Ludwig Göransson: The 21st Century's Beethoven
Although he is not deaf, Ludwig Göransson should be considered just as iconic as the late and great pianist Ludwig van Beethoven.
34-year-old Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson contributed to a variety of different films and genres of music that have impacted this generation. Under his belt lies a 7-year alliance with "This Is America” artist Childish Gambino, a tear-jerking drama that tells the story of Oscar Grant's life (Fruitvale Station), an intense screenplay following the son of Apollo Creed (Creed I & II), and finally the billion-dollar film about an Afrofuturistic universe: Black Panther.
Ludwig produced many different types of music for different types of films, but African music was new and challenging for him. In my opinion, this makes him all the more interesting and incredibly diverse. With the help of Senegal vocalist and guitarist Baaba Maal, Göransson was able to capture the raw, genuine, and nostalgic tone in the title track of Black Panther’s score “Wakanda.”
Maal’s “ceremonial outcall” gives the listener a warm feeling when being introduced to Wakanda’s beautiful horizons and the nature of the fictional land in Eastern Africa. From here, Ludwig was able to branch out and discover what would also contribute to making this score sound as in-depth and emotional as director, Ryan Coogler, wrote this compelling story to be.
During his fanatical journey, Göransson was introduced to the talking drum, an hourglass drum that originated in West Africa and evokes the sound of human speech, which is featured all throughout the film. The drum is played by an ensemble of 6 musicians; Ludwig also layered the drum pattern with 808s (aka booming bass) to add more kick and flavor to the beat.
This combination of both traditional and modern percussion, as well as horns (a melodic symbol for royalty; which took a 132-piece orchestra and a 40-piece choir to execute this harmony), is a necessity when it comes to T’Challa’s musical theme/tone.
Killmonger’s theme, as expected what with him being the villain, has a much darker, and eerie tone whenever he appears on the screen. The two cousins, Killmonger and T’Challa, have that contrasting tone much like the polarity in their personalities and morals.
Being raised in Oakland, California, a predominantly African-American city Killmonger-or more personally-Erik Stevens was given the black experience T’Challa has never known. The combination of the hi-hats, flute, echoing percussion, 808s, and melancholy vocals on his tracks is a beautifully executed nod to the character’s background.
With deep-rooted symbolism and allusions to black history and culture, Black Panther is still a superhero action movie/comic at the end of the day. From the aggressive chanting from the Dora Milaje (the king’s personal guards made up entirely of women) that syncs with their choreography, to the flute and hi-hat combination in Killmonger’s intense scenes, Göransson, without a doubt, nailed the classic sequence of adrenaline inducement-whether it be in the midst of a car chase or a fighting scene. All these elements make room for amusement and dramatic effect and a series of climaxes all across the film, and Ludwig Göransson executed that superbly.
