Music Moments

The Records That Made Me with Ludwig Göransson

When Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson was nine-years old, he heard a loud, unfamiliar noise coming from his father’s guitar studio. Lo and behold, when he opened the door, he discovered his father wildly headbanging to a confounding new sound: “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.

Ludwig Göransson and Jason Bentley share a laugh before the chat about his music making process and the inspirations behind his scores.

Göransson is the esteemed guest for Wrensilva’s The Records That Made Me listening event this month, fresh off another Academy Award nomination that same morning for his work on Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster Oppenheimer. His parents chuckle from the audience as Göransson reminisces on Metallica and files through his record collection in Wrensilva’s West Hollywood studio. He lays down a surprising influence to his composition work – a wax copy of Joe Satriani’s 1987 record ‘Surfing With The Alien. ’The record console erupts with a whoosh; Göransson smiles and points a finger at the turntable as Satriani’s brute electric guitar ignites. In a flash, the solo shifts from a high, glittery squeal down to a deep, grisly snarl, like the beam of a UFO drawing. Göransson shares, “The tone of the guitar . . . sounded like an alien to me, or the future, or [like] you’re on a different planet. ”Hearing beyond its feral surface, Göransson translates many of heavy metal’s complex features into his work across genres. Use of jerky, emphatic rhythms, muscular tempo changes, and dissonant harmonic structures often disguise his music’s intricacy with ferocity.

  • “I had never heard that kind of music before,” Göransson remembers. With three years of guitar study with the tutelage of his father already under his belt, the newly discovered exotic guitar solos of heavy metal made the young boy wonder, “How do I play this music?”

  • The search for new challenges has propelled Göransson into a wide variety of projects throughout both scoring and music production. Whether it’s traversing funk and hip hop terrains with Childish Gambino, or traveling Africa with Baaba Maal to conduct research for the Black Panther score, Göransson resources inspiration not only by manipulating rhythm, tempo, and pitch, but also by expanding his arsenal of physical instruments.

    Colossally tasked with composing a brand new theme for the Star Wars franchise show The Mandalorian, he purchased six different recorders with which to experiment after watching a Keith Jarrett documentary. In the showroom, Göransson jumps the needle on a vinyl copy of Jarrett’s 1986 spiritual jazz album ‘Spirits’, landing on the second track. A wash of flutes and a piano pensively resonate throughout the space, lulling the audience into a brief meditation.

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