Being set in and around the most famous recording studio in the world, obviously music and sound are integral to the show, in multiple ways…
PERIOD MUSIC
There is the huge opportunity to have an eclectic period soundtrack consisting of catalogue songs - sometimes well known, sometimes obscure - from the Sixties period, with an emphasis on Universal owned music, especially songs recorded at Abbey Road studios. This approach was used to great effect on period dramas like MadMen and Marvellous Mrs Maisel - and we would be looking to follow that model.
As was demonstrated by the use of Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill” in Stranger Things, the right catalogue song used at the right moment can bring a catalogue song to a new audience - in the case of “Running Up That Hill” pushing it to over a billion streams on Spotify alone.
ORIGINAL SCORE
The show needs a compelling and award-winning original score which is why we have already secured British female composer Natalie Holt, winner of the Television Composer of the Year award at the recent World Soundtrack Awards. Her work on the Marvel show Loki, mixing vintage synths with modern orchestration was a perfect model for how the more dramatic parts of the score might sound. Having previously recorded many of her film and television scores at Abbey Road, of course it would be only right that this score was also recorded there - which in itself would be great publicity for the show.
SOUNDTRACK
There is also a way in which obscure catalogue songs from the Sixties era in particular can be given additional fresh life by having a contemporary artist record a version of one of the songs used in an episode that can then be played on the end credits. An exmaple of this would be the song “Wondrous Place” by Sixties artist Billy Fury which we use at a pivotal moment in the Pilot episode. A modern version of the same song - such as the one recorded by Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner [with his other band The Last Shadow Puppets] would work well over the end credits. A collection of these contemporary covers of old songs could be collected together for a soundtrack album.
A collection of these contemporary covers of old songs could be collected together for a soundtrack album - with one album per season, as the show moves across the Sixties.
