TYPE: Album & cinemix
TITLE: METROPOLIS
LABEL: Axis Records
PRESSKIT: ASK HERE

Jeff Mills released his first soundtrack for Metropolis in 2000. Praising the film’s “timeless message of solidarity,” Mills stated that his objective was to “reintroduce and educate the theories and ideology” of Metropolis to the youth at the end of one century and beginning of a new one. Mills wrote a second soundtrack for Metropolis in 2010. This is the third. These are not drafts of a single work in progress, but entirely separate compositions, with original music, and each written from a different and unique perspective. 

The 2000 soundtrack was released from the perspective of a spectator watching the screen. 
The 2010 soundtrack was from the perspective of the characters in the film watching the spectators watching the screen. 
This 2022 soundtrack is from the perspective of Metropolis’ machines and technology and composed as a “symphonic electronic soundtrack,” played by an orchestra of machines with a conductor presiding. 

As an electronic symphonic music creation, Mills proposes a few interesting points in the schematics of this new album. First, the positioning and role of the listener as the soundtrack is based on the environment of the scenes, rather than pure transcription. Second, as a storyline that takes place in the year 2000, the choice of sound elements refer to some future commonality and foresight between the genres of Classical and Electronic music – between man and machine.  And third, in many parts of the soundtrack where sounds are played in unison. This is symbolic of the hopefulness the storyline works towards.  

Mills has performed the scores many times over the years, “from large auditoriums to churches to projections on garage doors. But with every showing, there is always the understanding that its important to show this film to the public. That it’s not just a movie — it’s more about lessons about the human spirit that every one of us should be reminded of.”