Is it a Coppola project without a pitch-perfect soundtrack? Since commissioning French electronic duo Air to score her directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides, back in 1999, Sofia has always slayed in the music department. Neither has her niece, Gia, who enlisted Devonté Hynes to create an original score for her own debut feature, Palo Alto, in 2013. The collaborators have now reunited for The Myth Of Orpheus and Eurydice, a new film reimagining the ancient story of love and loss in contemporary NYC. Only this time, the lovers are decked out in Alessandro Michele’s resplendent Gucci Pre-Fall 2016 collection.
Produced for Vogue, the four-part Orpheus and Eurydice features an eclectic cast. French singer Lou Doillon and model Marcel Castenmiller take the leads, while a mix of models and artists make cameo appearances. Look closely and you’ll find Lida Fox, Sarah Cummings, Waris Ahluwalia, Alice Lancaster, Kaila Chambers, and Tracy Antonopoulos (fun fact: Chambers, Coppola, and Hynes all appear in Antonopoulos’ My Crew, so Orpheus and Eurydice seems like a fun family affair).
The first of the four videos is soundtracked by “Delancey,” a Blood Orange demo Hynes recorded in early March of 2015. Its Soundcloud cover art appears to be an old picture of the Lower East Side’s Delancey St, so it’s a pretty fitting score for Coppola’s NYC remix of the ancient myth. Hynes’ electronic cello section boasts a similar sound to the late, massively influential Arthur Russell, whose work Hynes covered on a truly epic tribute album released in late 2014. Considering Hynes played a Russell cover show during the 2015 Red Bull Music Academy in late May (and curated an Instagram takeover of Russell’s NYC haunts) the influence makes a lot of sense, and puts a beautifully experimental spin on the time-tested tale.
Yet the instrumentals that score parts two, three, and four aren’t as readily identifiable, leaving a few YouTubers suspecting the songs may be something to expect from Hynes’ forthcoming third Blood Orange album Freetown Sound. Orpheus and Eurydice’s third iteration — which marks Doillon’s descent into the Underworld — is accompanied by a gorgeously manic piano piece. Keys notably featured in Hynes’ sophomore album Cupid Deluxe, but these sound more in the vein of a scrapped film score he uploaded to Soundcloud last May, when he revealed he was fired from the untitled project. The fourth and final film features a thumping club cut before “Delancey” reprises as the couple returns to the LES streets.
Whether these sounds are lifted from Freetown Sound remains to be seen, but for now, get excited that two seriously exciting collaborators and friends are back at it.
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Text Emily Manning