Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe’s full soundtrack for the forthcoming film adaptation of Candyman is set to be released this month.
The film, which debuts in cinemas on August 27, is directed by Nia DaCosta and was co-written by Jordan Peele. It’s described as the "spiritual sequel" to the 1992 Bernard Rose-directed horror film of the same name. Lowe says he aimed to nod to the original’s score by Philip Glass with his soundtrack, and he also used electronics, strings and field recordings in spaces where the film was shot to "create sounds that have a distinct familiarity, but utilise instruments that were not expected."
Lowe continues: "Also, I would consider the importance of the Blackness and the Black experience in the story. Understanding as a Black artist the pain and trauma of history for Black bodies. I was thinking about legend and ghosts. I was considering not only the viewpoint of the characters in the film and the struggle to navigate this world but also the history of Daniel Roubataille and his ancestors.
"I considered the history of slave trade on the western coast of Africa that brought Robitaille’s ancestors, all of our ancestors here. I would not only focus on the terror, but the nuance of emotions and offer up that complex energy."
Lowe will debut the score in a live setting at this October’s Unsound in Kraków, backed by musicians Matthew Morandi, Randall Dunn, Brent Arnold, Hubert Zemler, Resina and Kraków’s Spółdzielnia Muzyczna Contemporary Ensemble.
Waxwork Records will release Candyman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on August 27, 2021.
