I saw Sinners last night, and it fucking rips. Master director Ryan Coogler's first-ever fully original film, a vampire story where Coogler's regular collaborator Michael B. Jordan plays two twin-brother roles, has been a hugely anticipated event for a long time, and I can say that it lived up to all my expectations. (I took my kids, which might not have been the best idea, since that thing earns its R rating. We all had a great time, though, so fuck it.) The story is about two brothers who attempt to open a juke joint in '30s Mississippi, and it's way more focused on blues music that I realized. At some points, it's almost a muiscal. The soundtrack has to carry a lot of weight, and it delivers.
Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson has scored every one of Ryan Coogler's five movies. Coogler's feature debut, 2013's Fruitvale Station, was one of the first where Göransson was lead composer. Since then, Göransson has become one of the greatest general-consensus movie composers in Hollywood. He won his first Oscar for Coogler's Black Panther, and then he got another one for Oppenheimer. Göransson composed the Sinners score, and his work combines heavy orchestration with the blues traditions referenced throughout the picture. It sounds amazing on loud theater speakers, and it really drives the story. Another important force in the film is Miles Caton, a former H.E.R. backup singer who makes his acting debut in one of the film's most important roles. That guy is a discovery. He has to carry long stretches of the narrative, and you have to believe him as a transcendent young blues talent. He really sells it. Naturally, he's all over the soundtrack album.
Along with the movie itself, the Sinners score and soundtrack album are both out today. The soundtrack album is full of the actual songs in the movie, which draw from a multi-generational blues tradition. Many of the Sinners cast members, including part-time pop star Hailee Steinfeld, contribute to the soundtrack. So do musicians like Brittany Howard, James Blake, Rod Wave, Don Tolliver, and Rhiannon Giddens. Ludwig Göransson is a major presence on the soundtrack album, and he's also released the proper score. On that end, he gets help from Miles Caton, blues musicians like Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. Here's what Göransson says about his score.
I never imagined I’d score a film about a guitar player -- it hits close to home. My dad, a guitar teacher at the local school and a die-hard blues fanatic, put a guitar in my hands when I was six. If it were up to him, I’d be named Albert for Albert King, the legendary guitarist. The score I composed for Sinners is the most personal of my career. It’s a reflection of my own musical journey, told through the voice of the instrument that means the most to me. I perform it on a 1932 Dobro Cyclops resonator -- the very same guitar that Preacher Boy Sammie carries throughout the film.
I grew up with this music in my ear -- but as I spent time in the Delta, digging into the roots of the blues and the people who shaped it, I realized I’d only been scratching the surface. The fingerprints of the blues are present in virtually all popular music that has existed since, and we wanted the music of Sinners to reflect that. Beyond feeling raw and lived-in, we wanted it to be firmly rooted in its true origin story. We weren’t aiming for nostalgia; we wanted it to feel immediate. Much of the music was written and recorded on set during the shoot, with the cast and crew working alongside us. That process gave the film a sound that’s connected to the past, alive in the moment. This is the music story of Sinners.
I would encourage you to avoid playing the soundtrack until you've seen Sinners, and I would also encourage you to see Sinners as soon as possible. You can hear both the soundtrack and the score below.
