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Four composers make up Zikali
We studied at the conservatory of music in Annecy together
and studied composing for film and television
and that's what we all wanted to do
so we decided to join forces and form a collective.
We knew of Seb's work, because living in Annecy
we know the mountain and we love it and
Seb has a unique way of filming things
he manages to communicate feelings and emotions
in a very personal way
and a lot of work on sound
he puts a lot of importance on the sound.
The four of us have very different musical styles and tastes
so we can produce a wide range of music.
And four people working at the same time
can work more quickly than just one composer.
I had worked with Zikali before
and found it really interesting - having a group
not just one artist but several influences.
Each of them specialises in a different instrument
and it's really good to have different approaches
on the artistic side.
And after working with them on a few commercial projects
I knew they would bring something very personal and unique to this
and they would be able to create something
that would do more than underly the image, but would amplify it.
It's easy to buy music on the internet
but I wanted to work the other way around
to get them to create the music for the image.
It's a challenge technically
and they rose to it one hundred percent.
We went into the Summits of My Life project -
a 52 minute documentary, thus rather long,
with a very cinematic approach.
In other words developing themes developing emotions
with orchestral arrangements, like for a film.
A theme identifies an element in the film
an aural identity that allows the viewer
to consciously or subconsciously connect a character
or an emotion
or a place to an image.
There are themes like Kilian's theme
an ascending melody played on the cello
which represents the challenge, and overcoming obstacles.
We chose the cello because Kilian played it when he was a kid
and it meant something to him to have that instrument
for his theme.
Also because it's a string instrument that's very expressive
and can convey the emotions that he experiences in the mountains.
With this group, having four musicians
was a way of having variety in the music.
I didn't want it to be only orchestral, or emotional
there had to be catchy tunes in there too
that would get to you and go with the adrenaline, and Kilian's age
and they knew exactly how to get that diversity
from their different perspectives, different tastes,
different expectations and it all works really well together.
So we have really rythmic tunes,
very contemporary
and Roxane's extraordinary voice
giving a really emotional aspect, which is great.
To create the music for this project
we decided to surround ourselves with musicians
with different skills.
With Roxane Claux, the singer
who sings several times in the original sound track…
We knew her tone and her voice
and we knew she had the energy, the dynamism and the timbre
and would fit what Seb wanted, and bring a freshness.
We suggested she get involved
and we started working together.
After a few sessions working together we had an arrangement
then an orchestral backing
and we met at the studio to record
the song that's now "Balloons"
that you hear about half way through the film over the Aravis segment.
So as I said
there are segments where it's really important
the ambiance in the mountains during the storm
and in those difficult moments, all that atmosphere
is created by the sound. The sound of crampons on rock
the sound of snow coming down, of the athletes breathing
all of that I record, and then they work their magic
and recreate sounds
more authentic than the original sounds.
The sound design is really important for me
because I'm not making a fiction film
it's about reality, life as it is
and those ambient sounds play their part
in making you feel like you're with the athletes
that you're living those moments with them
and it's important that the sound effects
are interspersed with the music
sometimes over the top, sometimes underneath, they balance it all perfectly
which is really important.
I think one of the strengths of the film
is that the viewer can identify with Kilian
being with him in the outdoors
when you hear the wind, Kilian is cold
the viewer should be cold too
when you hear his crampons on the rocks
we should feel them too
when his heart beats faster
and with all these things we can put the viewer into the action
with Kilian on top of the mountains.
Of course we didn't re-record everything
that would have been a huge amount of work
but sometimes it's simpler and easier
or just more fun to do it yourself.
The idea for the finale was to bring all the themes together
used throughout the film
in a majestic orchestral music.
These themes - Kilian's, Nuria his mother's, the one for nature
you hear them from the start of the film
and they develop with the characters.
So to bring them together at the end
gives a coherence to the soundtrack
but also a strong sense of an ending
we know subconsciously that it's the end.
What was really important for us also
was to have as many real instruments as possible.
A lot of music these days is made with synthetic instruments,
but it's really important to us to have those small inconsistencies and faults
small surprises that give that authenticity
a human aspect.
When you make a film
you have to think that the viewer should see what we see
when we're in the mountains,
and it's the music that does that.
Music conveys emotions, I think that
they've managed to convey the emotion on the summit, happiness
going down, concentration
when it's cold,
they've managed to get across
the same feelings we had in the mountains.
People have been saying
the images are beautiful, the story is amazing
but the music is extraordinary, it moves us
it makes us cry, it makes us laugh…
so the music plays a huge part.
We're going to put out the soundtrack also
it'll be worth it, I think
people can have it separately from the film.