Dredd Soundtrack Samples by Paul Leonard-Morgan

Metropolis Movie Music gives us a glimpse into composer Paul Leonard-Morgan's latest original score for DREDD.  The original soundtrack will release in digital format on September 3 with the physical release following one week later on September 10.

DREDD starring Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremecy, Lord Of The Rings), Olivia Thirlby (Juno) and Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) was written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine).  Garland also produced the film alongside Andrew Macdonald (Sunshine, Trainspotting) and Allon Reich (Never Let Me Go).  DREDD was directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point). DREDD (3D) will be released in the UK on September 7.

Paul Leonard-Morgan is best known for his score for last year’s box office No 1 hit Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist).  This soundtrack earned him a nomination for the prestigious World Soundtrack Discovery Award. Previously he had been the composer for the BBC’s award-winning drama Spooks.  Leonard-Morgan was also honoured by the US Olympic Committee when chosen to compose the official US Olympic Team Anthem (previously scored by John Williams) and was also commissioned to compose the music for the official launch ceremony of The Freedom Towers, the iconic designs which will eventually replace the Twin Towers at Ground Zero.

Speaking about the soundtrack, composer Paul Leonard-Morgan said: “From a music point of view, I wanted to create a sound which fitted a future set in 100 years time, so traditional orchestra was out of the question. I started off doing some band-based stuff, but it felt too safe and overly-produced, so I ended up going down a really electronic vibe - taking all my 80’s synths and present day sound modules, creating some really screwed up sounds and putting them through countless distortion and fx pedals. I was looking to create a timeless score which couldn’t be placed in any particular era. So it’s ended up being a cross between a modern dance track and evocative soundscapes.”

For the slo-mo music, I used this incredible new timestretch software called Paul. I composed and recorded new tracks with real instruments, and then slowed them down by thousands of percent to match the vibe of the visuals, adding some realtime score over the top of it. So 1 second of written score could end up lasting 10 minutes. It sounds weird, but it creates some truly beautiful sounds. Really ethereal. It takes you to a completely different world. Getting to do experimental things like this in a film score isn’t something that happens every day, so it was really exciting pushing back the boundaries.”

You can find out more about DREDD and Paul Leonard-Morgan below:

Movie Website: http://dreddthemovie.com
Movie Trailer:  http://www.entertainmentfilms.co.uk/node/1302/trailer/l/8061
PLM  Website: http://www.paulleonardmorgan.com/