Cliff Martinez’s score for Drive has been as highly lauded and influential as the pop cuts in the film. Tomorrow, following the film’s and soundtrack’s recent 10th anniversary, Music.Film is releasing Overdrive, a compilation of remixes of select cues from the movie. Today, Vehlinggo premieres Parallels’ and Futurecop’s majestically catchy, novel take on the track “He Had A Good Time.”
The original cue is a glassy, meditative ambient number with Martinez’s deftly deployed cristal baschet in the lead. Parallels and Futurecop! turn it into something characteristic of their past collaborations, such as “Edge of the Universe” and “We Belong”: A dreamy and massive synth-driven expression layered in beautiful colors, galactic consciousness, and Holly Dodson’s staggeringly emotive vocals. It’s great to hear these two synthwave pioneers re-interpreting a cut from Drive, considering that it was this 2011 film that helped the early scene get more widespread attention.
In a statement Dodson elaborates on her contributions to the remix: “The lyrics in this song were meant to be sort of free-flowing and stream-of-consciousness. I wrote it before I moved to California, when that dream seemed like it was going to come true. On tour, we’d always drive — hop in the van and hit the road, which is truly one of my favorite things and some of my most precious memories. I was thinking about one particular drive, the first time we had driven through the desert from Phoenix to LA. I have a distinct memory of arriving in Palm Springs during the golden hour, and listening to Thin Lizzy, which at the time felt so nostalgic. Now looking back it feels even more nostalgic. But we were definitely feeling the magic of the desert. I was trying to capture that emotion — the possibility of the open road with an open heart. And I have to say, the film Drive sort of inspires that feeling in me as well, and for some reason reminds me of our road trips and touring America.”
Manzur Iqbal of Futurecop! says “He Had A Good Time” is a cue he especially loves, noting in his statement that the scene it’s in “was very powerful. It was happy yet with some underlying sadness in that moment.”
He said: “I wanted to make the music and feeling from this part of the movie further emphasized through more dramatic instruments. It had to have a certain epic and progressive feel so I had to make the track with acoustic driven drums, lots of synths and orchestral parts, especially violins and cellos playing the leads, to lift the original leads to another level, but overall not using too much effects or modern electronic mixing (keeping it very raw and almost live) — while I was picturing the scene of both the driver (Ryan Gosling) and Irene (Carey Mulligan) in a new part of a movie where they are now at peace, joyful, and uplifted.”
Michael Kurtz of The Cutting Edge Group, of which Music.Film is a part, lauded the opportunity to honor Martinez’s Drive work.
“Getting a chance to be involved with a release that celebrates Cliff Martinez’ masterful score from Drive was a dream come true, and finding brilliant artists who have a shared appreciation for the score and hearing their contribution to the iconic source material was a truly special experience,” he said in a statement. “This is a love letter to the amazing sound landscape that we were introduced to 10 years ago when we first heard the Drive soundtrack, which continues to inspire us to this day.”
This song and the entire comp will be available to snag digitally tomorrow, Nov. 19, but you can pre-save now.
Overdrive Tracklist
01. Hammer (Slinger Remix)
02. He Had A Good Time (Futurecop! Remix Feat. Parallels)
03. Rubber Head (French 79 Remix)
04. After The Chase (Notaker Remix)
05. Bride of Deluxe (Das Mörtal Light Remix)
06. Hammer (Philter Remix)
07. Bride Of Deluxe (Varien Remix)
08. On The Beach (Andrew Prahlow Remix)
09. After The Chase (Gadi Sassoon Remix)
10. Where’s The Deluxe Version? (Philter Remix)
11. He Had A Good Time (Futurecop! Remix)
