Cannes

Soundtrack The Neon Demon

Cliff Martinez schreef geen traditionele score voor deze film. Dat komt misschien doordat hij ooit meedraaide in de punkwereld. Hij gebuikt moderne klanken bij vaak donkere en psychologische films zoals Pump Up The Volume, The Limey, Wicker Park en Drive. Hij is als muzikant bekend door het manipuleren van geluid, vooral dat van percussiewerk. Zijn techniek is geëvolueerd doorheen de jaren. Zelf omschrijft hij het als ‘rhythmi-tizing pitched, ambient textures’ die vooral in Narc tot uiting komen.

Wie vertrouwd is met het werk van Cliff Martinez, weet dat de componist een heel specifieke stijl heeft. Eentje die doorheen de jaren nogal repetitief was verspreid over verschillende films en soundtracks. De vraag is dan ook of Martinez nog muzikaal uitdagend uit de hoek kan komen? Terwijl “Neon Demon” uit mijn hoofdtelefoon weergalmt, durf ik ja zeggen. De beats bonken stevig tijdens dit nummer waarbij je allerlei kleurrijke taferelen inbeeldt. De soundtrack werd bekroond tijdens de Filmfestival van Cannes. De fans schaffen zich best zeker de plaat aan.

Didier Van Hoorebeke – supercalifragilistic.be

Beauty Is Currency: An Interview with Elle Fanning, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Cliff Martinez

The Neon Demon actress, director, and composer exorcise the film’s themes.

A former drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Captain Beefheart, and Lydia Lunch, the 62-year-old composer initially broke into film after scoring Steven Soderbergh’s 1989 breakthrough indie hit, sex, lies, and videotape, a partnership that’s continued ever since and ultimately led to his latest ventures with Refn.
The Neon Demon marks their third collaboration together — fourth, if you count Liv Corfixen’s My Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn — and Martinez’s compositions have certainly added a flavorful touch to Refn’s stoic ouevre. In a way, each score serves as a ghostly narrator, haunting the filmmaker’s trademark long shots with an ambient glaze that’s meditative and comforting.

Read the full article and interview by Michael Roffman at Consequence of Sound

Cannes 2016 – The Neon Demon : La nouvelle marque de NWR

La bande-son est aussi une perle du genre qui renforce l’ambiance oppressante de ce milieu très prisé. L’univers sonore est riche, varié, contient des sons électros composés par Cliff Martinez. La bande-son permet de renforcer des situations déjà malsaines pour réellement enfermer le spectateur avec les personnages ; à noter qu’elle se base aussi sur le point de vue de Jesse. Pour ainsi dire, l’ambiance sonore devient aussi une esthétique à part entière et porte aussi le film. Elle paraît énigmatique et mystérieuse, parfois inquiétante et violente tout en surplombant les images et le récit. C’est cet ensemble de rouages qui donnent au film de Nicolas Winding Refn, une œuvre réjouissante, effrayante et expérimentale.

Lire l’article complet à LE GEEK CINEPHILE

Cannes 2016 : Cannes Soundtrack Awards pour Cliff Martinez

Palmarès Cannes Soundtrack 2016

“Coup de Cœur” de la Meilleure Musique de Film Originale
Cliff Martinez pour The Neon Demon de Nicolas Winding Refn

Après Lim Gion pour The assassin de Hou Hsiao-Hsien, c’est donc Cliff Martinez (qui avait déjà collaboré avec Nicolas Winding Refn pour Only God forgives et Drive) qui a été récompensé cette année pour la musique très expressive de The neon Demon de Nicolas Winding Refn. Tantôt lancinante et ultra-rythmée, hallucinée et délicate, elle donne au film une identité sonore forte, entre étrangeté contenue et cauchemar anxiogène. L’apport de Martinez est d’ailleurs évidente dans l’esthétique choc du film et dans la recherche formelle quasi abstraite du réalisateur danois. A noter que la bande-originale du film sera éditée à partir du 3 juin prochain.

Cannes Film Festival Press Conference: Cliff Martinez Winner of Best Soundtrack for The Neon Demon

Cannes Film Festival Press Conference with Cliff Martinez Winner of Best Soundtrack for The Neon Demon (starts at 14:30)
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writers: Nicolas Winding Refn, Nicolas Winding Refn
Stars: Elle Fanning as Jesse, Christina Hendricks as Jan, Keanu Reeves as Hank
‘The Neon Demon’ Summary: When aspiring model Jesse (Elle Fanning) moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.

The Neon Demon’s jaw-dropping depravity leaves Cannes reeling

Through flashing prisms and mirror images, and underpinned by Cliff Martinez’s superb score – all subaquatic throbs and cascading, gem-refracted electronica – Fanning’s face becomes a kind of idolatrous icon, and we feel as if we’re bearing witness to a strange and occult ritual.

Read full review at The Telegraph

Cannes Daily Buzz: Cliff Martinez Scores Again

Even though this was composer Cliff Martinez’s first trip to Cannes, his movies have been screening at the festival for years. He first made his mark on the event with his work on Steven Soderbegh’s first film, sex, lies and videotape, back in 1989. This year he was back in Cannes with Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives.

Martinez is an acclaimed composer; in addition to recent work with Refn and numerous projects with Soderbergh, he recently collaborated with Skrillex on music for Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers. – By Eugene Hernandez

Read full article at FILMLINC DAILY from Film Society Lincoln Center

‘Only God Forgives’ Composer Cliff Martinez
on Reuniting With Nicolas Winding Refn

It might be hard to believe, but this year’s Cannes Film Festival marked the first one to host in demand composer Cliff Martinez, whose work with frequent collaborator Steven Soderbergh helped land the then first-time filmmaker the Palme d’Or for his debut “Sex, Lies and Videotape” back in 1989. The former drummer (he played for the Red Hot Chili Peppers among other acts) has since had another film featuring his music, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive,” play on in Competition. This year he made his first Cannes appearance in support of his second project with Refn, the ultra violent revenge saga “Only God Forgives.” – by Nigel M Smith

Read full interview at INDIEWIRE