by Ben Hogwood, from the press release
Today, Glasgow-based cellist, composer, and producer Oliver Coates releases his original score for Pillion, the acclaimed directorial debut from filmmaker Harry Lighton. The soundtrack’s physical release will coincide with the film’s US distribution in February, 2026 via A24.
Based on Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 novel Box Hill and starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, the British queer romantic comedy-drama film premiered in May at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Un Certain Regard’s Best Screenplay prize alongside nominations for the Caméra d’Or and the Queer Palm. Pillion most recently won Best Independent British Film, Best Debut Screenwriter, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hair Design at the BIFAs, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay at the Gotham Awards. The film is currently screening in UK theaters and is releasing February 6, 2026 in the US.
The score is romantic and melancholic, with wide-spaced music-hall melodies and rich harmonies. Piano-driven compositions are accompanied by spacey synth flourishes and haunting vocals from chrysanthemum bear, Nick Roder, and acclaimed Danish artist ML Buch. The rumbling and leather of distorted experimental cello techniques were the starting point – a granular imitation of bike engines.
Recording between Glasgow and Copenhagen, before final mixing by Christopher Elms in London, what results is a romantic electro-classical soundtrack (including a synth rendition of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie no.1) that feels akin to flying down an open road on a speeding bike.
Speaking on the score, Coates shares: “The score of Pillion came together with the brilliant shaping of director Harry Lighton, as we navigated rumbling time-stretched cello drones through to music-hall romance and bittersweet leaping melodies. There are many different keys, synths, voices and strings which swell and pulse to maximise a radiant sense of comedy mingling with melancholy. There were invaluable musical contributions from ML Buch on vocals, Lena Douglas on pianos, chrysanthemum bear and Nick Roder also on vocals, Tom Lessels and Kathryn Williams on woodwinds.”
Pillion follows Coates’ 2024 solo album Throb, shiver, arrow of time (RVNG Intl), which drew attention from Pitchfork, The Quietus, The Guardian, and more, as well as his celebrated scores for Aftersun (Charlotte Wells), The Stranger (Thomas Wright), and Occupied City (Steve McQueen), among other films.
Coates’ collaborative nature has led him to move fluidly between the roles of composer, performer, musician, and producer. Alongside his solo work, he is active across experimental, classical, and popular music, contributing to acclaimed live and recorded projects with Mica Levi, Arca, Dean Blunt, Jonny Greenwood, Malibu, and Joanne Robertson.
Listen to previews from the soundtrack at Boomkat, with the physical release due in February 2026 via A24 Music.
Published post no.2,746 – Friday 12 December 2025
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source arcana.fm ’
