Ludwig Göransson is one of the composers who have an ongoing collaboration with different directors. For Christopher Nolan, he wrote the music for "Tenet" and "Oppenheimer", and for Ryan Coogler, the music for the two "Black Panther" films.
It is Coogler who has directed the Sweden-current "Sinners", a horror film set in Mississippi in 1932, where blues music runs like a red thread through the plot.
My dad was a blues guitarist. He was 15 when he bought his first record with John Lee Hooker. That music changed my dad's life, and then mine. And all music has come from blues. The music for "Sinners" is probably my most personal so far, says Ludwig Göransson.
"Wanted a violin"
For him, a project always starts with him reading the script and then sitting down with the director.
We talk, I go through what I think about, what I get inspired by, the director does the same. On "Oppenheimer", Chris had no idea what the music would be like from the start, but he wanted to have a violin as an instrument.
Often, the music is clear when the film is to be edited. Many directors use other, older music during the editing process, but neither Nolan nor Coogler do.
Before recording "Sinners", Göransson moved with his family to New Orleans and spent three months there. His dad came over from Sweden and they made an inspirational trip, a "blues trail".
Working with Nolan again
As inspirational sources, he mentions giants like Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Bernard Hermann. He admires Morricone's ability to combine voices and sounds like whip cracks and make it into something new – but notes that everything ultimately depends on the collaboration with the director.
People remember film music, but it depends on the collaboration between the director and the composer if it's going to be really good.
The next job will be the music for Nolan's "Odysseus", which is currently being filmed in Southern Europe.
I'll travel and check out the recording. It's going to be super exciting. The film will premiere in July 2026, so I have to be done a few months before that.
Age: 40 years.
Family: Wife Serena McKinney, two sons.
Lives: In Los Angeles.
Occupation: Composer, musician.
Previous film music in selection: "Community", "Last stop Fruitvale station", "Creed", "Venom", "Black Panther", "Creed 2", "Black Panther: Wakanda forever", "The Mandalorian", "Tenet", "Oppenheimer", "The book of Boba Fett", "Röd", "The history of Sweden".
Oscars for: "Black Panther" and "Oppenheimer".
Currently with: "Sinners", which just had its Swedish cinema premiere.
