In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producer and composer Ludwig Göransson had the chance to discuss his musical role in the Black Panther movie as he headed up the film's score, having to take a deep look at the layers of African heritage to craft the sounds of the blockbuster. While he delivered on several interesting snippets, explaining the process with which he constructed the score, the Reporter casually dropped off a tidbit of information that we all can appreciate when it revealed that Göransson hopped on the phone for the interview "during a break from producing the new Childish Gambino album with Donald Glover."
Despite previously stating that he'd soon be retiring the moniker and musical career of Childish Gambino after his next album, Donald Glover recently inked a deal with RCA records, announced at the top of the year, providing fans with a new shining light of hope of some sense of an extension on that promise. Now that both men have wrapped up the bulk of their obligations—Glover’s filming for the second season of Atlanta and the forthcoming Star Wars film and Ludwig's duty in scoring Black Panther--new releases may soon be among us.
For Göransson, this latest endeavor marked the third time he's collaborated with director Ryan Coogler in an influential film, having previously worked on Coogler's critically-acclaimed critically Fruitvale Station and Creed films. “I was incredibly excited as it was a dream of mine to score a superhero movie,” Göransson told the publication. "I also felt incredible pressure to pay homage to African culture and its traditional music. It’s not lost on me that I’m a Swedish guy from one of the coldest countries in the world."
“I traveled to a library in South Africa called ILAM [International Library of African Music]," he added. "Which has a collection of about 500 different instruments that don’t really exist anymore. To be able to go there, record the instruments and use them in the movie… it was an incredible opportunity."
Göransson also mentioned that he travelled to West and South Africa to get a jump on the film's score, even being able to send Michael B. Jordan the theme for his character of Killmonger to help the actor prepare for his role. He went on to add that he impressively scored the four-hour director's cut of the film, but an established catalog of written and recorded material from months of research made the task a simple one.