Director Terrence Malick & Composer Hanan Townshend Launch VOYAGE OF TIME

Composer Hanan Townshend is gaining notoriety as Terrence Malick’s go-to composer. After scoring ‘To the Wonder,’ and ‘Knight of Cups,’ both scores for the enigmatic director he calls a mentor and friend, they young music maker premieres ‘The Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey,’ the double feature that was twenty years in the making. 

“We connected creatively since day one,” recalls Townshend. “Terry guided me through the process while giving me room to experiment and feel comfortable enough to create a fluid score that would complement the story.”

It’s hard to believe Townshend was still a college student when he met Terrence Malick.  Eager to get his foot in the door the composer answered a mysterious ad that inadvertently launched his professional career. Unbeknownst to the young musician, answering that wanted ad would also spark a long running friendship with one of the world’s most revered filmmakers.

 “I was studying music composition at the University of Texas when my professor sent me an email from one of Terry’s producers, Nicolas Gonda. The email pretty much said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a young composer who’s interested in working with an acclaimed director.’ That’s all. I replied to the email and sent some music to the producer and lo and behold it the movie was ‘The Tree of Life.”

Soon after meeting with Malick, the budding composer joined the team assisting fellow composer Alexandre Desplat on the films’ spellbinding score. Since then Twonshend has worked with Malick ever since. This month the rising composer unveils his two latest projects, the long awaited metaphysical journey into nature, 'Voyage of Time: Life's Journey,' and the dramatic 'The Vessel.'

Designing the perfect sound for his mentor's long awaited passion project  was specially important to the composer who is gaining notoriety for creating a-vant-guard scores.

"Voyage Of Time was one of my favorite experiences as a composer because of the magnitude of the film. It's a art film of epic proportions and is both a scientific and spiritual journey," says Townshend. "The best part about the experience was the amount of time I was given to experiment with musical ideas, it was never a rush, we took our time like explorers finding their way through the dark."

The film, which took 20 years in the making, was a major feat for Townshend, but his connection to Terrence guided him steadily to the realization of a sphinx-like soundtrack that many are calling beautifully evocative.

In Malick's new documentary debut the filmmaker has realized a vision and a goal going back many years-an exploration of the universe and all creation, from the sun, to the stars, to the depths of the ocean, and the far-out reaches of space. Cate Blanchett narrates the feature.

Townshend, who warmly refers to the prolific director as "Terry," also recently debuted the soundtrack to "The Vessel." Written and directed by Julio Quintana and the film stars Martin Sheen as a Catholic priest in a small Latin American town where a tidal wave destroys a local school packed with children.

The soundtrack was released on September 9th and features original music by Townshend (To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, The Better Angels). Also included is the song "Despierta" performed by Gabriel Ruiz Galindo & Gabriel Luna De La Fuente (feat. Mayte Martín). The soundtrack is now available on Amazon, where you can also listen to audio samples.

Check out the Voyage of Time: Life's Journey music/trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTmZYcCjj9Q

For more information please go to:
http://www.hanantownshend.com/

 

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