| Luca (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | June 18, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2020–2021 | |||
| Studio | Newman Scoring Stage | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 64:28 | |||
| Label | Walt Disney | |||
| Producer | Dan Romer | |||
| Pixar soundtrack chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Dan Romer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Luca (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is thesoundtrack album toDisney/Pixar's2021 film of the same name, produced byPixar Animation Studios and distributed byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The album, featuring original score composed byDan Romer, was released on theWalt Disney Records label on June 18, 2021, coinciding the same day as the film's streaming release onDisney+.[1] The film further includes Italian songs byMina,Edoardo Bennato,Gianni Morandi,Rita Pavone andQuartetto Cetra, and excerpts from operas byGiacomo Puccini andGioachino Rossini.
On April 1, 2021,Dan Romer was revealed to be the film's composer. Casarosa told in an interview toVariety, speaking that, he wanted a composer to score for "something off the beaten path, a little bit independent".[2] When he listened to Romer's scores forBeasts of the Southern Wild (2012) andWendy (2020), he roped in for the film as "there was something about his scores that said 'kids on an adventure ride" which had fit the theme forLuca.[2] Casarosa gave Romer a playlist consisting ofItalian music andfolk-pop from the1950 and1960s. Romer had said that "There's no doubt those songs influenced my writing. When I score a film that invokes the music of another culture, I like to dig in very deep and live and breathe that music so that it becomes second nature."[2]
Several instruments have been used while recording the score, includingaccordion,mandolin,acoustic guitar,pizzicato strings and so on, which are commonly found in contemporary Italian music.[3] Composing of the film, began on late-July 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown, and recording of the film score took place during mid-March, with Romer and team, adhering to the safety guidelines imposed to curb COVID-19 spread. A total of 82 musicians, performed the film score, with the orchestral play consisted ofstrings,brass,woodwind andpercussion sections. The mixing and mastering of the score also began the following month.[2]
Romer believed that, each kid has their own theme as the youngsters: Luca, Alberto and Giulia, dominate the story, he made sure that all three themes were harmonically compatible and could work in counterpoint during scenes that involved two or three at once. For the themes for Luca's parents, Romer used bass clarinet and tuba, as he felt "We thought it would be fun to have two low instruments that kind of bumbled back and forth [...] I ended up writing this rhythmic, melodic figure that was a call and response between the two instruments." The town ofPortorosso, where the entire film took place, is "the place, where they wanted to lean into the romantic Italian-score side".[3] Romer used Alberto's theme for the entitled sequel short filmCiao Alberto.[4]
He called the final minute of the score "Go Find Out for Me", as the most challenging as Romer had stated "We didn't really have a guide as far as what we wanted it to sound like. We weren't really sure about, not the style, but we weren't sure about really what the sounds should be like. It was a lot of experimentation, and then we landed on this thing that was like, okay, it just needs to keep growing and growing and growing and growing and growing and drove past the point where you think it would possibly grow, and then hit the resolution of it far later than you would expect it to."[5] He compared the score cue toRihanna's track "We Found Love" andWeezer's "Only in Dreams" as "The idea was to make a piece of music that just grew and grew and grew and grew, and you felt like, 'This isn't gonna grow more, this shouldn't happen,' then it keeps going until the very last second."[3]
Jonathan Broxton stated: "Luca is a terrific little score; it's a fun, light, optimistic, charming love letter toItalian folk music,Federico Fellini, andNino Rota, filled with heart and a sense of freedom and wonderment. It's also unexpectedly dense and impressively thematic, with Romer taking at least three major and three minor thematic ideas and playing them in a way which makes sense, and serves the story's dramatic needs."[6] Alex Reif fromLaughing Place reviewed "the score toLuca is lively and motivational, with occasional moments of somber melodies or frenzied action. Like the Pixar film, the score is unforgettable and easily gets stuck in your head. Whether you're trying to underscore your workday or just develop a deeper appreciation for Dan Romer's work on the film, you won't be disappointed by what the soundtrack has to offer."[7] A review fromIndieWire had stated "The first way thatLuca differentiates itself from the rest of the Pixar canon is with music. Thestaccato punctuation of Dan Romer's score immediately distances this from anything the studio has made before (despite a familiar underwater setting). The composer summons his signature tremble and swell to set the stage for a movie that eschews the vast adventure ofFinding Nemo (2003) for something more in-the-moment and driven by the capriciousness of youth."[8]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meet Luca" | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Did You Hide?" | 1:04 |
| 3. | "The Curious Fish" | 1:39 |
| 4. | "You Forgot Your Harpoon" | 0:39 |
| 5. | "Phantom Tail" | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Walking Is Just like Swimming" | 2:02 |
| 7. | "Vespa è libertà" | 1:42 |
| 8. | "You Hold the Ramp" | 0:59 |
| 9. | "Silenzio Bruno" | 0:41 |
| 10. | "That's the Dream" | 2:05 |
| 11. | "The Bottom of the Ocean" | 1:52 |
| 12. | "Take Me, Gravity" | 1:44 |
| 13. | "Portorosso" | 1:36 |
| 14. | "Signor Vespa" | 1:17 |
| 15. | "This Isn't Any Old Race" | 2:55 |
| 16. | "Buonanotte, Boys" | 1:27 |
| 17. | "Land Monsters Everywhere" | 0:55 |
| 18. | "Buongiorno Massimo" | 3:03 |
| 19. | "The Out of Town Weirdo Tax" | 1:48 |
| 20. | "Rules Are for Rule People" | 1:08 |
| 21. | "How Humans Swim" | 1:03 |
| 22. | "Not Our Kid" | 0:49 |
| 23. | "Telescope" | 2:46 |
| 24. | "Beyond the Solar System" | 1:02 |
| 25. | "We Don't Need Anybody" | 1:54 |
| 26. | "The Sea Monster" | 3:33 |
| 27. | "I Wish I Could Take It Back" | 4:01 |
| 28. | "The Portorosso Cup" | 7:34 |
| 29. | "How to Find the Good Ones" | 5:14 |
| 30. | "Go Find Out for Me" | 1:39 |
| Total length: | 64:28 | |
The film features Italian songs and opera arias including:[9]
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[10] | 15 |
| UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[11] | 23 |
| USBillboard 200[12] | 49 |
| USSoundtrack Albums (Billboard)[13] | 11 |