If French electronic band Daft Punk composed the soundtrack for American science fiction movie ‘Tron: Legacy’, French electronic band M83 will score the upcoming American science fiction film ‘Oblivion’,… do I see a trend? Yes, and it is not totally surprising since, according to the Playlist, both films are directed by Joseph Kosinski.
M83’s last album ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’ has received a critical acclaim and a real success in the US with many sold out shows all over the country, and a headlining spot at the next FYF Fest. This next step seems to be a major one for Anthony Gonzalez and his wide-screen-ready music, especially because 'Oblivion' is the new thriller of mega-star-divorcee-to-be Tom Cruise.
In November 2011, Gonzalez says to Exclaim that the album was ‘written like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie with different ambiances, different atmospheres, different tempos, different orchestrations and different instrumentation…’ so needless to say this must be a dream comes true for him. As a matter of fact he declared to The Playlist:
‘I've wanted to do soundtracks for so long, and starting with such an ambitious project, especially in the sci-fi category, means a lot to me.’
‘I'm not afraid to do my first soundtrack on a big Hollywood movie, with a big budget and a lot of pressure…I like challenges and it excites me more than frightens me. I can't wait to hear my music played by amazing musicians, and an orchestra and brass and maybe choirs. It's a chance to create something big and I'm ready for it.’
This is a confident guy, there is no doubt about that, he has recently moved to LA and totally embraced the Hollywood dream, as he added:
‘I'm always trying to push myself and I try to do it with my studio albums, and now this is a new adventure, so I'm going to push myself even harder, and try to surprise people and move people with my music. My vision is really to have a combination of very electronic moments, very M83, and sometimes merge into something more soundtrack-y, but my kind of soundtracks.’
And the movie? It seems to be this predictable kind of mega-budget-non-sense about yes, another post-apocalypse future, with a hero figure who naturally saves humanity. This is how the Playlist summarizes it:
‘On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. Living and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.’
Will this vision fit M83’s electro-shoegaze? May be, but it just seems to totally fit that of a scientologist, and in any case Tom Cruise is gonna need all that blockbuster money to pay his expensive child support.