New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The acclaimed English group Tindersticks announced the original motion picture soundtrack to Claire Denis' new film Stars at Noon that will be released on October 14 via City Slang in conjunction with the film's US release via A24. With the announcement, Tindersticks released the soundtrack's ravishing title track "Stars at Noon" along with an official video pulling directly from the film and starring
Margaret Qualley (The Maid, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood) and Joe Alwyn (Conversations with Friends).
Stuart Staples on "Stars at Noon": I stood in CDG, terminal 2, talking to Claire on the cell phone. She was preparing to leave for Panama to start filming 'Stars at Noon.'
'And of course I need the song for the dance scene for the shoot,' she said.
'What dance scene? Is it in the script?' I replied.
'It's in the new version of the script.'
'Ah, do I have the new version?..'
The line faded and I was left considering this, something that I expected to hit me in the months ahead but was suddenly all over me.
'Stars at Noon' had been in Claire's thoughts for a long time, maybe even 10 years. We have had many conversations, I had a strong feeling for it and half a song somewhere in my mind.
I remembered the percussionist
David Pattman, he played the bongos on the 'Trouble Every Day' score 20 years before. He was happy to hear from me and we quickly arranged a recording session with Dan McKinna on double bass and Ross Stanley on Hammond organ. We had a blast those days, taking the ideas apart, putting them back together in many different forms.
At the centre was the song 'Stars at Noon' - I was pushing it to be slower and slower, until it only just grooved, just on the cusp. Finding that tempo was key for me and the final version was recorded live in one take. Julian Seigel arrived later and played the beautiful tenor sax line.
I sent a rough mix to Claire in Panama, they were having production problems and she said the song cheered them all up - I heard all the crew singing along in the background.
"The Englishman is dancing with the American woman and he realizes it's too much and apologizes to her," explains Claire Denis. "He can make love to her in a motel room because he's paying her — but to dance with her is something else. Their love affair shifts into something very real."
Stars at Noon is a romantic thriller directed by Claire Denis, based on the 1986 novel The Stars at Noon by Denis Johnson, starring
Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn,
Danny Ramirez, Benny Safdie, and John C. Reilly. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix.
Since her 1996 feature Nénette and Boni, Denis (High Life starring Robert Pattinson, Beau Travail) has worked in some capacity with
Stuart Staples of Tindersticks on the distinctive music in her films, through conventional scoring or bespoke numbers written for specific scenes. These include the ominous title track for the horror-thriller Trouble Every Day (2001) and the mournful "Put Your Love in Me" for the neo-noir Bastards (2013).
For Stars at Noon, Denis sent Staples the screenplay, followed by the Denis Johnson novel. "Stuart's first reaction to the material is always important to me," explains Denis. "As a musician, and the artist he is, he gives me advance knowledge about the story, like he's one step ahead of me at all times." Staples wrote the song "Stars at Noon" on holiday and sent it to Denis via email while she was in pre-production on the movie. Denis remarks, "He boosts my confidence when he sends music, opening up new and wider landscapes to consider in movies."
Earlier this year, Tindersticks released Past Imperfect - The Best of Tindersticks '92 - '21, a collection of works from their 30+ years as a band along with one new song "Both Sides of The Blade'' that was written for Claire Denis' film Avec amour et acharnament that was released earlier this summer. The Stars at Noon original motion picture soundtrack is their first collection of new material following 2020's Distractions.
Stars at Noon tracklist:
1) Introduction
2) Opening
3) Taxi Across Town
4) Hotel Bar
5) Dawn Walk Home
6) Los Periquitos
7) The Mercado
8) Motel Rain
9) The Costa Rican
10) Stars at Noon
11) Blood Hands
12) Burning Car
13) The Consultant
14) Blood Hands (version)
15) Apache
16) The Bridge
17) The Crossing
18) The Costa Rican (reprise)
19) Stars at Noon (instrumental)
