Vidiots & Synth History Present: Iconic Scores

Synth History: Iconic Scores

Film and music inherently go together, and today you’d be hard-pressed to find a score without some kind of electronic element. In addition to film scores and in terms of sound design, electronic instruments play a pivotal role. The sonic surge of a hyperdrive activation, the resonant “braaaam” in dramatic sequences, the voice of R2D2. When synthesizers were first introduced, however, they were barely considered ‘instruments’. It was difficult for their innovative sounds to neatly fit into established musical categories. In fact, most musical pieces with ‘electronic elements’ at all were met with some level of skepticism. In 1956 for example, the Musicians’ Union made composers Louis and Bebe Barron change their credits in Forbidden Planet from “Electronic Music” to “Electronic Tonalities”, removing the word ‘music’ altogether! Using their own electronic circuits for sound, the couple’s soundtrack for Forbidden Planet would later be considered the first electronic music score for a film. It was a long road that took the pioneering efforts of many to change people’s perception of electronic music. Thanks to composers like Wendy Carlos, Vangelis, Giorgio Moroder, John Carpenter and more, by the time the 1980s hit, synthesizers would become a major part of the film scoring process. Synth History: Iconic Scores highlights all the films that helped propel the instrument.