Composer Mychael Danna Channels Sounds Of The North Carolina Marsh With Score To ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ – Hear An Exclusive Track

Matt Grobar
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has an exclusive track from Mychael Danna’s score for 3000 Pictures’ dramatic thriller Where the Crawdads Sing, which is slated for release by Decca Records tomorrow, as the film hits theaters in the U.S.

Olivia Newman’s film based on the bestseller by Delia Owens tells the story of Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones), an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, she opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh.

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Mychael Danna - Credit: Courtesy of Tyler Curtis
Mychael Danna - Credit: Courtesy of Tyler Curtis

Courtesy of Tyler Curtis

Naturally, a major driver behind Danna’s work on the score would be to tap into the sounds of the marshes at the film’s center. “Kya grows up here in the marsh, it is her life, her love, and her study,” said the composer. “It was vital to Livi [Olivia Newman] and me to center the music in the natural world that suffuses virtually every frame of this film, as the marsh is at the heart of Kya and at the heart of the story.”

As he looked to tap into the atmosphere within these spaces, Danna called upon unusual instrumentation, working with a musician who collects shells, conches and other natural marine musical instruments, and pairing these with such traditional instruments of Kya’s region as the banjo, fiddle and autoharp.

“As a composer, Mychael is one of the best in the world at creating textured, evocative scores that throw the moving image into stunning relief. And ‘Where The Crawdads Sing’ is no exception,” remarked Crawdads‘ director, Newman. “Its unique instrumentation creates haunting melodies that are directly inspired by the North Carolina marshlands, and meticulously crafted to foster an almost fable-like sense of time and place.”

Danna is an Oscar and Emmy winner, recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music, who is perhaps best known for his work on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. He’s also scored such notable films as Moneyball, Capote, Pixar’s Onward, Monsoon Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, (500) Days of Summer, The Ice Storm and Girl, Interrupted, among many others.

Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Lucy Alibar handled the screenplay adaptation for Where the Crawdads Sing, which also stars Taylor John Smith, Harris Dickinson, Michael Hyatt, Sterling Macer, Jr. and David Strathairn. Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter produced the film opening in the UK on July 22, with Rhonda Fehr and Betsy Danbury serving as executive producers.

In addition to Danna’s score, the Crawdads soundtrack features the brand-new original song “Carolina,” written and performed by 11-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift. Listen to Danna’s track from the film, titled “Am I Your Girlfriend Now?”, by clicking above.

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