A masterful ‘Sinners’ soundtrack - Why Ryan Coogler’s blockbuster was as impressive to the ear as it was on the eye
Set in 1930s Mississippi, Sinners has stolen every headline on its surge to success on our screens and as with any brilliant film, the music is wonderfully crafted to match, writes Gabriel Mills for Music News Blitz.
Goransson delivers again
Ryan Coogler partnered up with Swedish musician and composer Ludwig Goransson for a fifth time to make this soundtrack.
It captures authentic 1930s American blues and Irish folk amidst the dark and tense sound that helped create the eerie atmosphere in the film.
The pair have worked together previously on Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), Wakanda Forever (2022) and Black Panther (2018), for which Goransson won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Goransson, who also won Best Original Score for Oppenheimer in 2024, has also composed music for Tenet, Venom and The Mandalorian as he begins to cement himself as one of the best film composers around, alongside Hans Zimmer and John Williams.
‘I lied to you, I love the blues’
Set in Mississippi, the film heavily features Delta blues which is considered one of the foundational styles of blues and originated from this area of America.
Through its use of guitar and harmonica, we get a feel for the authentic blues sound right from the start of the film.
Sammie, played by Miles Caton, gives us a raw Delta blues sound near the beginning of the film when he sings “Travelin”, using a slide guitar technique which is typical of this style of blues.
The use of blues as a powerful force is one of the key parts of the film with the main song ‘I Lied to You’ encompassing this perfectly.
After crowds gathered in the jukejoint, Sammie’s song, along with brilliant filming, created an electrifying and quite remarkable scene which is unlike anything I have seen in film.
Blues as a force is shown perfectly in the scene and in the song. It feels like a transcendence of time with introductions of electric guitar, synths and drums while keeping the core blues feel to make a scene which still has not left my mind.
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Rocky Road to Dublin
Powerful Irish folk music takes over the following section in an equally captivating scene where Jack O’Connell’s character Rennick leads the way for the traditional 19th-century Irish folk song “Rocky Road to Dublin” partnered with Irish dancing.
This introduction of music gave a different feel and a divide between the blues and Irish folk music but when combined over the course of the film, with Ludwig Goransson’s score, it worked brilliantly.
Blues stars joining the team
The Sinners soundtrack included legendary blues artists Buddy Guy and Bobby Rush to contribute to the authentic and soulful blues music.
Buddy Guy makes an appearance in a post-credit scene to play “Travelin” as an older Sammie to show the blues is still alive in him.
Bobby Rush is responsible for the film’s song “Juke” which is one of my favourite bits of music in the film.
Sammie on his guitar and ‘Slick’ on the harmonica to make uplifting and catchy blues that had cinema-goers fighting the urge to dance along.
The music for Sinners was what really stuck with me after watching the film and I hope the next Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson collaboration is not too far away.
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