Aronofsky, composer Rob Simonsen and Joe Talbot do Idles tell us about the unique collaboration between them
Darren Aronofsky failed to convince your bride to accept the choice of “Love Song”the harsh range of 2017 of the Idleslike music for the first dance at their wedding (they made a deal and chose The Cure), but the director got the next best thing. The British band, of aggressive sound, often described as post-punk-label they often reject-provided the soundtrack to their new movie, the thriller Thievesstarring Austin Butler and ZOE KRAVITZ.
THE Idles contributed five unpublished songs to the film, as well as a cover of the version of the Clash to “Police and Thieves”from Junior Murvinand also played all the notes of the soundtrack composed of Rob Simonsen. “I couldn’t really find another example except the Queen with Flash gordon” it says Aronofsky the Rolling Stone. “The movie needed a band in the house.”
“The idea was that the Idles were the orchestra, ”he says Simonsenwho had already collaborated with Aronofsky in The whale (2022). “And it has become learning how they create, how they think, how they process. We are dealing with a very unique band that reaches their sound in a very unique way. So that’s where we needed to start.” He plays on some difficulties along the way: “They were true idiots about it. But we managed to overcome and then it was amazing. And it was really an organic process from there.”
THE Idles learned the demos of Simonsen of ear and followed from there. “It was really about being in the studio with the scenes and, of course, the incredible composition of the Rob“, it says Joe Talbotvocalist of Idles. “So, just, I think, adapt them and give depth with our shades and the 700 pedals that our guitarists have.”
Before the filming begins, Tall Wrote five original songs, including the excellent single single from Breakbeat “Rabbit Run”based only on reading the script of the movie. “I read on the plane back and immediately started listening to the music,” he recalls. “A story creates an energy, right? … The nature of the movie is a man running away, not only from great scary monsters, but also of himself. And you can immediately start imagining the rhythm of these songs and how they will work.”
The film is set in the decaying East Village in the late 1990s, and music perfectly reflects this atmosphere. Simonsen plunged into the sound palette of the time, revisitant Massive Attack, Morcheeba and The Prodigy. “You never want to imitate,” he says. “This is not the point, but you want to take clothes from that wardrobe, experiment and feel, familiarize yourself with textures. But it has never been trying to return exactly to these sounds or machines.”
THE Idles It has its influences from the 1990s, but mostly on the non -rocker of the decade. “A huge part of my musical DNA comes from the 1990s,” says Tallwho was a teenager at the turn of the century. “I didn’t care for white guys with guitars in the 1990s. I was listening Pharyde and hip-hop, which is a huge part of New York DNA. ”
Aronofsky I also wanted the soundtrack to include the environmental sounds of a rock band. “One of the things that Darren It had a very inspired view was the sound of amplifiers being connected and everything, and guitar feedback, ”he says Simonsen. “There is battery being clumsy and feedback happening, trying to capture these sounds.”
THE Idles is almost finishing its next album, the sequence of Tangk 2024, and Tall He says the experience with the soundtrack has given him “a new energy.” “I’m excited to go and finish the album now,” he said.
Thieves is dark and violent, but also one of the most popular films of the career of Aronofsky. And while he is in a more popular way, he admits to having some interest in exploring one of the most commercial genres of our era. “I love musical biographies,” he says. “I’m a big fan. I love the story of the fighting artists and suddenly things start to work. Johnny Cash in Sun Records with the Joaquin It was amazing. I love the genre, so who knows?
This article was originally published by Rolling Stone USA by Brian Hiatt on August 29, 2025, and can be checked here.
+++ Read more: ‘thieves’, with Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz, debut in theaters
+++ Read more: All songs from the ‘thieves’ soundtrack with Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
