Lakeshore Records is set to release Nickel Boys—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally today, December 6 featuring an original score by composers Alex Somers and Scott Alario. The ethereal and often dissonant sound of the score augments the intense storyline and striking stylistic elements of the movie based on Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys. Directed by RaMell Ross and starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger and Daveed Diggs, the Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios release hits select theaters on December 13.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead and inspired by real-life events, NICKEL BOYS chronicles the powerful friendship between two Black teenagers who become wards of a juvenile reformatory in Florida. In breakout performances that cut to the bone, Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson play Elwood and Turner, whose close bond helps sustain their hope even as truths unfold around them at the Nickel Academy.
Notes Alario and Somers: After twenty years of making music together, working on Nickel Boys felt like the perfect moment. RaMell Ross’s vision was powerful, and I’m grateful we could contribute to it. From our creative process in Alex’s LA studio to field recordings in New Orleans on the film set, the music came together organically, capturing both the beauty and the haunting weight of the story. This project reminded us how art can bring people together and create hope, even in the face of trauma.
ABOUT ALEX SOMERS
Alex Somers is an American composer and music producer. After studying at Berklee College of Music, he relocated to Reykjavík Iceland where he attended the Iceland Academy of the Arts. In Reykjavík, Alex honed his skills as a composer, producer, audio engineer and mixer. After twelve years in Reykjavík, he moved to Los Angeles and has been steeped in creating music for film and TV.
Somers latest project sees him team up with artist and composer Scott Alario for the forthcoming film Nickel Boys (MGM, 2024).
Recent projects include:
Honey Boy, Captain Fantastic, Nickel Boys, Holland Michigan, Taylor Swift Miss Americana, The Biggest Little Farm Series, Causeway, Sigur Rós Valtari, Jónsi & Alex Somers – Riceboy Sleeps.
ABOUT SCOTT ALARIO
Scott Alario (American b. 1983) is an artist and composer living and working in Providence, RI. Alario makes music as a solo artist (Sorry I’m Late, 2022) and as a collaborator with LA based composer Alex Somers, since 2003. The two co-scored (with Forest Kelley) the 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary film Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018, directed by RaMell Ross). More recently, Alario and Somers connected with Ross again, this time to compose music for his fiction feature debut, the forthcoming film Nickel Boys (MGM, 2024).
TRACKLIST
01. Stare – Alex Somers
02. Out There in Here – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
03. Color Memory – Alex Somers
04. Bees Buzzing – Alex Somers
05. Not Be Long – Alex Somers
06. Grown Into – Alex Somers
07. Out Out – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
08. Do Re Mi – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
09. What’s Ours? – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
10. Whirl – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
11. No – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
12. Black and White Photo Booth – Alex Somers
13. Blooming Bloody – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
14. Boxcar – Alex Somers, Scott Alario
15. Lockets Closing – Alex Somers
16. Lockets Opening – Alex Somers
