Featuring Original Music by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
And The Original Song “Revelation” by Troye Sivan and Jónsi
Written for the Screen and Directed by Joel Edgerton
Back Lot Music has announced the release of the soundtrack to Focus Features’ heart-rending biographical drama, Boy Erased, which features an original score written by composers Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans (The Gift, Enemy). The album will also feature the original song titled “Revelation” by synth-pop singer-songwriter Troye Sivan and Jónsi, the vocalist of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. The film made waves when it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival in September. The Hollywood Reporter calls Boy Erased “a richly humanistic, emotionally searing drama that sticks in the memory.” The soundtrack is now available digitally and will be released on CD on November 2nd – the same date the film opens in U.S. theaters.
In scoring Boy Erased, Danny and Saunder decided early on that following Jared’s (Lucas Hedges) emotional journey was the key to creating a poignant and beautiful score. Also, being extremely careful not to over-score and therefore “sway” the audience into how they should think or feel.
The entire writing process for Boy Erased – including demos and initial explorations – was recorded using live instruments. Danny, a classically trained cellist layered multiple string parts on top of each other to produce the effect of an ensemble in his LA studio while Saunder, in his Brooklyn studio, recorded choral and other parts with his own voice using similar layering techniques. The duo constantly chipped away at each cue over the weeks as if they were sculptures slowly taking shape. Once the score was near completion, Danny (who also conducts) and Saunder then recorded a string orchestra playing all of the bigger ensemble orchestral sections – which were then carefully ‘layered’ into the cues.
“We chose to exercise a fair amount of restraint in the palette for Boy Erased. Solo instruments include, piano, cello and violin while the accompanying orchestra carefully weaves in and out – sometimes as a small intimate ensemble and sometimes as a full string orchestra. A small boys’ choir, church organ pedals, and sparse poignant percussion are also integral building blocks for the score. The score spans an array of musical styles; from more-emotional, piano driven pieces to complex, almost absurd, kinetic, avant-garde works describing the myriad of thoughts and feelings that Jared might be feeling – about religion, family, sexuality, and the camp itself,” says Danny and Saunder.
About Boy Erased:
Boy Erased tells the courageous story of Jared (Lucas Hedges), the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, who is outed to his parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith. Boy Erased is the true story of one young man’s struggle to find himself while being forced to question every aspect of his identity. Based on the memoir by Garrard Conley, the film was written, directed and co-stars Joel Edgerton, who also produced along with Anonymous Content’s Steve Golin and Kerry Kohansky-Roberts.
About Danny Bensi and Saunder Juuriaans:
Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans are award-winning film composers. They have been playing music together for over twenty years. In the last eight years, they have completed well over 100 acclaimed film and TV scores.
Before moving to New York in 2001, Danny was raised studying the cello in Europe, while Saunder grew up playing guitar in Seattle’s thriving music scene. As a duo, they are known for bold unpredictability, uniqueness, and their ability to interpret a wide range of genres. Drawing from an array of modern classical styles and beyond, their compositions are filled with atypical orchestrations, sensuous melodies, and visceral soundscapes.
One of Danny and Saunder’s most notable scores is featured in Enemy (Dir. Denis Villeneuve), which won “Best Musical Score” at the Canadian Screen Awards. Their working relationship with Joel Edgerton began in 2015, when they scored his directorial debut – the acclaimed suspense thriller, The Gift. Edgerton chose to collaborate with the duo once again for his 2018 release, Boy Erased.
TRACKLIST
- Revelation – Troye Sivan and Jónsi
- Road Trip
- The Rules
- Genograms
- A Normal Family
- Fall Into Line
- Holiday Camp
- Between Us
- The Real Work
- Assembly
- Prayer
- Just A Story
- Start To Wonder
- Run In The Night
- Brandon
- Triangles
- The Funeral
- Fake It ‘Til You Make It
- Just A Moment
- Shame On You
- Cameron
- Turned My Back
- Who Are You Thinking Of? – Jónsi
- Revelation (Vinyl Version) – Troye Sivan and Jónsi
