Co-composer Tyler Bates describes creating the epic score for the action franchise’s fourth installment: “It’s the longest score that I’ve ever done in my career.”
Composer Tyler Bates admits that he and writing partner Joel J. Richard had to seek help from the internet to fully understand the script for the Chad Stahelski-directed John Wick: Chapter 4 (out March 24).
“I, personally, am not a martial artist, and I am not an authority on kung fu,” says Bates, who, with Richard, has composed the scores for all four films in the Keanu Reeves-starring action franchise. “I had to have Google open the whole time. I kept Googling all these different weapons that were referenced that I’d never heard of before, just so I understood a little bit more about the specifics of what was happening visually. The script should probably have a glossary at the back of it, because there’s a lot of detail in it, and that comes truly from Chad Stahelski, and his passion and his commitment to martial arts.”
The film’s soundtrack album is released digitally March 24 and kicks off with the instrumental “Big Wick Energy.” Who was responsible for that title? And did they take the rest of the day off after thinking of it?
“That would be Joel, my composing partner,” says Bates, whose many other soundtrack credits include 300 and Guardians of the Galaxy. “Joel’s like my brother, and when we score the John Wick films, we share our music, and that inspires conversations and inspires new ideas, [but] at the end of the day, when it came to naming all the tracks, I deferred to Joel.”
The album features pop star-turned-John Wick: Chapter 4 cast member Rina Sawayama on the single “Eye for and Eye” and Bates’ daughter Lola Colette on a new version of the Martha and Vandellas’ hit “Nowhere to Run.” Bates also collaborated with the band In This Moment for a song titled “I Would Die for You.”
“‘I Would Die for You’ is a song that I wrote with Maria Brink and Chris Howorth of In This Moment and [also] produced,” says Bates. “Chad, literally, out of the blue, called me up, and he’s like, ‘Yo, Tyler, do you know this singer, I love her, Maria-something, she’s in this band, In This…?’ I’m like, ‘In This Moment?’ He said, ‘Yeah, that’s it!’ I said, ‘I’m actually working on their new record right now. [Laughs] They are real fans of John Wick, which is really cool.”
With John Wick: Chapter 4 clocking in at just short of three hours, Bates and Richard were tasked with producing a lot of music for the film, whose cast also includes Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, and the late Lance Reddick, among others.
“Chad prefaced sending the script to Joel and I with a desire to expand the scope of the score, because the scope of the film had increased so broadly,” says Bates. “I wasn’t totally imagining that we would create a two-and-a-half hour score! It’s the longest score that I’ve ever done in my career.”
This might be a cheeky question, but does Bates get paid by the minute of music he produces?
“Hell, no! Are you kidding?” he says. “It’s definitely time to get another job. But to be part of something like this is such an honor and a privilege. Music means so much to Chad, and he’s a real rocker, but he also loves classic film scores, and classic movies, and it was really great to be able to imbibe the appreciation of all that with him. He’s marching to his own beat and I love that about him. He’s a disruptive filmmaker and any time that a filmmaker is willing to step out on the plank like he does, I’m all in.”
John Wick 4 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is released digitally by Lakeshore Records March 24. Exclusively hear the tracks “I Would Die For You” and “Grave Accusation,” and check out the album’s track-listing, below.
Track List
01. Big Wick Energy
02. Nowhere to Run – Lola Colette
03. Sand Wick
04. Change Your Nature
05. Continental Breakfast
06. Wick in Osaka
07. High Table in Osaka
08. A Grave Accusation
09. Grief on a Train
10. I Would Die for You – In This Moment
11. Of Mincing & Men
12. A Grave Situation
13. To Get Back In
14. Killa’s Teeth
15. Ambition and Worth
16. Dog Lover
17. JW, Loving Husband
18. Stairs Arrival
19. Marie Douceur, Marie Colère – Manon Hollander
20. John Wick Rises
21. Paris Radio Intro
22. Chess Club
23. Urban Cowgirl
24. Quite the Mess You’ve Made
25. The Ex Ex
26. The Ex Ex Chapter 3
27. Arc De Triomphe
28. Wrong Train
29. Sacré-Coeur Sunrise
30. Pistol Procession
31. Ten Paces
32. Twenty Paces
33. Helen A Handbasket
34. Eye for an Eye (Main) – Rina Sawayama
35. Cry Mia River
News
News flash : Taylor swift is in angry mood as she said so many people want my relationship with Travis Kelce to be terminate and broken, if you a true fans of mine and you want my relationship to stand strong let me see you sending love emoji…
Ever since Taylor Swift appeared last September at a Kansas City football stadium, with a Chiefs jacket artfully shrugged off her shoulders, large swaths of the…
Jimmy Kimmel Jokes Travis Kelce Is ‘Still’ Taylor Swift’s ‘Broke Boyfriend’ Despite $34 Million Chiefs Contract
Travis Kelce may have a jaw-dropping new salary, but he’s still got a ways to go to impress Jimmy Kimmel. On the April 30 episode…
Wesley Snipes Exposes The Craziest Hollywood Rituals
Wesley Snipes: Challenging Hollywood’s Status Quo Wesley Snipes, once a dominant force in Hollywood, has found himself amidst controversies and challenges that have shaped his career trajectory….
Misa Hylton Goes OFF On Diddy For Sacrificing Their Son To Save Himself
Misa Hylton Takes Stand Against Diddy Amid Allegations of Sacrificing Son and Sex Trafficking Links Recent events have thrust Misa Hylton into the spotlight as she confronts…
Birdman Breaks His Silence & Admits He Was Victim Of Diddy?!
Explosive Allegations: Diddy Accused of Misconduct by Multiple Parties In a shocking turn of events, music mogul Diddy finds himself embroiled in a series of serious allegations…
J-Lo FINALLY Breaks Silence On How Diddy TRAUMATIZED Her
J-Lo Breaks Silence on Diddy’s Impact: An Insider’s Look In a recent interview, Jennifer Lopez, often known as J-Lo, opened up about her past relationship with Sean…
End of content
No more pages to load