Vishal Bhardwaj composed the film soundtrack and score, with lyrics written by his norm lyricist Gulzar.[1] To make the film realistic, Bhardwaj used a live orchestra in recording the songs instead of using junior artists playing musicians.[2][3] The film score was recorded at theAbbey Road Studios inLondon performed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra.[4] ActressLekha Washington had wrote lyrics for two English songs, "Be Still" and "Shimmy Shake", in her maiden songwriting stint.[1]
The album was preceded by the song "Bloody Hell" which released in a music video format on 11 January 2017.[5][6] The soundtrack was released throughT-Series on 18 January.[1]
Vipin Nair ofThe Hindu noted that Bhardwaj and Gulzar's collaboration had "always reserved its best for [the latter] own movies" and felt Rangoon to be "another such work of brilliance".[7] Manish Gaekwad ofScroll.in noted that the soundtrack "bear[s] Bhardwaj’s indelible stamp" with him experimenting with several musical styles and genres as well as Gulzar aiding him through the lyrics which are "equally dazzling and overwhelming at times". He concluded that the album "requires repeat listening to catch up with the composer-lyricist duo who stridently march to their own beats."[8]
Karthik Srinivasan ofMilliblog reviewed, "Vishal at his usual, unorthodox best inRangoon."[9] Ashwin Vinayan ofDeccan Chronicle wrote "Vishal has reiterated once again, why he’s amongst the best musicians the industry has hosted" calling the album "worth savouring".[10] Joginder Tuteja ofBollywood Hungama noted that though it takes time to get used to the period-era soundscape, it becomes immersive when listened on loop further adding that "this one is set to find greater appreciation after it has been seen and heard in the film."[11]
Swetha Ramakrishnan ofFirstpost added that the soundtrack "has something for every kind of listener" and would work for avid listeners of Bhardwaj's music.[12] However, Suanshu Khurana ofThe Indian Express felt that the music "lack[ed] the gloriousness the past records by this lyricist-composer duo has had" which led to the album being "acceptable, just not edgy enough".[13] Uday Bhatia ofMint wrote "The music, by Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar, has old-timey touches but makes no real effort to sound as if it’s from that era".[14]
Violins: Natalia Bonner, Emil Chakalov, Frances Dewar, Alison Dods, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Lousia Fuller, Richard George, Ian Humphries, Patrick Kieman, Boguslaw Kosteeki, Jenny Lewisohn, Perry Montague-Mason, Steve Morris, Tom Pigott-Smith, Warren Zielinski
Violas: Max Baillie, Nick Barr, Bruce White
Cellos: Ian Burdge, Nick Cooper, Martin Loveday, Chirs Worsey
Double bass: Richard Pryee, Chris Laurence
Trumpets: John Barclav, Tom Rees-Roberts
French Horns: Richard Bissill, Philip Eastop, Martin Owen, Laurence Davies
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