After a brief hiatus, The Film Scorer podcast returns with guest Nitin Sawhney! Nitin and I originally planned just on discussing his latest score, which is for the film What’s Love Got to Do with It? but coincidentally timed the interview to coincide with the announcement of his next album, “Identity”. As such, we start off by discussing his new album and the recently released single, “Darling Boy”, which features vocals from Guy Garvey and lyrics that Garvey used to sing as a lullaby to his then-newborn son. We then dig into Nitin’s fascinating hybrid score for What’s Love Got to Do with It?, which mixes traditional modern romantic elements, fairy tale motifs, and Indian classical music; it’s a combo I’ve certainly never heard. In relation to the score, Nitin discusses the relatively identical nature of Indian and Pakistani classical music, the line between culture appropriation and appreciation in music, and collaborating with Naughty Boy, and legendary Qawwali singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Nitin’s career, both as a solo artist and a media composer, has been filled with collaborations and features, and What’s Love Got to Do with It? is no exception; in addition to the filmmakers, Naughty Boy, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nitin worked with Joy Crookes, Kanika Kapoor, Billy Khan, and Lily James. He’s chosen to be thoughtful and deliberate when deciding with whom he wants to collaborate, telling me “I’m quite careful to make sure I don’t pick films or projects that are going to put me in conflict with myself or anyone else”.
You can find out more about Nitin on his website. What’s Love Got to Do with It? is in theaters in the UK, Nitin’s score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms and his new album “Identity” is forthcoming (though you can listen to the single, “Darling Boy”, here).
Have a listen to our conversation below or wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts). Enjoying these interviews? Show the love by subscribing and leaving a rating or review!
About What’s Love Got to Do with It?
“How do you find lasting love in today’s world? For documentary-maker and dating app addict Zoe (Lily James), swiping right has only delivered an endless stream of Mr Wrongs, to her eccentric mother Cath’s (Emma Thompson) dismay. For Zoe’s childhood friend and neighbor Kaz (Shazad Latif), the answer is to follow his parents’ example and opt for an arranged (or “assisted”) marriage to a bright and beautiful bride from Pakistan. As Zoe films his hopeful journey from London to Lahore to marry a stranger, chosen by his parents, she begins to wonder if she might have something to learn from a profoundly different approach to finding love.” Courtesy of Mercury Classics.
About the score, Nitin explains: “The music was really about finding a vocabulary . . It’s a complex film in one way, but it’s simple in another. It has a lot of different cultural influences that needed to be balanced in the right way. I think the whole film is about coming to terms with, and reconciling, identity which is something that anyone of Asian heritage who’s grown up in the UK is very aware of . . . it was also a process that evolved around the emotions and psychology of the characters. The music effectively became their story, the love story. It developed with the understanding and the confidence of the narrative and characters.”
