American Fiction (soundtrack)

2023 film score by Laura Karpman

American Fiction (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Film score by

Laura Karpman

Released| December 15, 2023
Recorded| 2023
Studio| Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre| Film score
Length| 46:59
Label| Sony Masterworks
Producer| Laura Karpman
Laura Karpman chronology
| The Marvels
(2023)  | American Fiction
(2023)  |

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American Fiction is the soundtrack to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Cord Jefferson, based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. The film's musical score composed by Laura Karpman featured 21 tracks from the film score for around 47 minutes. The soundtrack was released by Sony Masterworks on December 15, 2023, alongside the film.[1]

## Development

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> "What it deals with is the life of an artist. It deals with race in America. It deals with this family story in this upper middle class Black family. So it really touches on a lot of issues, but the most musically suggestive issue, of course, is the main character’s name is Thelonious Ellison and his nickname is Monk. So obviously, it was going to be a jazz score!"

— Laura Karpman[2]

When Karpman received the rough edit of the film, she "scream-laughed at one of the film’s fake-out endings," which she loved on several different levels, because of the kind of conversation of what an artists should be judged on his appearance over character, which many artists have.[3] Karpman called the film as a nuanced conversation of race in America with the integral part is the story regarding Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) and his family.[2]

Karpman acquired her late father's 1927 Steinway piano and played around the ivories to get a feel for the instrument, and that became a "jazzy, wistful" tune regarding the family. Karpman felt that the piano "spoke" to her which was her father "himself" communicating to her. Karpman described the theme—like Monk's family— as very thoughtful but out of sync; the theme which two pianos, or a piano played with flute and guitar, that are never played together. When Monk and his brother (Sterling K. Brown) are having fun in a pool, it is transitioned into a bossa nova.[3]

Inspired by the character's namesake—Thelonious Monk, Karpman was influenced to give a monk-like theme but also has a humour to it. After a couple of iterations, where Karpman considered arranging a Monk tune "Ruby, My Dear", but they loved the original theme she wrote for the protagonist and that became Monk's theme.[4] The theme limps to 5/4 and stops looping the process, but with the points where it "kind of kicks into a nice kind of groove". To evoke the dark humour, Karpman wrote a piece inspired by Maurice Ravel and Herbie Hancock's works where two actors enact characters on the page of Monk's cynical fake memoir and wrote a "romantic cue" for the sequence.[3] Jazz artist Patrice Rushen, flautist Elena Pinderhughes and saxophonist John Yoakum were the players, and the score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios supervised by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum.[5] Karpman used several instruments like saxophones, brass, drums, flute, and strings in the score.[6][7]

## Track listing

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No.| Title| Artist(s)| Length

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1.| "Family Is, Monk Is"|  | 4:53
2.| "Boston, MA"|  | 1:18
3.| "Bookstore"|  | 2:07
4.| "Beautiful Family"|  | 1:52
5.| "Humans Remain"|  | 1:38
6.| "My Pafology"|  | 3:16
7.| "Hi Lorraine"|  | 2:54
8.| "Drips"|  | 1:51
9.| "Goodnight Monk"|  | 1:13
10.| "Mother Is (Missing)"|  | 1:38
11.| "Brothers"|  | 1:10
12.| "Splash"|  | 2:21
13.| "Love All of You"|  | 1:11
14.| "Lunch Break"|  | 0:45
15.| "Sorry"|  | 1:41
16.| "Winner"|  | 1:17
17.| "Romantic Ending"|  | 1:36
18.| "(Elena's) Monk Is"|

* Laura Karpman
* Elena Pinderhughes

| 2:19
19.| "(Patrice's) Monk Is"|

* Karpman
* Patrice Rushen

| 4:18
20.| "(Patrice's) Family Is"|

* Karpman
* Rushen

| 2:56
21.| "(Laura's) Stagg R. Leigh"|  | 1:09
22.| "(Laura's) Fever Dream"|  | 3:36
Total length:| 46:59

## Reception

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Amy Nicholson of The New York Times called the work a "tender piano-forward score".[8] Steve Pond of TheWrap called the score "indelible".[9] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair said that Karpman's "alternately jazzy and melancholy score is a highlight."[10]

## Accolades

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Award  | Date of Ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref

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Hollywood Music in Media Awards | November 15, 2023 | Original Score — Feature Film | Laura Karpman | Nominated  | [11]
[12]
Academy Awards | March 10, 2024 | Best Original Score | Laura Karpman  | Nominated

## References

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1. ^ "5 Albums Out This Week You Should Listen to Now". Pitchfork. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
2. ^ a b Licuria, Rob (November 16, 2023). "Laura Karpman ('American Fiction' composer): This film is 'a warm, inviting place to share a tear and share a laugh' [Exclusive Video Interview]". GoldDerby. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
3. ^ a b c Greiving, Tim (November 14, 2023). "Playful and profound, three film scores all help find the truth of the story". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
4. ^ Rice, Lynette (November 10, 2023). "'American Fiction' Composer Laura Karpman Jazzed Up Score For TIFF's People's Choice Award Winner – Sound & Screen Film". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
5. ^ Bamigboye, Baz (December 18, 2023). "Breaking Baz: Composer Laura Karpman Discusses Infusing 'American Fiction' With Hot Jazz & Rekindling A Classic Movie By Pioneering Filmmaker Dorothy Arzner". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
6. ^ "With 'American Fiction' and 'The Marvels,' Laura Karpman Is Realizing Her Dreams (Exclusive)". A.frame. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. December 7, 2023. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
7. ^ Sgammato, Greg (December 1, 2023). "American Fiction with Laura Karpman". The Society of Composers and Lyricists. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
8. ^ Nicholson, Amy (December 14, 2023). "'American Fiction' Review: The Pen Is Mighty, the Pressures Mightier". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
9. ^ Pond, Steve (September 9, 2023). "'American Fiction' Review: Jeffrey Wright Shines in Beautiful, Jazzy Comedy". TheWrap. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
10. ^ "Jeffrey Wright Takes the Literary World to Task in 'American Fiction'". Vanity Fair. September 9, 2023. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
11. ^ Grein, Paul (November 2, 2023). "Songs from 'Barbie' Pace 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations (Full List)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
12. ^ Brew, Caroline (November 2, 2023). "Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo Nominated for 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.

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