Oliver Coates‘ The History of Sound (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), is out now (22 May 2026) via Abbey Road Recordings on digital, double 180g vinyl and CD.
The London-based cellist, composer and producer wrote the score for Oliver Hermanus‘s period romance, adapted from Ben Shattuck’s short story and starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.
The soundtrack, which runs to 27 pieces, features several folk songs, Coates says:
“Folk songs are made unique by the people who sing them. The imperfection and character of each human voice enhances the music and its soulful qualities”.
As well as singing on several tracks, Sam Amidon, a KLOF favourite, was also a music adviser and was tasked with turning the films two stars into seasoned balladeers in just three weeks.
In an interview with The Guardian, Amidon recalls: I have a distinct memory of Josh standing just inches from my face, studying every element of how my voice was producing sound, and Paul breaking out into a huge grin and grabbing Josh and I on the shoulders when we nailed a three-part harmony.
The soundtrack also features the choral arrangements of Sam’s late father Peter Amidon. In our recent Off the Shelf feature with Sam, he shared the CD “I’ll Never Forget” by The Amidons: “My parents, Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, made a series of classic albums of folk music starting in the 1980s. These albums have only been available by mail order from their house until just now: we have made a bunch of them available digitally on Bandcamp. But I still cherish my CD copies, including this album, which we made when I was 12 years old and my brother Stefan was 9.”
Listen to Sam singing ‘The Snow it Melts the Soonest’, a song many will know through the singing of Dick Gaughan and which has also been covered by Eliza Carthy and The Restituion.
Coates on the project:
“The History of Sound is about the phenomenology of our lives. It is a film which tells the story of the sounds and different types of music we store up from childhood. This rich inner life includes the acoustics of spaces – of kitchens, churches or forests – which accompany us on a life-journey of emotion, memory and association. These acoustics form the backdrop to conversations, songs sung, and lives shared.
The music in this period film ranges from folk, orchestral, chamber, and choral music through to synthesized and sampled sound. In addition, the sound design of nature – wind, water, birds, insects and fire – is part of the tapestry.
Lionel’s vivid musical memory tracks his emotional landscape. This ranges from bleak and empty following the death of his parents, to deeply Romantic when he finds love far from home – violins and harps adding a bucolic and hyper-idyllic character.
The romance of David and Lionel is elegiac and told through unspoken words. Their path together is woven through a love for folk song and the chance to record it where it lives, in peoples’ homes, front porches and places of worship.
Folk songs are made unique by the people who sing them. The imperfection and character of each human voice enhances the music and its soulful qualities. Many of the vocal takes that we liked best were not edited for perfection, but had true spontaneity and a raw quality. Likewise, we preferred to use an upright piano with a pencil stuck inside rather than a perfectly conditioned piano.
I am deeply indebted to the hard work of the musicians who poured themselves into this project and helped shape the full score with such warmth and good humour.” – Oliver Coates
Here in the Vineyard (feat. Briana Middleton) feaured in our latest Monday Morning Brew playlist here – the folk song was also covered by old-time duo Anna & Elizabeth back in 2016.
Save/Order: https://olivercoates.lnk.to/TheHistoryOfSound