It’s not often I get the chance to write music for a project that’s in pre-production, so when I was approached to do exactly that for a Crime Thriller set in Nigeria, I said yes.
The director asked for something that hit a couple key points:
1.) A kind of nervous tension
2.) Incorporating rhythms used in Nigerian music
3.) A lyrical melody that evokes a sense of rest.
And so I set off to write a piece with these goals in mind. It starts off with some edgy cello improvisation, transitions into a Nigerian rhythmic line in the percussion, and then concludes with the main theme being hummed lyrically by a solo vocalist.
One of the coolest parts of writing this track was the research I got to do on Nigerian pop and rap music to see what kind of contemporary feel I could bring to the percussive pulse that drives the piece.
If you’re curious about some of the tracks I listened to, check out “Bank Alert” by PSquare, which - in addition to being insanely catchy - also features a pretty complicated rhythm under the whole thing:
It’s always a pleasure when I have the chance to learn something new while working on a project. In this case, I was exposed to a world of new music that I can use as rhythmic inspiration. I can’t wait to incorporate some of these cool polyrhythms in future projects.
As always, happy listening!
- Matthew
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