When you talk about the best film composers working today, you always hear about those legendary folks like John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Yes, they are two people that will undoubtedly go on the Mt. Rushmore of film music, if one of those ever gets built. But in 2021, if you want to find a great score for a project just by name only, you absolutely need to listen to anything by Nicholas Britell. And a great place to start would be with his music for Barry Jenkins’ latest project, “The Underground Railroad.”
Previously, Jenkins and Britell have collaborated on “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” which both earned the composer Oscar nominations. But with “The Underground Railroad,” Britell had the monumental task of creating music for a 10-episode TV series, which is a huge task for anyone who is used to working in the medium of 2-hour filmmaking. And thus, you’re left with scores that span multiple Volumes of releases.
Thankfully, Lakeshore Records is following up the release of “The Underground Railroad Vol. 1” with two more albums of Britell’s incredible music. And with the release of Volumes 2 and 3 coming soon, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive peek at two tracks from the albums. For those not aware, “The Underground Railroad” is a series written and directed by Jenkins and tells the story of a young woman, Cora, that is attempting to escape the antebellum South and finds the literal Underground Railroad (not just a metaphor) as she searches for freedom.
READ MORE: Barry Jenkins Hasn’t Let Go Of ‘Underground Railroad’ Yet [Interview]
Speaking about the upcoming volumes of music for the Amazon series, Britell said, “The scale of ‘The Underground Railroad’ is immense. Over 20 months, Barry and I worked to craft a set of musical landscapes to weave into Cora’s epic story. Volumes 2 and 3, combined with the previously released Volume 1, reflect the full scope of our musical journey together for the show.”
“The Underground Railroad” is available now on Amazon Prime Video, and Volume 2 and Volume 3 of the score, released by Lakeshore Records, will be available digitally on May 28. You can hear the two exclusive preview tracks below:
Track List Volume 2
- The Freedom Trail
- Ethel / No Choice
- Come Down Here (feat. David Hughey)
- Louisa
- Petrified
- House of Baal
- Cicada Spirit (Foundation Track)
- It Must Be Searched
- The Great Spirit
- Portrait of Cora Randall (Foundation Track)
- Asgardsreien
- Found Him
- TCA (Early Sketch)
- Searching in B Minor (Foundation Track)
- Exodus
- Lovey
- Somewhere Up There
- I’m Free
- Throw Me Anywhere, Lord (feat. Joe Solomon) [Early Sketch]
- That’a Girl
- Fire for the Kindling
- In Aeternum
- The Gospel of Jasper
- Manifest
- Deliverance
- Emma Jane
Track List Volume 3
- Fanny Briggs (feat. Julia Bullock)
- Fireflies
- Cut of Yo’ Jib
- The Pursuit of Happiness
- Fellowship
- Apollonian Embers
- Valentine Trio No. 2
- Welcome to Your Future
- A Man About A Horse
- Cora
- Ain’t Nothing in this World Black Folk Can’t Do
- Descending Piece
- Next
- As Long As You Need
- Royal Gone
- Shame
- I Am (Reprise)
- Three Banjos
- Last Rites
- Telegram
- Revelations
- Partum
- Ghost Tunnel
- Legacy
- The Journey (Reprise)
- Caesar’s Theme (feat. David Hughey) [Foundation Track]
