Jerskin Fendrix

Poor Things (Original Soundtrack) Jerskin Fendrix Limited Blue & Pink Swirl edition

The POOR THINGS Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Jerskin Fendrix. The album features original score music written by Fendrix for director Yorgos Lanthimos’ new feature film starring and produced by Emma Stone. Utilizing a palette of woodwind instruments and synthesized, breathy vocal samples, the score captures not only the distinct world of Poor Things but also acts as a sonic companion to main character Bella’s journey, expanding to encompass new textures and sounds as the film progresses.

Having never previously collaborated with a composer, Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos first approached Jerskin Fendrix after discovering the musician’s solo debut album, which the director found instinctively aligned with his worldbuilding aspirations for Poor Things. Fendrix began his first-ever foray into film composition with only the film’s script and conversations with Lanthimos as a guide, drawing early inspirations for instrumentation and tone from the vivid surrealism of the film’s various production elements.

“I wanted to have a lot of instruments that involved air and mechanics to match this kind of bizarre bionic thing going on,” recalls Fendrix of the process. “So a lot of woodwind. I really like instruments that breathe for themselves – which seems apt for the biomechanics of the film – so pipe organs, uilleann pipes (which are like Irish bagpipes), a lot of synthesized breath and voice stuff. That was a big part of the textural aspect.”

The composer was also struck by how childlike all of the characters were – not just Bella, but everyone else, including Godwin, Max, Duncan. “They're all in their own ways very immature and very naive, and it's very, very endearing,” he adds. “For that reason I didn’t want the music to be too grand or mature or poised. I wanted that real volatility and childishness to reflect the characters.”

ABOUT POOR THINGS

From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.