Following his latest album, 2021’s Seeking New Gods, Gruff Rhys is pleased to announce he has created an original soundtrack for the film The Almond & the Seahorse which will be released via Rough Trade Records. The soundtrack will be released as a foil-numbered, limited-edition double LP, on yellow vinyl with a fold-out film poster, and digitally. It can be pre-ordered today via the Rough Trade store here.

The 22-track album comprises original songs and instrumental score, all composed by Gruff Rhys. Recorded between 2021-2022 with a host of featured musicians including members of the National of Orchestra Wales, the music features throughout the forthcoming film of the same name, which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rebel Wilson and Celyn Jones.

The first track to be released from the record is ‘Amen‘ – a song that Gruff had written shortly before being approached to soundtrack the film. “The yearning and frustration of the song seemed to fit the themes of the film perfectly and the song soundtracks the emotional final payoff at the very end of the movie,” Rhys explains. The song’s haunting, melodic piano motif became the main musical motif for the drama and it recurs in various forms throughout the film.

Set for release in early 2023, the film tells the story of archaeologist (Rebel Wilson) and architect (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and their fight to re-imagine a future after a traumatic brain injury leaves them adrift from the people they love. The title of the film itself refers to the nicknames given to the parts of our brains that lay down new memories and hold on to the old ones.

Tonally, the soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly – the drama of the subject matter and the human relationships is counterbalanced by the film’s wry humor and a lightness of touch, and the varied compositions and styles on Gruff’s score and compositions reflect that. “The soundtrack for The Almond & the Seahorse was recorded largely in pandemic conditions, so it was a matter of recording in bursts of possible activity in various friends’ studios, homes and even scout halls as chance permitted. It’s a varied quilt work as a result,” Gruff notes. “As sonic flagpoles, I wanted to signify the film’s location in Liverpool and the Wirral by liberally, but hopefully not too obviously, using the Mellotron synthesizer (as famously used in Strawberry Fields by the Beatles & therefore in my mind it represents that great city sonically) and the Cello as a nod to its use by Gwen’s character in the film.”