Today, WaterTower Music released Barbie (Score from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. The score is featured in the juggernaut film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film, currently in theaters everywhere, has already shattered numerous records and is on its way to earning $1 billion at the global box office.
On composing the score, Ronson says, "Greta's Barbie overflows with emotion in a way that inspired us to no end, not just with harmony and melody but also textures, sonics and rhythms. Sometimes Greta wanted us to elicit tears, sometimes she wanted it to feel like a disco. Sometimes she loved the warmth of vintage analogue synthesizers, sometimes she wanted the richness of the orchestra. Often, she wanted both.
"Creating a connection between the score and the amazing breadth of songs from the soundtrack was always so important to Greta, too. Sometimes a piece of score we wrote would evolve into a song, in the case of 'Pink,' or in the case of 'I'm Just Ken,' a song we wrote that morphed into score and then travelled back to song again. And with 'Meeting Ruth' – one of my favourite moments, we were inspired to reimagine Billie Eilish's gorgeous 'What Was I Made For?' as a wistful 1930s orchestral ballad accompanied by Molly Lewis's virtuosic whistling. When I think of all the music we wrote between the score and the songs, in some ways, Barbie is damn near a musical – which makes sense because experiencing Greta's vision makes you feel like you're going to burst open or walk on air, like all the greatest musicals do.
"The late nights and crazy hours we put into Barbie were all worth it to us, because we were so in love with this film. And we truly hope listening to our score from beginning to end will give others the same emotional, whimsical experience they had watching this magical film."
The highly anticipated film score vividly brings Gerwig's vision to life and adds the perfect layer to the film that immerses fans into the Barbie Universe. The score is now available on all digital music platforms and pre-orders are live for vinyl and CD configurations of the album through Waxwork Records. The vinyl will come in a variety of colors (pink, blue, white, and yellow) and will be housed in a heavyweight jacket with high gloss coating.
"Because Barbie's 'self' traversed worlds, we felt it was important for the music to encompass all, or at least feel open to all; classics for the pomp of Will Farrell's self-image, museum-piece 70s-80s synths to enshrine Barbie's initial 'undisputed-champion-of-dolls' period, minimalism to reflect the spiritual impulse that underwrites the whole enterprise," says Wyatt.
"Through our conversations with Greta, we came to understand the film was suggesting that, in the midst of an ever-expanding hodgepodge of messaging telling the individual who to be, there is, in fact, an authentic self, which, if allowed to, can emerge and can continue to emerge, and that this freedom to explore is central to the beliefs that created Barbie, and perhaps, created the nation. So the music needed to illustrate the hodgepodge, and yet remain enlivened by rhythm throughout," Wyatt continues.
"What a privilege to be working with Mark and Andrew on this distinctive and beautifully crafted score album," comments WaterTower Music head Jason Linn. "They've each long inspired us, and this electrifying collaboration resulted in a bona fide phenomenon. We're proud to be their partners."