''Tenet: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is the soundtrack album to the 2020 film of the same name written and directed by

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...

, released under

WaterTower Music WaterTower Music (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label and run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based o ...

on September 2, 2020.

Ludwig Göransson Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish composer, conductor and record producer. He has scored films such as ''Fruitvale Station'', the ''Rocky'' franchise entries ''Creed'' and ''Creed II'', ''Venom'', and '' Ten ...

created and composed the score for the film, marking his first collaboration with Nolan. Nolan had originally wanted frequent collaborator

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

to compose the score but Zimmer had to decline due to his commitments to ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

'', which was also produced by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of liv ...

. On February 3, 2021, the score was nominated for

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications o ...

for the

78th Golden Globe Awards The 78th Golden Globe Awards honored the best in American television of 2020, as well as film in 2020 and early 2021, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The ceremony took place on February 28, 2021, nearly two months ...

Production

Ludwig Göransson composed the score after Nolan's frequent collaborator

had committed himself to the 2021 film ''

'', which Zimmer wanted to do since the 1980s. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Göransson recorded musicians at their homes. During an interview in a podcast with Kenny Holmes and Robert Kraft, Göransson stated in early August 2020 that he finished creating the score weeks before August, and praised Nolan for choosing him, stating; "I finished my part, working on it a couple of weeks ago. I feel so fortunate in my career to work with like these geniuses and I feel like that's why it feels so easy for me". When asked if Nolan came over to his studio and told him how he wanted "things to sound", Göransson said; "Absolutely. He can talk so much about music, you know". Göransson also stated he began working on ''Tenet''s score three or four months before filming even commenced. Travis Scott's involvement in the soundtrack was a last-minute decision when director

told Göransson he decided to add an end title track to the credit. According to Göransson, Travis Scott was sent the track "Trucks in Place" and "The Plan" was written from the beat of the former after having heard the track. Göransson added that a snippet of Scott's voice from "The Plan" was placed on top of The Protagonist's theme, which is audible in several tracks within the score, with him stating; "It The Plan"was actually so good that me & Chris, we took a snippet of Travis' voice and placed it out on top of The Protagonist's theme throughout the movie. And that was kind of the last, missing piece of the puzzle that we just did."

Track listing

Notes * All track titles are stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

References

{{reflist 2020 soundtrack albums 2020s film soundtrack albums Action film soundtracks Ludwig Göransson soundtracks Science fiction film soundtracks WaterTower Music soundtracks