Frans Bak – The music of Nordic Noir
Frans Bak is the Danish composer who is synonymous with Nordic Noir, the genre of Scandinavian crime fiction that is usually set in one of the Nordic countries and is popularised by a number of crime TV series including ‘Wallander’, ‘The Bridge’, but perhaps most of all by the international hit, ‘Forbrydelsen’, aka ‘The Killing’. Frans is credited as a pioneer of the Nordic Noir genre in setting new musical standards in crime TV and has inspired other composers to explore and apply the ‘Nordic feel’. So what is the Nordic feel?
It is the ‘Sound of the North’ and it majestically encapsulates its surroundings. It is the sound of empty space and magnificent landscapes, of darkness, of contrast, simplistic yet rich…of mindfulness and calmness; unhurried … it is restorative, and emotional and it is wonderful.
The Nordic feel in Frans’s original score for ‘The Killing’ worked harmoniously with the on-screen visuals of natural landscapes, depicting its vastness, its darkness, beautiful yet often gloomy given Denmark’s location in the Northern Hemisphere. The music encourages the audience to paint their own mental pictures about what has taken place or what is about to happen, through sonic subtlety and musical sparseness, spectacularly creating the right mood at the right time; tense, edgy, dark, dramatic, uncomfortable, complex and calm, via an incredible uncluttered score which is rich in sound, breathes the storyline, creates suspense and amplifies character portrayal. The music creates such intensity at times that you can cut the air with a knife.
The original score of ‘The Killing’ is a prime example of how music can stupendously enhance storytelling, by creating the right tone, atmospherics, and subtlety to completely capture and enthral an audience. And so, the bar was set!
Thomas Golubic, music supervisor working on series such as ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘The Killing’, explains… “Frans Bak has a myriad of different approaches to creating tension and suspense. Some of the magic of his score is its ability to find lots of different ways to bring you to the edge of your seat while at the same time not wearing out its welcome….”, emphasising how the music has an arousal effect on its audience, creating suspense with a lingering air of anticipation that doesn’t quite deliver or disappoint but rather takes you on a journey, whilst also defining the character’s often melancholic and ambivalent feelings as well as the mood of the story.
Rhythmic drums start low and slowly, yet increasingly build to create a feeling of tension. Bursts of percussion pose a threat and make for an edgy uncomfortable ride whilst low humming rhythmic layers of sound pulsate and are felt deep inside to create a very uneasy feeling indeed, indicating that the end will not be pleasant and yet soft piano changes the mood and alerts us to a deep love, feelings of tenderness and despair.
The score for ‘The Killing’ was largely delivered through an electronic soundscape of synths and keyboards, interjected with percussive instruments, flute, piano and drums and it is nothing short of spectacular working in harmony with the aesthetics of the show and the characters in its portrayal.
So here lies the magic. The perfect liaison and complementation of on-screen shots, storyline and characters, with sublime timely sonic ambience and interjection, where the music echoes natural landscapes and space, dark, gloomy rain filled days and nights, that leave us on the edge of our seats one minute, filled with emotional turmoil the next, but with enough light touches of tenderness when it’s called for.
Pure music brilliance that holds its own.
The bar remains set!
Frans Bak and Sound of the North – The Killing (live concert clip 6 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcAfFiSeDAI