Soundtrack creative process
January — July 2022


Offworld
(Spanish: Apagón), is a 5-part television series for Movistar+ about a widespread blackout. It tracks 5 independent stories of people dealing with the apocalyptic situation in the wake of a solar storm.

The music, while using a few cohesive elements to glue the stories together, is built around 5 unique scores to create a proper identity for each episode and surprise the audience at every new chapter. Following the hyperrealist character of the serie, the soundtrack also avoids a typical dystopian approach and was created, with the exception of the introductory chapter, with custom made and acoustic instruments —without electricity— and aims at pushing the limits of music: how the music sound when there is no more music?

Episode 1: Denial
33 min (6cues)
Modular synth
Moog DFAM
Behringer Poly D
Teenage Engineering OP-1
Soma Ether
Robert Henke Granulator

Produced by Olivier Arson and Guillermo Rojo
Recorded at Studio TRRTR, Madrid
Mixed by Guillermo Rojo and Edu Lavilla at Estudio Uno, Madrid
Episode written by Isabel Peña and directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
This soundtrack features an entirely electronic piece to create a contrast with the rest of the serie's music. It extends on almost the entire duration of the episode and builds an inevitable, expected ending by accumulation of pulses and waves of layers until the storm finally hits the surface. Stubborn, raw loops and rhythms loosely crosses all over to create a sensation of uncontrolled disorder.

Episode 2: Emergency
23 min (13cues)
Pre-címbalo
Prepared spanish guitar
Rubber bands
Cajón
Handclaps
Plastic percussion
Shaker
Hi-hat and ride cymbals
Toy kora
DIY spring box
Chapman trumpet
Sptifire Brass Quartet

Produced by Olivier Arson, Ábel Hernández and Guillermo Rojo
Recorded at Studio TRRTR, Madrid
Mixed by Guillermo Rojo and Edu Lavilla at Estudio Uno, Madrid
Episode written by Alberto Marini, Raúl Arévalo and Fran Araújo and directed by Raúl Arevalo
There is no electricity anymore: all the sources are acoustic, but it still sounds musical with basic, articulated, harmonic structures. Sometimes subtle, the pieces are mainly quite dense, with a lot of improvised, sincopated percussive phrases, reflecting on the hospital's chaos and urgency. The music also leaves space for silences but is clearly placed in the mix as extradiegetic when called upon.

Episode 3: Confrontation
24 min (12cues)
PVC saxophon with bell
PVC clarinet
PVC low bass flute
PVC quenacho
PVC didgeridoo
Whistles
Daily objects: rubber bands, glass bottles, plastic balloons etc.
Actors voices from wildtrack recordings
Handclaps

Produced by Olivier Arson, Ábel Hernández and Guillermo Rojo
Recorded at Studio TRRTR, Madrid
Mixed by Guillermo Rojo and Edu Lavilla at Estudio Uno, Madrid
Episode written by Isa Campo and Fran Araújo and directed by Isa Campo
Povera music: there is no musical instruments anymore. Only remain precarious instruments from the shacks and commonly accepted musicality is on the verge of disappearing. Except for a childlike leitmotiv, harmonic structures are bare bones, rhythms are spread out with long spaces between gestures. Voice, our first instrument, and whistles appear as if we were meeting another, more primitive civilisation. The music now merges deeper with the diegetic sound in the mix.

Episode 4: Survival
31 min (8cues)
Stoneharps and bowed stones
Prepared acoustic guitar
Rainstick
PVC didgeridoo
Stoneharps played by Páll Gu∂munsson
Produced by Olivier Arson and Guillermo Rojo
Recorded at Husafell, Iceland
Mixed by Guillermo Rojo and Edu Lavilla at Estudio Uno, Madrid
Episode written by Rafael Cobos and directed by Alberto Rodriguez
There are no voices and there are no instruments anymore. Now the stones speak but, at times, it is beautiful. It is the music of and for the pastor, recorded in the remote workshop of artist Páll Gu∂munsson. The restricted use of instruments adds to the sensation of loneliness but the music is also better arranged and organized: there is a feeling of dignity. In the mix, it has a sensation of space and amplitude that contrasts with the raw and dry character of previous episodes.

Episode 5: Balance
18 min (11cues)
Acoutic guitar and all previous instruments
Acoustic guitar by Abel Hernández
Produced by Olivier Arson, Abel Hernández and Guillermo Rojo
Recorded at Studio TRRTR, Madrid
Mixed by Guillermo Rojo and Edu Lavilla at Estudio Uno, Madrid
Episode written by Isa Campo and Fran Araújo and directed by Isaki Lacuesta
The sun is rediscovered and humanity reconnects with harmony. The music collects all previous elements and articulate them to build, little by little, softer and more luminous pieces. As the chapter progresses, unstable elements shift into a more classical approach with the acoustic guitar as the main guide to find the long awaited balance.

Links of interest