“Make it dark and a little scary,” was director David Lynch’s request to composer Angelo Badalamenti as they began their decades-long collaboration on the film Blue Velvet (1986). Lynch’ added that his music could also be “the most beautiful thing”. Lynch’s words perfectly characterize Badalamenti’s music: hauntingly romantic, but always with a dark, ominous undertone. Badalamenti also wrote the incantatory music for the Lynch films Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, The Straight Story (more pastoral than gloomy), Mulholland Drivethe TV series Twin Peaks and the movie sequel, Fire Walk With Me. They are atmospheric scores that transition seamlessly into the soundtrack full of gritty sounds that affect the subconscious.
‘Today, no music’
Badalamenti’s symbiotic partnership with Lynch is legendary. That has now come to an end: Badalamenti died on Sunday 11 December at the age of 85. In his daily YouTube column Weather Report Lynch said in homage to his friend on December 12: “today, no music”. Lynch hired Badalamenti in 1986 as a singing coach for Isabella Rossellini, the rest is history. He was so impressed that Badalamenti took the whole score for it Blue Velvet could write.
The songs that Badalamenti wrote together with Lynch are also an inseparable part of the soundtrack. This is how Isabella Rossellini (with the angelic voice of Julee Cruise) sings ‘Mysteries of Love‘ in Blue Velvet: the motif returns in the film in several beautiful orchestrations.
In 1990, Badalamenti received a Grammy Award for his beautiful theme for the television series Twin Peaks, melancholic, moody synthesizer sounds – the soundtrack album became a bestseller. In front of Twin Peaks Badalamenti wrote a special theme for each character, including the brooding, jazzy-sounding “Audrey’s Dance” and, of course, “Laura Palmer’s Theme,” named after the murdered protagonist of the series. Julee Cruise sang the dreamy ‘The Nightingale’ and ‘Falling’. Lynch and Badalamenti produced her ethereal album Floating Into the Night (1989) which has been described as ‘dream pop’. Then David Lynch Twin Peaks in 2017 Badalamenti also wrote new music for it, some of his last compositions.
Andy Badale
Before Badalamenti got into film music, he co-wrote pop and soul songs under the name Andy Badale. So are on Nina Simone’s album High Priestess of Soul (1967) to find two songs by him, Nancy Wilson sang his ‘Face It Girl, It’s Over’ and collaborated with electronic music pioneer Jean-Jacques Perrey. For Perrey’s breakthrough album Mood Indigo (1970) he co-wrote five compositions. He also worked as an arranger, including for the Pet Shop Boys. His interest in (alternative) pop music resulted in the group in 1996 Booth and the Bad Angelhis collaboration with singer Tim Booth of the British band James.
In addition to his soundtrack work for and with Lynch, he has also composed memorable music for Paul Schrader’s films on several occasions. Badalamenti’s own favorite score – apart from his collaboration with Lynch – was for Schraders The Comfort of Strangers (1990), richly orchestrated, sometimes ominous music with a slightly oriental touch. In addition, Badalamenti worked with several French directors from 1995, including Nicole Garcia (L’adversaire) and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (La cité des enfants perdus, Un long dimanche de fiançailles).
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