As promised, we've another double-header for you on this latest episode of Soundtracking, as we span the globe with an Australian and an American. First up is Ben Frost - a composer of extraordinary versatility. We spent much of the time discussing his scores for the mind-bending German Netflix sci-fi / thriller / mystery / time-travel drama Dark. His work on all three seasons is available to buy right now at invada.co.uk - so get ordering online at the first opportunity. Then we bring you Radha Blank discussing The 40-Year-Old Version - a film she wrote, directed and stars in. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction, it tells the story of, you guessed it, Radha, a down-on-her luck playwright moving between the worlds of theatre and hip-hop.

It's two for the price of one on our latest episode of Soundtracking, as we bring you a superb composer and splendid writer/director. First up is our old friend Ludwig Goransson, here to talk specifically about season two of the Mandalorian - which is streaming now on Disney +, one episode at a time. Then we bring you Bassam Tariq on Mogul Mowgli, which had a theatrical release before the second lockdown, and is now available to watch on the BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema. More details are available here: https://www.mogulmowgli.co.uk/ Starring former guest on this show, Riz Ahmed, It's such a startlingly original piece of filmmaking, we really wanted to give it a little bit of love. Hence the bonus guest! Enjoy!

Our latest guest is a composer whose work you'll almost certainly know and love. As you'll hear, Steven Price took the scenic route into full blown film scoring with Attack The Block in 2011, after many years on the periphery of the business. His patience has been well rewarded - he went on to win an Oscar for Gravity, and has also worked on World's End, Baby Driver, Suicide Squad and The Aeronauts among many other things. Steven joined Edith to discuss a couple of new projects he's done for Netflix, which you can watch right now: Glen Keane's beautiful animation, Over The Moon, and David Attenborough's A Life On Our Planet. Both very different, but both extremely moving in their own way - in no small part thanks to Steven's music.

We're really thrilled to be able to bring you this latest episode of Soundtracking, as it's the first thing we've done in front of a live audience post-lockdown. As part of the London Podcast Festival, Edith was joined by the one and only Nick Frost before a small, socially distanced gathering at King's Place to discuss all manner of things, including his new Amazon show Truth Seekers, a comedy-horror about a team of paranormal investigators. We're hugely grateful to Nick for making the effort - and he was on predictably fine form. Thanks also to everyone who made the effort to be there in person or join us online. We really do appreciate it!

We've got a proper friend of the show on this latest episode of Soundtracking, as Ben Wheatley returns for his fourth - yes, fourth - sitting.  Our first ever guest, he previously joined us to discuss High Rise, Free Fire and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. This time round he's here to talk about his take on Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, from a screenplay by Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it right now on Netflix. Rebecca sees Ben reunited with composer Clint Mansell, who also provided the scores for High Rise and Colin. 

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is Melissa Parmenter. Not only has Melissa worked alongside the great Michael Winterbottom for many years as a producer, she's also a composer who scored The Killer Inside Me and Genova. In addition, she's released the Scandinavia EP and a new album, Messapica.  We talk to Melissa about her creative process, and how she balances her time between making films and TV shows like The Trip and making music.

Edith's latest guests on Soundtracking are a couple of documentary makers whose work she absolutely loves. She first met Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui following the release of their debut feature, McQueen, based on the life of British fashion designer, Lee Alexander McQueen. Now Ian and Peter have turned their attentions to paralympians with Rising Phoenix, which is streaming on Netflix now. Scored by our old friend Daniel Pemberton, Rising Phoenix plays like a superhero movie, a device that really hits the mark.  The three of them also discuss Michael Nyman, who allowed Ian and Peter to use his music for McQueen.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking first came to Edith's attention with his barnstorming lead performance in Richard Ayoade's coming-of-age drama, Submarine. Craig Roberts has since broadened his horizons and turned his attention to writing and directing - first with Just Jim and now the wonderful Eternal Beauty. Starring Sally Hawkins, Eternal Beauty tells the story of Jane, a young woman suffering from depression and schizophrenia in 80s suburbia following the trauma of being stood up at the altar. It's an audacious bit of filmmaking - dealing with the difficult subject mental illness with remarkable deftness of touch. The movie is scored by Michael Price, who has been incredibly helpful in supplying us with his music - so thank you Michael, we'll get you on soon.

Our guest on this latest episode of Soundtracking is a world-famous frontman with a genuine passion for score. SImon Neil is a guitarist and lead vocalist for Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro - whose most recent album A Celebration Of Endings went straight to the top of the UK album charts. But as you're about to hear, he really does know his stuff when it comes to movie music too. Man, do we cover a lot of ground! He also scored Jamie Adams' wee gem of a film, Balance, Not Symmetry, and hopes to do more scoring in the future.

Our guest on this latest episode of Edith's screen music podcast Soundtracking is an actor known for his roles in Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine, Little Voice, Brassed Off, Star Wars and ... well, the list goes on and on and on. Ewan McGregor's latest project sees him reunited with his good friend Charley Boorman for Long Way Up. Available now on Apple TV, Long Way Up accompanies the pair as they attempt to motorcycle all the way from the bottom of Latin America to Los Angeles - on electric Harley Davidsons! It really is a wild and hilarious adventure - and Edith is absolutely loving it. The show features some brilliant tunes too, from familiar rock and pop to songs specific to the countries through which Ewan and Charlie travel. We also find out the unlikely band that he had in his headphones under his helmet ...

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a hugely entertaining composer who has worked on tens and tens of movies, TV shows and video games. Among Harry Gregson-Williams's many credits are an apprenticeship under Hans Zimmer, a long-term working relationship with the Scott brothers, the Shrek series, and an unlikely collaboration with Trey Parker and Matt Stone on Team America. The story behind how that came to pass is hilarious, by the way. His latest project is the live action animation remake of Disney's Mulan, which is based on classic Chinese folklore and tells the story of a girl disguised as a man who becomes a great warrior. And you can watch it on Disney + right now!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer I've been trying to pin down for yonks - so often has his name been mentioned on the podcast. Ludwig Göransson is best known for his work with Childish Gambino, Ryan Coogler, on Disney's The Mandalorian and most recently the Christopher Nolan blockbuster TENET. And for all the wrong reasons, it's fitting that we speak to him now, given he won an Oscar for his score to Black Panther. Edith recorded this interview before we learned the tragic news about Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer last week aged just 44. But given Ludwig's connection to the film, it seemed only right we paid tribute to its star. Thus you'll also hear an extract from Episode 77, in which Marvel executive producer Nate Moore recalled a lovely story about how Chadwick was cast in the film. Then, of course, there is the usual smattering of Ludwig's music at relevant points throughout the conversation.

We love a good actor on this podcast, and we have a seriously good one for you in our latest episode in the shape of Tim Roth. Tim's credits are too numerous to list, but he can currently be seen in the thoroughly gripping pulp crime drama Tin Star on Sky.  He's also worked with Quentin Tarantino on several occasions, and had the honour of meeting Ennio Morricone too.  Edith takes a deep dive into his career and the music that's featured in it along the way.

You may not know Glen Ballard, but you do know Glen Ballard. For Glen is a songwriter, lyricist and producer who's worked with some of the biggest names in the business, including Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Anastacia and Alanis Morissette - with whom he co-wrote Jagged Little Pill to great critical acclaim and commercial success.  His latest project sees him team up with Damian Chazelle (among others) for The Eddy, which centres on a jazz club in contemporary Paris. Not only was the Netflix series Glen's brainchild, but he also wrote all of the songs for it with composer and pianist, Randy Kerber. As well as playing plenty of music from the show, Edith also drops a couple of classics from his illustrious career.

We have a proper legend for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking in the shape of virtuoso trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard. A well-established jazz musician in his own right, Terence was given a break scoring Jungle Fever by Spike Lee, for whom he's subsequently become the 'go-to' guy. Malcolm X and The BlacKkKlansman are just a couple of the movies they've joined forces on. Their latest collaboration is Da 5 Bloods, which you can watch now on Netflix. He's also just provided the music for HBO's Perry Mason - with the score for that available via our good friends at Water Tower Music. As ever, we'll sprinkle plenty of Terence's music throughout the conversation, so sit back and enjoy.

One of the things that helped Edith and her family no end during lockdown was having access to the entire Pixar back catalogue through Disney Plus. She and her two boys watched virtually all of the movies and shorts again for the umpteenth time, so it was a real joy for us to welcome to the animator, writer and director Dan Scanlon to Soundtracking. Dan joined Pixar in 2001, and worked on Cars and Toy Story 3 as a story artist before directing Monsters University. His latest work was the deeply personal suburban fantasy, Onward. Based on his own experience of losing his father, Onward tells the story of two elf brothers who go in search of an artefact that will temporarily bring their deceased dad back to life. It's both visually and emotionally beautiful, and if you haven't seen it already, watch it now! The film is scored by Mychael and Jeff Danna, and we'll hear plenty of their work throughout the conversation, as well as that of Pixar stalwarts Randy Newman and Michael Giacchino.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is an award-winning playwright and theatre director, now turning her hand to cinema. Jessica Swale's first play Blue Stockings premiered at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013. She went on to win an Olivier Award for Nell Gwynn in 2016, a comedy initially starring Gugu Mabatha-Raw - and then Gemma Arterton when it transferred to the West End. Fittingly, both women take leading roles in Jessica's debut feature, Summerland. Spanning half a century, Summerland tells the story of Alice, a reclusive writer who is forced to take on a young evacuee called Frank during World War II, totally against her wishes.  It's a genuinely moving tale, complimented beautifully by Volker Bertelmann's music - aka Hauschka. Speaking of which, we'd like to say a huge thanks to Jess Barry at Lionsgate - and indeed the filmmakers - for providing us with his score, given that it's yet to be commercially released.

We are eternally grateful to our latest guest on Soundtracking - who ended up speaking to Edith twice for the podcast following a computer malfunction. But that's the kind of guy Rob Delaney is. Best known for bringing us the multi-award winning Catastrophe with Sharon Horgan, Rob is an actor, comedian and writer of formidable talent - who's appeared in a whole host of films including Bombshell, Deadpool 2 and the forthcoming Home Alone reboot. Rob's also a huge music lover, which is why our good friends at Invada Records invited him to put together one of their celebrity playlists.  We also discuss his love of the music in Alex Garland's Devs and The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, among many other things.

Edith's guest on our latest Soundtracking is a truly inspirational actor, writer and director, whose credits include Belle, A United Kingdom, Where Hands Touch and Mrs America. Amma Asante's big break came in Grange Hill, in a role that saw her invited to the White House by Nancy Reagan as part of the Just Say No anti-drugs campaign. She subsequently wrote for television before making her first feature in 2004, A Way Of Life. We hear about the music that's featured in Amma's work, and also her trip to Washington and the after-party thrown for her by none other than Prince. 

Edith's guest on this latest episode of her film music podcast Soundtracking is a composer who's worked with the likes of Kenneth Branagh, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, Brian De Palma, Robert Altman and Ang Lee. It's fair to say Patrick Doyle has compiled quite the CV since writing his first movie score at the end of the 1970s. His latest project sees him collaborate with Branagh for a 10th time on Disney's adaptation of Artemis Fowl. They also discuss his work on Sense & Sensibility, Brave, Carlito's Way and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

Edith has a lot to thank her latest guest on Soundtracking, who cheered her up no end during lockdown with his gloriously batty new comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga. David Dobkin is a writer and director who brought us Shanghai Knights, The Wedding Crashers and The Judge, as well as numerous music videos for the likes of 2Pac and Maroon 5. This latest endeavour stars Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan and Dan Stevens - and tells the story of an unlikely Icelandic pop duo who get the chance to represent their country at Eurovision.  We absolutely loved it, and you can see why on Netflix right now.

We can barely believe we're uttering these these words, but welcome to the 200th episode of Soundtracking. 200! That's a lot of great guests, stories, creative insights and - perhaps most importantly - music from the world of film and television. And we're delighted to be celebrating our birthday with a brilliant female composer, given that it's still an industry dominated by men.  Pinar Toprak is a Turkish American musician, best known for her work on smash video game Fortnite and Captain Marvel. She joined me from her home in the US to discuss all manner of things, from the CD that inspired her to pursue a career in film scoring to the industrious way in which she landed the Captain Marvel gig.

We have another Soundtracking Live for you this week, recording at the Glasgow Film Festival back in February before lockdown came into effect.  Edith's guests were Simon Bird and Stuart Murdoch, discussing their collaboration on Simon's gorgeous directorial debut The Days Of The Bagnold Summer, for which Belle & Sebastian provided the music. Starring Monica Dolan and Earl Cave (son of Nick), Days of The Bagnold Summer is based on a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, and tells the story of a single mother and her 15 year-old son as they navigate the stresses and strains of a school summer holiday in each other's company. It's a beautiful piece of work, and you can watch it now on home entertainment formats. As we'll hear, Belle & Sebastian furnished Simon with loads and loads of music, some of which had lyrics, some of which did not - instead serving as more traditional instrumental score. You can listen to the album in full via Matador records.

We've a real Hollywood heavyweight for you on our latest lockdown episode of Soundtracking in the shape of Judd Apatow. Judd is a director, writer and producer who's had a hand in some of the funniest films of the last 20 years, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Bridesmaids and Anchorman. His TV credits include Freaks And Geeks, Crashing and Girls, which is some list. Judd's latest project is The King Of Staten Island. It's a semi-biographical take on the life of Pete Davidson, who lost his firefighter father to 9/11. Pete takes the lead role a young man who must get his life together after his mum starts dating a new guy, who is also a firefighter like his deceased dad.  And the great news is, you can watch it NOW on home entertainment formats.

We have a real treat for music aficionados this week, as Edith is joined by Andrew Slater and Jakob Dylan to discuss their brilliant documentary, Echo In The Canyon. The film celebrates the popular music that came out of L.A.’s Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas cemented the California Sound. Andrew and Jakob explore the interplay between these artists in a string of informal interviews with many of the key players, and discover how interconnected the creative process became during this now legendary period. Jakob also covered a number of classics from the era with contemporary artists - including Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Beck and Josh Homme.

Our guest on this latest lockdown episode of Soundtracking is a director, writer, producer and actor, who has worked on a wide range of projects including Late Night, Mr Robot and Girls, and won a Golden Globe for the TV series, Transparent. Nisha Ganatra's latest film is The High Note, which is out on home entertainment formats now. Starring Diana Ross' daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dakota Johnson, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Ice Cube, it tells the story of a PA to a famous singer who wants to become a producer.  As well as a load of classic needle drops, The High Note features plenty of original tunes too, mostly sung by Tracee. We also hear score from the films of Jane Campion, Hildur Guðnadóttir and Ang Lee.

The term cult following is bandied about a lot, but when it comes Stranger Things, it's certainly one that applies. Fans simply love the Netflix show - what with its blend of mystery, horror, science fiction, supernatural weirdness and childhood innocence, not to mention lashings of 80s nostalgia. So it was a real joy to speak to series composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, who've channelled the old-skool electronic spirit of their band  S U R V I V E into three seasons-worth of score - all released through Lakeshore and Invada records.

Our latest guest on Lockdown Soundtracking is the wonderful Nitin Sawhney. It's hard to know where to begin when it comes to summarising his career, so diverse has it been. Suffice to say, he's made considerable contributions to just about every single creative art-form, from film, TV and video game scores to theatre, poetry and dance. As well as his own illustrious history as a recording artist, he's also collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music business, including Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Anoushka Shankar, A.R. Rahman and many, many more. So perhaps the best place to start is with his latest single from the album Immigrants, due out in September. 

It's a very special episode for score lovers this week, as Edith is joined by Geoff Barrow and Redg Weeks from Invada Records. With its impeccable roster of composers, Invada's back catalogue has featured more times on our podcast than we can count. Among the artists they've worked with who we've spoken to - Cliff Martinez, Mica Levi, Blanck Mass, Warren Ellis and, of course, Clint Mansell. They've also been incredibly supportive of what we do, so it really was a treat chatting with them both remotely. In addition to his celebrated band work, Geoff collaborates with another former guest on this show, Ben Salisbury, on film and TV scores. And he's teamed up with Ben and Bristol outfit The Insects for his most recent project, Alex Garland's mind-bending tech-noir series, Devs. As always, there's plenty of music to enjoy.

Our guest on this latest lockdown episode of Soundtracking requires very little introduction. We all know what a talented chap Ricky Gervais is - whether writing, acting or directing.  And he's put all of these skills to good use for After Life, now in its second season on Netflix. For those of you who don't know, After Life tells the story of Tony, whose world is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer, and features a brilliant ensemble cast including Ashley Jensen, Penelope Wilton, Jo Hartley and Joe Wilkinson. The music is pitch-perfect and wide-ranging too, from the needle-drops to Andy Burrows' score. Expect music from Hammock, Lionel Richie, The Carpenters, David Bowie and Bill Withers!

As quarantine continues, it's a welcome return to Soundtracking for Lenny, who joined us back in episode 107 from the BFI to discuss The Little Stranger. Lenny's most recent project is Hulu's adaptation of Sally Rooney's fantastic novel, Normal People, which will be available in full via the BBC iPlayer from April 27th.  Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, it's a beautifully pitched coming-of-age tale that tells the story of Marianne and Connell as they navigate a relationship during their school and university years. As well as featuring loads of cracking needle-drops, Normal People is scored by Lenny's longtime collaborator, Stephen Rennicks. 

We have two guests for you on this latest episode of Soundtracking in the shape of director Nick Rowland and musician Benjamin Power - aka Blanck Mass. The pair have collaborated on Nick's debut feature, Calm With Horses, a visceral crime drama set in the wild west of Ireland starring Cosmo Jarvis and Barry Keoghan. It is a remarkably accomplished piece of film making, which also marks Ben's first extended foray into the world of scoring. As an album, it very much stands up in its own right too.

Our guest on the latest lockdown Soundtracking is a hugely gifted writer, actor, activist and rapper - and, it turns out, properly top bloke too. Riz Ahmed cut his teeth on independent films such Shifty and Four Lions, but has also had major parts in blockbusters like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  He joined Edith to discuss a whole range of subjects - not least a new short he's made with Aneil Karia called The Long Goodbye. It's available on Youtube, and is well worth 12 minutes of your time. Indeed, we suggest you watch it before listening, as we'll be discussing it in detail shortly.

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking was due to be joining Edith for a live show at the Bridport Film Festival in a couple of weeks time - but you know what sadly put an end to that. Not to be defeated, we're delighted to say that composer Isobel Waller-Bridge joined us from her home via the miracles of technology to discuss many of the brilliant projects she's been involved with.  As well as providing the score for Autumn De Wilde's Emma, Isobel has also done fabulous work on Vita and Virginia, Black Mirror, Vanity Fair and Fleabag, which saw her collaborate with sister Phoebe.

Our guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking has probably been mentioned almost as many times on this podcast as John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Warren Ellis is a multi-instrumentalist musician and composer who is a member of Dirty Three, Grinderman and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, and has also written several film scores with Nick in addition to his own projects. Warren was kind enough to join Edith while in isolation at his Paris studio to talk about his career and, well, this strange and worrying crisis humanity finds itself in right now. It was a joy to speak to him - we really hope you have as much fun listening to it as we did making it.

Our guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking is an Australian composer who has worked for a wide-range of critically acclaimed directors, including Sir Ridley Scott. Jed Kurzel's latest project is True History Of The Kelly Gang, which sees him continue his long-standing partnership with brother Justin - a previous interviewee on this show. The pair worked together on Snowtown, Macbeth and Assassin's Creed, while Jed also provided the score for Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, John Maclean's Slow West and, of course, Sir Ridley's Alien Covenant

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is the wonderful Philippa Lowthorpe, a director with an award-winning track record in film and television, with credits including Call The Midwife, Swallows & Amazons, The Crown and Three Girls. Her latest film is Misbehaviour. Featuring a fantastic cast, the narrative follows events surrounding the 1970 Miss World Contest, which not only saw the first black competitor crowned but also the stage flour-bombed by women's liberation activists during the event. Suffice to say, host Bob Hope was not amused, and we highly recommend you google the footage if you haven't seen it already.  The score, meanwhile, was provided by former guest on this show, Dickon Hinchliffe.

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is an actor, writer and producer perhaps most famous for bringing us the sensational comedy drama, Catastrophe, which she created with co-star Rob Delaney. Now Sharon Horgan takes a lead role in Military Wives. Based on the well-documented true story, Military Wives tells the story of a group of women who form a choir while their husbands are away in Afghanistan. Directed by Peter Cattaneo of Full Monty fame, the film obviously features plenty of singing, with the tune selection having a pleasingly 80s twist. There's also an original number by Guy Chambers and Robbie Williams and a cracking score by our good pal Lorne Balfe - who was kind enough to send us a couple of his unreleased cues for you to enjoy. Cheers Lorne!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is returning for a second visit to discuss a film that had an instant and lasting impact on us, and has set critics purring - with one boldly describing it as 'the perfect movie'. Dark Waters sees the delightful Todd Haynes direct Mark Rufallo as real-life lawyer Robert Billot, taking on American chemical giant DuPont on behalf of plaintiffs in West Virginia. Though Todd draws inspiration from classic conspiracy thrillers such as All The Presidents Men, he is ultimately more interested in his characters - the victims - and how their lives are quietly devastated by cynical forces way beyond their control. As well as featuring plenty of country music as source, Dark Waters is beautifully scored by Marcelo Zarvos

It has been a very good twelve months or so for our latest guest on Soundtracking - producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff. In addition to her work the well-received Uncut Gems and The Souvenir, Emma has also had mainstream success with Joker and The Irishman, which saw her continue a longstanding partnership with Martin Scorsese. It's been a fruitful relationship, including their genuine labour of love, Silence.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a supremely versatile actor and musician, who has released several albums and taken numerous critically acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Johnny Flynn can currently be seen in Autumn De Wilde's adaptation of Emma, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy and Josh O'Connor. Like Johnny, Autumn has strong connections to the music industry, having worked with the likes of Elliot Smith and Death Cab For Cutie in her guise as photographer and video director.  The pair bonded over a love of folk, which is one of the reasons she asked him to write a song for the film.

We're bringing you another Soundtracking Live this week, recorded at London's BFI shortly before Christmas with the one and only Tim Burton.  We had an absolutely cracking night in front of a full house, chatting about his longtime partnership with Danny Elfman and playing clips from Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorands, Batman Returns, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and The Nightmare Before Christmas. As such, you'll need to use your imagination a wee bit in this episode - but the scenes we went for are so memorable and iconic, it shouldn't prove too problematic.  Besides, they are of course all beautifully scored - so if nothing else you can enjoy Danny's work.

Edith's guest on this week's Soundtracking is a writer, actor and director behind a trio of films we hugely admire. Marielle Heller first came to our attention with her razopr-sharp comedy-drama, Diary Of A Teenage Girl. She followed that up with Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which won a slew of awards and saw Melissa McCarthy and Richard E Grant nominated for Oscars. Now Marielle brings us A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, a drama inspired by Fred Rogers, a beloved American children's entertainer, musician & puppeteer - played in the film by Tom Hanks. Fred is most famous for the show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood - so it seemed only fitting, given that we're a film music podcast, that we began with Mr Hanks's version of Mr Rogers' theme ...

Our latest guest on Soundtracking could not be more suited to a podcast about film music, what with him being so knowledgable and passionate about both artistic forms. Kevin Smith burst onto the indie scene with his 1994 lo-fi slacker classic Clerks, which he shot for around $28,000 only to see it receive widespread critical acclaim and gross $3 million. It also introduced the world to Jay and Silent Bob, who have featured in many of his subsequent movies - getting their latest outing in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot. It's riotous good fun, whether you're familiar with their history or not. A prolific podcaster himself, Kevin is bloody cracking company, with stories to tell about the music in pretty much all of his work, including a corker about Fleetwood Mac.  One of our faves, ever!

It's been a very good week for Soundtracking, with our little film music podcast nominated for two gongs at the UK's premier audio industry awards, the ARIAs. And who better to celebrate with than one of the biggest names in the music business, Bruce Springsteen. Bruce joined Edith following the premier of Western Stars, the film he co-directed with his long-time collaborator, Thom Zimny, who also took to the stage.  Western Stars is a cinematic interpretation of his album of the same name, and features live performances in his barn, interviews, home video footage and Bruce's meditations. 

It's been a jolly good week for our latest guest on Soundtracking, whose new film 1917 has just landed him a couple of gongs for best film and director at the Golden Globes and several BAFTA nominations. We are, of course, talking about Sam Mendes, who joined Edith for a chat at London's Imperial War Museum towards the end of last year. In case you don't know, 1917 tells the story of two soldiers in World War I charged with delivering a critical message to fellow troops, and is based on an firsthand account told to Sam by his grandfather.  Remarkably, the action is shot to appear like one continuous two-hour take. The fact that he pulls it off in such convincing fashion is thanks in no small part to the efforts of legendary cinematographer, Roger Deakins. The score, meanwhile, is provided by Thomas Newman, who also worked with Sam on American Beauty and his Bond films.

Happy New Year one and all, and welcome to the very first episode of Edith's film music podcast Soundtracking of 2020. Here's to the next decade of cinema and song! To celebrate, we've got not one but two guests for you, with two very different coming-of-age tales about young friendship and rebellion. Both, however, have tremendous warmth at their very core. First up is writer, director and actor Taika Waititi, who's new film Jojo Rabbit tells the story of a boy obsessed by Nazism who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Oh yes, and whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler ... Then we speak to Brian Welsh about his wonderful celebration of 90s dance culture Beats, which stars Christian Ortega and Lorn McDonald as two pals gearing up for their first outdoor rave. As you'd expect, the soundtrack is an absolute banger.

Our guest on the very last episode of Soundtracking of the decade is Greta Gerwig, returning to the show to discuss her second outing as a writer/director, Little Women. It's the eighth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic 1868 novel and boasts a staggering cast - including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep.  The score, meanwhile, is provided by Alexandre Desplat - and we will of course sprinkle plenty of his music throughout the conversation.