Anna Calvi has shared a new song today (November 30), ‘Black Tuesday’ and has announced the release of the Peaky Blinders score for seasons five and six.
READ MORE: Anna Calvi on ‘Peaky Blinders’ inspired EP: “I’ve been living inside Tommy Shelby’s head”
Calvi wrote and performed the scores for season five and six of Peaky Blinders and the compositions will be released for the first time and in full on January 26 via Domino Soundtracks and you can pre-order here.
Talking about her work on the score, Calvi said: “Composing for Peaky Blinders was about
atmosphere and space. There’s so much nuance when it comes to scoring to picture. It’s more about what you leave out than what you leave in.
“I had to let the voice of the actors do the talking but find ways of bringing out the emotion within that. I became completely obsessed with Tommy Shelby, I dreamt about him every night whilst I was working on the scores, I had to really inhabit the show.
“There is a duality to the show, of beauty and brutality, which I had been exploring in my own music. I’m fascinated by the manipulation of emotions with sound, it’s so mysterious. I really tried to explore this with Peaky Blinders, sometimes putting the opposite music than you would expect on a scene had the most impact.”
The album also includes the previously released original songs ‘You’re Not God’ and the ‘Ain’t No Grave’ as well as Calvi’s cover of ‘Red Right Hand’, the Peaky Blinders theme song by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
‘Black Tuesday’ is a new song from the forthcoming release that you can listen to here:
READ MORE Red Right Hands: Inside the music of Peaky Blinders
Talking about the process of composing music for the show, Calvi added: “For Season
6 I wanted to bring more musicians on board for a fresh take, and I wanted to find a new musical voice for Tommy. I decided to bring in Nick Launay to work with me – he had produced my last album ‘Hunter’.
“We faced several challenges on this score as it was during the Coronavirus pandemic, and I was also late into the pregnancy of my first child. The combination of such intense work whilst being heavily pregnant was challenging. I didn’t want it to be seen as affecting my work. Yet at the same time it felt strange to believe, because of the pressures of our society, that I should hide any difficulty I was having. I felt aware that I can’t be the first pregnant person to be conflicted in this way.”
She added: “What I learnt most from writing for Peaky Blinders is to trust my instincts. I realised I shouldn’t be afraid of simplicity, and I shouldn’t assume that if something happens quickly, that the quality is compromised. This whole experience was so wonderful and so intense.
“I’m so proud of my scores for Peaky Blinders and I would love for this work to be a signpost for future generations of female composers.” The completion of the score marks a tremendous achievement for Calvi and showcases a composer and artist still unlocking and unveiling their full capabilities.”
Speaking to NME about her work on the show last year, Calvi said: “I liked the idea of having them on this EP as a way of saying goodbye to this character who has basically taken over my life for the last few years,” Calvi told NME. “What was funny is that Nick Cave’s drummer Larry [Lawrence Mullins] is playing on the track – covering one of his own songs! He had a lot of patience with trying to reimagine it. It’s such an amazing song that you can’t really get close to the original. It’s more like a homage to what a great song that is.”
Other recent releases that have featured in the show include the solo single ‘5.17‘ and ‘That’s How Horses Are’ by Thom Yorke, as well as ‘Pana-Vision’ from his side-project with Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, The Smile.
Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson also made a cameo in the final episode.
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