album it’s a laborious process. Things like this are a low-pressure chance to do something different.”

  For Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo Green, Eclipse gives him a chance to tease his forthcoming solo album ‘Lady Killer' with the track ‘What Part Of Forever'. “We all know that a vampire’s life goes on forever and we would like to believe in the fairytale of a love that could go on forever if life could as well ” he explained. “It’s a love song with a rebel soul, there was a like-mindedness with that which fitted perfectly."

  The Muse single 'Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)' inhabits those same themes, but Alexandra insists she's just not after songs about vampires. "We're not looking for spot-on lyrical references. The surest way not to make it would be to write a song that mentions character names, but at the same time it needs to allude to what's going on." 

Paul Katz adds, “Yes, there are vampires around, but that’s not what the stories are about, they’re about unrequited love, loss and romance.” Alexandra admits, though, that soundtracking Eclipse brought with it a different challenge. “This is the battle movie,” she says, “so there should be some conflict in the music and some dissonance, so we have a band like The Dead Weather in there.”

  The soundtracks may have set a new standard and changed indie politics, but Cee-Lo reckons it’s events coming back round again. “Once, you would always have a film with someone just as cool doing the music ” he considers. “It goes back to Curtis Mayfield doing Superfly or James Brown doing Black Caesar or Christopher Cross doing Arthur. There was a time when nobody wanted music to be anything less than great”