Musique Fantastique

August 19, 2023

Lakeshore Releases HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Score by Jason & Nolan Livesay

HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY is a 2023 British horror film directed by Gary Shore and starring Alice Eve and Joel Fry. The film involved three interconnected stories which cover the violent disintegration of two families onboard the RMS Queen Mary in 1938 and the present day.

Lakeshore Records has released the film’s soundtrack, featuring music by Jason and Nolan Livesay. The identical twin composers are award-winning composers, orchestrators, and conductors for film, television, video games, Broadway, and theme parks.  Their uniquely exhaustive skill set and efficient team effort has led them to create music for many of Hollywood’s biggest scoring projects and worldwide entertainment, collaborating with such composers as John Ottman, Jeff Russo, John Paesano, John Debney, David Newman, Christopher Lennertz, Chris Bacon, Jason Robert Brown, & Alan Silvestri.

For HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY, the duo creates a multifaceted musical backdrop that both pays homage to the history of the iconic ship with elegant orchestrations and performing original songs with a big band, as well as dark, unhinged moments that augment the horrors of the film. Nashville-based Tiffany Ashton provides both strikingly intense interpretations of classic pop tunes such as Gus Kahn and Isham Jones’ “It Had To Be You,” to self-penned, vintage jazz-inspired originals. Ashton also co-wrote several songs including “House of Cards” with Rebecca Jane Mendez.

Note composers Jason and Nolan: “Composing the score for HAUNTING OF THE QUEEN MARY was an incredibly difficult challenge, but a creatively rewarding one. The music for the opening of the film, for example, underwent 27 iterations before we discovered the appropriate tone necessary to begin this uniquely haunting story. In addition to the 1930’s style original big band tunes that we wrote before the film’s shooting began (thanks to the assistance of our gifted arranger Ryan O’Connell and lyricist Tiffany Ashton), the score overall is orchestral in nature, combining traditional symphonic and choral textures with avant-garde 20th century techniques, which was a joy to compose as we are both classically trained string players with a love of the orchestra and its vast capabilities.”

Director Gary Shore notes: “Like the ship, the score is full of sharp angles and lush curves. The musical soundscape skillfully lures the audience deeper into the ship’s dark core, while tightening the screw with each turn of a corner – adding depth, complexity, and sonic mystery. With one foot in the past and the other in the present, a blend of period music, unsettling atmospheric sounds, and captivating melodies brings the ship to life, for an unforgettable journey into the ship’s dark heart.”

Adds Ashton: “Working alongside the Livesay Brothers, Gary Shore, and Brett Tomberlin on this music was a gift, because much like for the film itself, our team was dedicated to building a layered, multi-dimensional soundtrack. At first listen, ‘The DaaBee DaaDoo’ is a 1930s throwback, but in listening closer it’s an original song speaking to a character’s descent into terrifying madness. In the same vein, the theme song “It Had To Be You (dark version)” is a twisted, murderous take on a beloved classic, and having the opportunity to work with producer Tommee Profitt, whose credits include everyone from NF to Avril Lavigne, was the perfect fit.”

For more information on the composers, see their website here.

The film was first released in Italy on July 19, 2023, and was released in the United Kingdom on August 18, 2023.

Purchase / Stream the soundtrack here: https://lnk.to/hotqm

Watch the film’s trailer: