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Blade Runner 2049 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
Released	October 5, 2017 (2017-10-05)
Length	93:44
Label	Epic/ASG
Producer	Michael Hodges Kayla Morrison Ashley Culp
Hans Zimmer chronology
Dunkirk: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) Blade Runner 2049: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) Widows: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2018)
Benjamin Wallfisch chronology
It: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) Blade Runner 2049: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) The Darkest Minds: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2018)
Denis Villeneuve film score chronology
Arrival (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2016) Blade Runner 2049 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017) Dune (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2021)

Blade Runner 2049 – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049. Released in October 2017, the album contains music composed by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, along with additional tracks by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Lauren Daigle. The soundtrack was produced by Michael Hodges, Kayla Morrison and Ashley Culp. It also includes the piece "Tears in the Rain", which was originally composed and performed (as "Tears in Rain") by Vangelis, the composer of the original 1982 soundtrack Blade Runner.

Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, it stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks and Jared Leto. Set thirty years after the original film, the story depicts a bioengineered human, a replicant blade runner named K, who discovers the remains of a once-pregnant replicant. To prevent a possible war between replicants and humans, K is secretly tasked with finding the child and destroying all evidence related to it.

The soundtrack was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music at the 71st British Academy Film Awards. In 2018, the Soundtrack received a Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for visual media, losing to Ludwig Göransson's score for Black Panther.

History

Warner Bros. reportedly considered engaging the rapper and music producer El-P to write the film score for Blade Runner 2049, and he was commissioned to write a short score for the film's first trailer. Conscious of the legacy of Vangelis's score for the original 1982 film, El-P's composition made use of a Yamaha CS-80 analog synthesizer, an instrument used by Vangelis. However, El-P's music was not used in the end, and he has stated that his score was "rejected (or ignored)".

Jóhann Jóhannsson, who had worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners, Sicario, and Arrival, was initially announced as composer for the film. However, Villeneuve and Jóhannsson decided to end the collaboration because Villeneuve felt the film "needed something different, and I needed to go back to something closer to Vangelis's soundtrack". New composers Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch joined in July 2017. In September, Jóhannsson's agent confirmed that he was no longer involved and that he was contractually forbidden from commenting on the situation.

According to Epic Records, Zimmer and Wallfisch sought to continue the legacy of the original Blade Runner score by incorporating the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer. Zimmer has said of the soundtrack: "First of all, I realized that Denis is a director who has a vision; he has a voice. Remember, I've done a lot of movies with Ridley Scott. So, it was important that this was an autonomous piece of work. Let's just be honest. Ridley is a hard act to follow—as is Vangelis. While Ben was four-years-old, I had actually experienced all of this. We watched and literally, as we stopped watching, we decided on the palette. We decided this wasn't going to be an orchestral thing. The story spoke to us."

Release

The soundtrack album was released online on October 5, 2017, and a two-disc CD version was released on the Epic Records/ASG Records label in the United States on October 27.

On October 25, 2017, it was announced that a vinyl double-LP of the soundtrack album would be released on December 15, 2017, in a numbered limited edition of 2500, pressed on 180-gram premium vinyl, intended for audiophiles. Although the information about the release mentioned that the album would have 24 tracks, the advertised tracks on sites selling it shows only 20 tracks, with the tracks by Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley being omitted from the LPs.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, unless otherwise noted

Note indicates tracks that are not on the limited edition two-LP vinyl release

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Egner, Jeremy (September 8, 2017). "'Blade Runner 2049': Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling and the Creators Discuss the Sci-Fi Sequel and Rehash Old Arguments". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
2. Gettel, Oliver (February 18, 2018). "Three Billboards triumphs at BAFTA Awards: See the full winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
3. "Award Winners Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media". Grammys. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
4. "Listen to El-P's 'rejected' Blade Runner 2049 score". The Independent. September 25, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
5. Jon Blistein (October 3, 2017). "'Blade Runner 2049' Soundtrack Features Hans Zimmer, Elvis Presley". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
6. William Mullally (September 28, 2017). "Villeneuve reveals why he wanted David Bowie in Blade Runner 2049". Al Arabiya. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
7. "Icelandic Film Composer No Longer Attached To Blade Runner Sequel". icelandreview.com. September 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
8. "Blade Runner 2049 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Out October 5 - Epic Records". Epic Records. October 3, 2017. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
9. Noah Yoo, Matthew Strauss (October 3, 2017). "Blade Runner 2049 Soundtrack Detailed, Jóhann Jóhannsson Exit Explained". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
10. "Blade Runner 2049 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
11. Gabriela Helfet (October 25, 2017). "Blade Runner 2049 original soundtrack released on limited 2xLP". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
12. Brock Thiessen (October 25, 2017). "'Blade Runner 2049' Soundtrack Gets Limited Vinyl Release". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
13. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
14. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049" (in French). Hung Medien.
15. "Hans Zimmer Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
16. "Lescharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049". Hung Medien.
17. "'Blade Runner 2049 (O.S.T.)' on the FIMI charts" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
18. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
19. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
20. "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049". Hung Medien.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Soundtrack / Hans Zimmer / Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049". Hung Medien.
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
23. "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
24. "Hans Zimmer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
25. "Hans Zimmer Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard.
26. "British album certifications – Hans Zimmer/Benjamin Wallfisch – Blade Runner 2049 - Ost". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 13, 2024.

External links

• Official film website

• Blade Runner (franchise) mass media
• 2017 soundtrack albums
• Benjamin Wallfisch albums
• Epic film soundtracks
• Epic Records soundtracks
• Hans Zimmer soundtracks
• Science fiction film soundtracks