Rooks: Soundtrack Details and Artwork

The artwork for the soundtrack

Two years ago, Nicholas Pitcher completed his score for Crossing. By the time that work was finished, he and director Robert Maynard were already working on their earliest ideas for the musical soundscape of Rooks. It was great to start that process early for a number of reasons, perhaps chief among them that the score for Rooks wasn’t completed until December 4, less than two weeks prior to Premiere Night!

Nick and Rob have always enjoyed working with each other, and their process for Crossing was largely mirrored this time around. They began by examining the work of a number of composers and settling on a few key sounds they liked, and then expanded on some simple ideas to create the skeleton of the score. For the music of Rooks, they examined the work of American composer Chris Tilton and Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson.

Nick was also presented with more freedom on this score for a great many scenes where Rob didn’t have any particular musical direction in mind. It makes the score for Rooks feel both familiar and wholly original. There is a vaguely science fiction feel to the score, with some moments that even dip into superhero territory, but at the core of Rooks are its characters and their relationships, and the score reflects that. It also features a significant number of digitally created sounds, an intentional choice that Rob and Nick made early on.

There will be two versions of the score for Rooks released, a standard edition and an extended edition featuring an additional 8 tracks. As per usual with Nick’s work, all of the titles of score tracks feature a reference to something key to the film. In this score, each title is related to the game of chess:

Standard Edition - Available for $15

1. White Moves First (2:02)
2. Capturing the Blue Pawn (4:40)
3. Time Control (8:16)
4. Chaturanga (6:15)
5. Chariot (1:36)
6. The Pieces in Play (4:56)
7. Move to B4 (5:18)
8. Opening Gambit (4:35)
9. Sicilian Defense (5:40)
10. Blue’s Garrison (2:43)
11. Stille Nacht (1:18)
12. Touch Move (6:14)
13. Ung Dronning (7:48)
14. Feint (7:13)
15. Clear the Board (1:27)
16. En Passant (2:18)
17. Into Check (1:49)
18. Versus the Pawn (1:54)
19. Blood on the Board (2:41)
20. Zugzwang (1:34)
21. Adjournment (6:14)
22. Checkmate / Rooks (2:44)

Extended Edition - Available for $20

1. White Moves First (2:02)
2. Capturing the Blue Pawn (4:40)
3. Time Control (8:16)
4. Chaturanga (6:15)
5. Chariot (1:36)
6. The Pieces in Play (4:56)
7. Move to B4 (5:18)
8. Opening Gambit (4:35)
9. Sicilian Defense (5:40)
10. Game Analysis (7:27)
11. Blue’s Garrison (2:43)
12. Jingle Bells (1:05)
13. O Come All Ye Faithful (1:12)
14. Stille Nacht (1:18)
15. The Corner Move (1:28)
16. Touch Move (6:14)
17. Ung Dronning (7:48)
18. The Wayfaring Stranger (2:12)
19. Feint (7:13)
20. Spire (1:24)
21. Clear the Board (1:27)
22. En Passant (2:18)
23. Into Check (1:49)
24. Fog of War (1:52)
25. Versus the Pawn (1:54)
26. Blood on the Board (2:41)
27. Captured Night (1:49)
28. Zugzwang (1:34)
29. Adjournment (6:14)
30. Checkmate / Rooks (2:44)

Once recorded by the six musicians (Dylan Feldpausch on violin, Jillian Meszar on cello and bass, Emily Telling on piano, Max Leader on trumpet, Evan Brock on low brass, and Noah Mercil on percussion), postproduction engineer Amanda Roswick got to work on mixing and mastering each track, a painstaking process which resulted in an extremely impressive score. She also mixed in her own voice to a number of tracks! We can’t wait to share more of it!

The score for Rooks will be released online on December 23, the same day of the film’s digital release, but you can listen to the first track “White Moves First” right now!

Listen to "White Moves First"

Hear the score in Rooks, premiering at The Strand in Dover, NH, on December 17. On Amazon Instant Video December 23.