Brokeback Mountain 2 The Brokeback Mountain score is initially what introduced me to Gustavo Santaolalla’s music in 2005 — for which he won the first of his back-to-back Academy Awards. The minimalist approach and solitary delivery of a lone acoustic guitar was unlike anything we […]

Seguir “Seguir” by Gustavo Santaolalla, is an atmospheric instrumental piece that showcases the Argentine composer’s multi-instrumental talents and minimalist approach. Released in 2014, the track features Santaolalla’s signature use of the ronroco, creating a melancholic yet hopeful soundscape. The instrumental’s title is Spanish for “To […]

Dans Les Yeux De Bruno I’ve always loved this short guitar riff from Gustavo Santaolalla. It from a french film entitled, Les Yeux De Sa Mère. I’ve been working on a complex and long piece for this blog — so it was a good opportunity […]

La lettre de Ben I love this guitar theme from Gustavo Santaolalla. His music for the French crime thriller, Tout nous sépare (All That Divides Us), recently won ‘best score’ at the La Baule Film Festival. Gustavo Santaolalla’s creativity on a single guitar is off […]

Brokeback Mountain Gustavo Santaolalla’s score for Brokeback Mountain is a masterpiece of cinematic music. It perfectly complements the film’s poignant and tragic love story. By using sparse, two-note intervals, Santaolalla lets the guitar’s resonance to all of the work — capturing the isolation, and longing […]

Intrusion | Ma Mère Although composer, Gustavo Santaolalla is mostly known for Brokeback Mountain, and Babel (for which he won back-to-back Oscars) he has a ton of work out there from lesser known films. Les yeux de sa mère (His Mother’s Eyes) is a 2011 […]

Pajaros I have wanted to play Gustavo Santaolalla’s Pajaros for years, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t figure it out adequately until now. Pajaros (birds) is a one off song from the soundtrack of My Blueberry Nights; a 2007 film by Chinese director, Wong Kar […]

Before the Flood Before the Flood is a 2016 documentary film, produced in collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio. The film follows DiCaprio as he travels to five continents and the Arctic to witness the effects of climate change, and speak to experts and world leaders about […]

Borrowed Time Borrowed Time, is a short film, written and directed by Pixar animators Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats. Set in the Old-West, it explores darker, adult themes for a Pixar animated feature: ‘A weathered Sheriff returns to the remains of an accident he has […]

Snow Snow (Brokeback Mountain) is emblematic of Gustavo Santaolalla’s minimalist, and egoless songwriting. There’s an unusual dissonant chord position at the end of each cycle. It catches you off guard. While Santaolalla is probably following his ear when writing music, he has a proclivity for […]

Making a Murderer Making a Murderer, released in 2015, is an American true crime documentary television series created by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The series chronicles the investigation and murder trial of Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison for a crime he […]

Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales) Gustavo Santaolalla is an Argentine composer and record producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Babel (2006). He has also composed music for a number of other films, including The Motorcycle Diaries […]