07/29/2020
Poul, a dear listener, wrote and asked if we had a chart so he could learn the piano theme from the new "Su***de Tourist" soundtrack album.
So, my brother Nikolaj (Hess) made one!
Feel free to try for yourself on the piano or other instrument maybe ?
In case you didn't hear the soundtrack yet, here's a useful link:
https://orcd.co/suicidetouristoriginalscore
That's really all you need to know, anyway, below is some more background if you're interested.
In the movie there are 3 different versions of this theme played on piano. Some places accompanied also by cello, synth and voices.
I had asked Nikolaj to come to the studio and help me record the piano parts, since he's a master pianist. Sitting by the gorgeous Steinway grand piano we went over the different movie sequences and the piano arrangements I had created in demo versions. (These sketches were created in close collaboration with amazing editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis).
After some while, we actually we ended up going with a solution where I played the piano themes myself, to keep the sort of raw innocence of my non-pianist playing style. Yet, quite importantly Nikolaj sat next to me for all these recordings and guided me on touch and technique throughout. It was all played while watching the movie in sync to try connect as much as possible with the nuances of flow and the performances from the actors.
When it came time to put together the soundtrack album I also really wanted to include Nikolaj's interpretation of the theme - so we went back into the studio, but this time with Nikolaj performing. We tried some different approaches, and finally I asked Nikolaj to play a version as if he was in a hotel lobby after closing - kind of just letting the impressions of the day run through the fingers. Also, we talked about a scene from a Duke Ellington documentary where Duke sits on stage after the big band gig and finds a moment to himself by the piano. Nikolaj did one take in this direction, and that's how the bonus track "Imaginary Pianist" came about.
All in all, it really came in handy to have a generous and genius / scenious brother like Nikolaj.
Also fun fact:
All the "non-score" background jazz music in the movie, for instance sounding in the restaurant, is performed as piano trio by Nikolaj (piano), AC (bass) and myself (drums). We created jazz interpretations of the main themes from the score, to further blur the outlines of reality. Like the music is spilling over from one world to another.
Ok, I could go on typing for hours about the process of creating this film score - maybe I will on day. Meanwhile, have fun with the piano chart!
Thanks!
Mikkel (Hess)
