Dan Deacon has been in soundtrack mode for many years. Last year, he worked on the music for the HBO detective series Task, starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey. Now, he’s pivoting to a more light-hearted project, the Netflix film Little Brother, starring John Cena, Michelle Monaghan and Eric André. Along with today’s announcement of the soundtrack comes the single “Brothers,” which features André.
“Brothers” begins as a funky, wormy track. But then it blossoms with a lush orchestra treatment. As far as soundtracks go, it’s fun. It nearly sounds like an updated version of Sims music (not derogatory). Also turns out André, who just released his orchestral Blarf album Film Scores For Films That Don’t Exist, is featured on upright bass.
Deacon shared some insight on making the music:
The Little Brother score had to cover a ton of ground, shifting on a dime from comedic beats to surreal chaos and tear-jerking tenderness. Thematically, the score has to keep us on board with John Cena’s Rudd during his Kafkaesque nightmare and meet the spontaneity and chaos of Eric André’s Marcus, all while keeping us within the emotional through-lines. It was a really fun challenge to find the right themes, sounds, and vibes for the story that was always in tune with the performances.
“Blending a live orchestra of strings, woodwinds, and brass with percussion and electronics created a sonic palette that becomes a through-line for the film. The highlight of the recording sessions was having Eric André play upright bass on the score. Watching him channel his signature energy into a classical instrument was pure joy. He brought raw energy. Sampling his voice for the loops in the main theme opened up the piece, letting me explore it more, like one of my album tracks.
Listen below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Brothers“ feat. Eric André
02 “Escapes“
03 “Rudd“
04 “Marcus“
05 “Upping the Game“
06 “Sex on Car“
07 “Sneaks“
08 “Acceptance Speech“
09 “Shamed Apology“
10 “Brothers For Life“
11 “The Extended Pee-Pee Scene“
12 “Up The Stairs – Producers Phone“
13 “Mia Pep Talk“
14 “Emergency Trach – Marcus Is a Hero“
15 “Rudd Slow“
16 “Josh“
17 “Porsche Scratch“
Little Brother is out 6/26. Pre-order here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source stereogum.com ’
