Jake Xerxes Fussell and James Elkington have teamed up for their first original film score. The folk musicians have soundtracked Rebuilding, the new feature film written and directed by Max Walker-Silverman, following up his 2022 Sundance hit A Love Song. Ahead of its release on November 14, they’ve previewed the score with two lovely tracks, ‘Glow in the Dark’ and ‘Contemplating the Moon’. Take a listen below.
Walker-Silverman was introduced to Fussell’s music through producer Dan Janvey. “I could hear the cinema in it right away,” he said in a press release. “His music is rooted firmly in all the folkloric traditions I love but not at all nostalgic. And that was much like the film we were making; a story in which the past is all around but firmly of the here and now. And since so much of his music has no lyrics, Jake already understood the challenge of telling a story through instrumentation alone.”
Elkington produced Fussell’s last two albums, Good and Green Again and When I’m Called. “I think Max had a suspicion that we’d be able to improvise a couple of new pieces in the room, while watching the picture, which turned out to be true,” Elkington recalled. “Some of our favorite cues were written that way – in the room while watching the picture.” Reflecting on some of the inspirations for their work, he added, “Not only are both The Straight Story and Paris, Texas great soundtracks, but the films themselves hold hands with Rebuilding as modern inversions of the western.”
