Whiplash/La La Land director Damien Chazelle returns with jazz-inspired 1920s LA epic Babylon

Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle, known for his controversial breakthrough jazz-inspired film Whiplash, and his multi-award-winning smash La La Land, is set to release a decadent new epic, Babylon, which hits cinemas in the UK from 20 January.

A lavish and visually opulent epic set in 1920s Los Angeles, Babylon is led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart. A tale of “outsized ambition and outrageous excess”, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood as the film industry transitioned from silent movies to talking pictures.  

Babylon is the fifth project in the collaboration of Chazelle and Hurwitz together, after Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016) and First Man (2018). Hurwitz worked on Babylon for almost three years to create a "unique musical universe" that is believable enough for the 1920s, but also "a far cry from the quaint jazz of the period", which was a "challenge" for the composer. He created a "fresh concoction that matched the wild, hedonistic world of the film", by using jazz band instruments in more contemporary ways, drawing inspiration from rock and roll, and modern dance music.

The soundtrack also includes pieces scored for a "manic" 100-piece orchestra recorded in Los Angeles, as well as other cues scores with circus sounds. Hurwitz said that "a huge part of scoring process was to find unique musicians to bring it to life" and credited musicians Sean Jones, Dontae Winslow, Ludovic Louis, Jacob Scesney, and Leo Pellegrino for their contribution to the score.

See a behind-the-scenes look of how the score came together below and for more info visit umusic.com/babylon-soundtrack