The sibling composer pair Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna bring some considerable talent to the table. The former is regular collaborator with Canadian auteur filmmaker Atom Egoyan, and took home an Oscar for his work on Ang Lee‘s "Life Of Pi." The latter also has had a long and varied career, creating works for both television and movies. Together, they’ve worked on films like "Lakeview Terrace" and "Tideland," and the latest effort to combine their powers is the FX series "Tyrant," and today we have an exclusive listen of the show’s title theme.
The drama centers on the youngest son of a war-torn country’s controversial dictator, who returns to his homeland after a self-imposed 20-year exile in America, only to be forced back into the treacherous familial and national politics of his youth. And the milieu provides plenty of musical opportunities for the Dannas to explore.
“We were initially attracted to be involved in scoring the music for ‘Tyrant’ by the fabulous Middle Eastern setting, and collision of cultures, which is always an inspiring place for music to live. The setting in the Arab world, and the epic nature of the storyline meant that we could combine both Arabic instruments: santoor, ney, kanun, oud, kamaan, … and the sweep of symphonic strings. It was very important to us that we honor the on-screen visual scope with real instruments: these would not be synthetic mockups but we would, every week, record real Arabic instruments, as well as a 44-piece orchestra," the composers told us. "Possibly a crazy concept on a television schedule, especially one that is shot on the other side of the world, but it was something we were committed to making work. A ‘Main Title’ is always a place where we frame the atmosphere and parameters that the storytelling will live in, a sound that signals the unique blend of elements that is ‘Tyrant.’ ”
The second season of "Tyrant" is now airing, and the soundtrack is available to purchase starting today. Listen below.