Decca Records releases the soundtrack for Mandela: Long walk to Freedom worldwide on 6 December 2013, with a selection of music that follows Mandela’s journey from the 1940’s through to the abolishment of apartheid.
As well as featuring classic Afro-Jazz sounds of the Havana Swingsters, Art Blakely, The Special AKA’s classic song Nelson Mandela and a new song by U2 titled Ordinary Love, the soundtrack includes live cast recordings of traditional protest songs guided by South African musicians, Dizu Plaatjies and Blondie Makhene.
Producer Anant Singh says: “Music has always been ingrained in South African society and played a central role during the struggle years. The soundtrack of the film captures this, as well as the popular music of the various eras depicted in the film.’
Composer Alex Heffes, who has worked on a number of Hollywood scores, created an emotive soundtrack with both classical and African instruments, and the vocals of music legend Caiphus Semenya.
Says Heffes: “The film provided me with a vast emotional canvas. My aim was for the music to guide the audience through this emotional journey and come away with a joy for what this story can inspire in us.
“The score starts sparsely using African instruments and becomes more orchestral as the story darkens. As the years become more up to date, it adds electric guitars and synths to give the audience the subliminal feeling of the decades having passed,’ concludes Heffes.
