Composer Ludwig Göransson used ancient Greek instruments

Composer Ludwig Göransson reunites with Christopher Nolan to compose the music for The Odyssey, marking their third collaboration after Tenet and Oppenheimer.

Earlier this year, Goransson showed off his use of heavy synth and guitar-based orchestration in his work on “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.” But with “Odyssey,” Göransson ventures into new territory.

Nolan instructed Göransson not to use an orchestra in the score. Goransson previously told Time magazine: “Orchestras didn’t exist at that time. … It was a challenge and the beginning of trying to create something unique.”

In a featurette accompanying the film, Nolan explained, “Even though it’s set in ancient Greece, we wanted this movie to feel like a world that people would recognize. We didn’t want it to look or feel like previous movies that featured this kind of classical world. What could we do to make it more timeless than that?”

Göransson was forced to step outside of his comfort zone and tackle sounds he had never worked with before.

The film is set in the Bronze Age, and Nolan suggested Göransson use bronze as a thematic element. Göransson borrowed 35 bronze gongs of various sizes and experimented with them. “I hit walls, I hit railings, I hit scrap metal, air conditioning units, everything outside,” he said. He also used a harp and aulos.

The score also features vocals, which Göransson said “adds an even more emotional tempo to the score.”

An original song, “When I’m Home,” written by James Blake, Travis Scott, Goransson, and Nolan, also appears on the film’s soundtrack.

Nolan’s films bring Homer’s classic stories to life. Damon plays the titular sailor hero. The film stars Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. Tom Holland plays his son Telemachus. Pattinson plays Ithacan suitor Antinous. Zendaya plays Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Charlize Theron plays Circe, the goddess of magic. The star-studded cast also includes Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Mia Goth, Jimmy Gonzalez, and Elliot Page.

The Odyssey is Nolan’s 13th feature film. He wrote the screenplay based on the ancient poem and co-produced it with Emma Thomas under their production company Syncopy. Universal Pictures is distributing the film.

Listen to the soundtrack below.