How the ‘F1' soundtrack came together, with a little help from Lewis Hamilton

Independent

2 days ago

The pinnacle of motorsport, Formula One, has its own music. The swift rhythms of a six-cylinder engine reaching 15,000 rpm; the ear-to-ear glissando of a spirited overtake in a DRS zone; the A-list concerts that follow most race weekends. So, when it came to making the summer tentpole 'F1,' starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, the team behind the film knew its sound had to be massive, too.
That comes courtesy a score by the many-time Oscar winner Hans Zimmer and a huge soundtrack releasing as 'F1 The Album' via Atlantic Records — the team behind the award-winning 'Barbie' album — the same day as the movie, June 27.
The soundtrack features original music from Chris Stapleton, Myke Towers, Blackpink's Rosé, Tate McRae and many more. The creative forces behind it all — film producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Joseph Kosinski and Atlantic Records West Coast President Kevin Weaver — tell The Associated Press how 'F1 The Album' came together.
An ideal partnership
In the years that it took to create 'F1,' Kosinski had 'earmarked big music moments' across the movie's narrative, explains Weaver, who oversaw and produced the project. His team at Atlantic Records took those notes and came up with ideas for songs, artists and writers, collaborating with soundtrack executive producers Kosinski and Bruckheimer. They enlisted Atlantic artists, like Ed Sheeran and Rosé, but also looked elsewhere.
'It's mostly, if not solely, about what the film needs,' Weaver says. 'It really kind of boils down to whose voice would sound best in these various moments. … Who can accomplish what Joe and Jerry needed from a storytelling perspective?'
And what they needed were big bespoke songs to meet the film's intensity and match its inclusion of huge classic rock songs, like Queen's 'We Will Rock You.' All the songs featured on 'F1 The Album' are originals, which is why Tate McRae's 'Sports Car,' despite its fitting name, is not on it; instead, she offered 'Just Keep Watching.'
Atlantic, usually Weaver, would play the label's song choices against filmed sequences in the editing room, Bruckheimer explains.
'So, if there's a race and we need to end it with a song he'll play, you know, maybe 10 songs against that sequence and it's the best song that wins. It's not usually the song that we think is going to be the biggest hit or features the biggest artists,' Bruckheimer says. 'It's the one that works for a particular sequence.'
A global focus with a diversity of talent
'F1 is such a global sport. I wanted the soundtrack of the film to reflect that,' Kosinski says. That meant tapping artists 'from all over the world to give it a feel that the sport really has.'
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, who consulted on the project, made sure that need for global inclusivity was clear from the start, says Kosinski.
'Sometimes here in Hollywood we can get a little myopic in terms of our cultural focus,' he says. 'And this sport, it is inspiring to me to just see how eclectic it is.'
He would send Hamilton demos of the soundtrack and get his opinion: 'I sent him the Burna Boy track,' Kosinski remembers. 'Louis was like, 'This is going to be a giant hit.''
'We were very intentional about genre and demographic,' Weaver adds. 'We have pop records. We have Afrobeat records. We have electronic records. We have country songs.'
The result is a collection of 17 tracks with broad appeal — not unlike the lineup of a major summer music festival.
'It sounds amazing,' Bruckheimer says. 'The soundtrack blends perfectly in with every scene that we put the music against.'
A variance of approaches
Artists on the 'F1' soundtrack found inspiration and participated in different ways.
'Sometimes it was bringing an artist in and showing them a scene, like Rosé,' who then created to that, says Kosinski. Chris Stapleton did the same. Other artists were simply given a concept or an idea to inspire them and would record a track that would later be tailored to a specific scene.
For Sheeran, Kosinski came up with 10 key phrases as lyrical prompts, words that 'identify Sonny Hayes,' the film's protagonist played by Pitt. Sheeran's song, 'Drive,' was written with John Mayer and Blake Slatkin 'specifically for the end title of the movie,' adds Weaver. 'It's kind of the culmination of the Brad Pitt character.'
Other artists have deep ties to Formula One — like the DJ Tiësto, who has regularly performed at F1 grands prix across the globe as part of 'a long-standing relationship' with the motorsport, as he tells the AP. Atlantic Records asked if he'd like to pitch any songs for the movie — and he actually ended up in the film, portraying himself in a big Las Vegas nightclub scene. 'I hope I win an Oscar for this,' he jokes.
'I jumped right on it,' Tiësto says of the opportunity. 'Dance music and racing, there's a connection because they're both high energy. And with F1, it's a perfect combo and it brings people together from all over the world.' That's true for the Dutch DJ especially: His song for the soundtrack, 'OMG!,' features Missouri rapper Sexyy Red.
'She heard the song, and she really loved it and, yeah, she wanted to write lyrics for it,' he says. 'It was a really cool collaboration.'
For rapper Roddy Ricch, participating in the soundtrack was simply an opportunity to 'be in the company of great company,' he says, name-checking Doja Cat and Don Toliver. 'I just love being a part of things that's great.' His song, 'Underdog,' arrives in a big race moment and takes a conceptual approach to the motorsport.
'Sometimes when you're in the race of life, you feel like you may be doubted, you may be under pressure,' he says of the song's messaging. 'Just keep your head up and finish the race. The marathon continues.'
The movie's director has one particular wish for the album.
'I hope people come away discovering something,' Kosinski says. 'An artist they've never heard before … and if they aren't fans of Formula One, hopefully they come away with interest or a passion for the sport.'
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