Sophia Michaels
The first offerings from the soundtrack to Damien Chazelle’s roaring Twenties Hollywood flick Babylon have arrived with a wild energy to match the film’s hedonistic vibe.
The two songs, “Call Me Manny” and “Voodoo Mama,” are both pulsating blasts of hot jazz stuffed with thundering drums and boozy horns. Composer Justin Hurwitz — who helmed the entire 48-track score — gave Rolling Stone some context for the two songs, too.
“Call Me Manny” plays when Diego Calva’s character, Manny Torres, is thrust into “the whirlwind of a new job.” Meanwhile, “Voodoo Mama” helps kick everything off, blaring as Margot Robbie’s character Nellie LaRoy “takes over the dance floor at the party” that starts the film.
Hurwitz has served as Chazelle’s go-to composer for all his films, going back to his 2009 debut, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. His work on 2016’s La La Landearned him Oscars for both Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “City of Stars.”
Babylon marks Chazelle’s follow-up to his 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man. Set in 1920s Hollywood, the movie will chronicle the rise and fall of various figures in the film and entertainment industries as they navigate the pivotal transition from silent films to talkies. It boasts a stacked cast that includes Robbie, Calva, Brad Pitt, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart.
Babylon is set to arrive in select theaters on Dec. 23, with a full release scheduled for Jan. 6. The soundtrack is slated to drop on Dec. 9.
