IT WAS quite a thing when ANTI- secured the signature of globe-straddling modern soundtrack composer extraordinaire Danny Elfman last year; yep, the Sunset Boulevard-based label which brings us Andy Shauf, Yves Jarvis, M. Ward, Jolie Holland, Fleet Foxes et al, teaming up with the man behind the theme from The Simpsons and soundtracks to such films as Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Good Will Hunting and The Nightmare Before Christmas – among more than a hundred others. Yep, a hundred. Seems a bit of a curveball of a partnership; but is it?
Not on the evidence of the track he’s released today, “Sorry”, which makes haste for the dark side encapsulated in some of those Tim Burton features, fashioning a prog-industrial darkscape with a helluva lot more grandiose distortion and epic touches than cartoonish cuddliness.
It’s his second single drop since signing on the dotted line, and comes entwined with a brilliant animation by Jesse Kanda, who’s previously worked with Arca, FKA Twigs, and Bjork. The video was originally created as a visual backdrop for for Elfman’s live performance of the song for Coachella 2020.
Danny explains: “‘Sorry’ was the first song I’ve written for myself in a long time.
“It began as an obsessive choral-chant instrumental work, which at the time I called ‘alien orchestral chamber punk’ and evolved slowly into a song.
“I was surprised by the amount of rage I’d been storing inside myself which came bursting out as soon as I applied my voice.”
He continues: “I need to push myself into new territory with fresh challenges as much as I can and whenever I can. I am told I have a recognizable style, but my greatest pleasure is when I can surprise the audience with my music.”
I think it’s fair to say the high, scouring drama of this one made your humble correspondent’s eyes widen somewhat.
Throughout this year, Elfman will continue to release songs on the eleventh day of the month; the number 11 has always had significance with his name Elf meaning “eleven” in German, him naming a violin concerto Eleven-Eleven, and so on.
“Sorry” follows last Hallowe’en’s “Happy”, the first solo music he’d released since 1984.
Keep your eyes and ears on the eleventh of the month.
Follow Danny at his website, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
