Oscar-winning Nine Inch Nails duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have taken on the challenge of making the “Challengers” score an unprecedented mix.
Aptly-titled “Challengers [Mixed],” the Sony Music release from Reznor and Ross includes nine tracks from the upcoming film’s electronic score, with each deconstructed and subsequently reimagined into a continuous mix by DJ and producer Boys Noize, who was hand-selected by the duo for the project. You can listen to it right here or stream it below.
“Challengers” marks Reznor and Ross’ second collaboration with auteur Luca Guadagnino following “Bones and All.” The feature, out in theaters in two weeks, follows the love triangle between tennis stars played by Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist.
Director Guadagnino, despite not penning the “Challengers” script (instead that was written by frequent collaborator Justin Kuritzkes) did actually write lyrics to track “Compress/Repress,” as included in the Sony Music mix.
Reznor and Ross previously scored David Fincher’s films “The Social Network,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Killer,” and “Gone Girl,” winning their first Oscar for Best Original Score for “The Social Network.” Their second Academy Award was 10 years later in 2020 with “Soul” alongside Jon Batiste.
Guadagnino previously told IndieWire that he was skeptical Reznor and Ross would be open to working on an indie film like “Bones and All” back in 2022. “My agent proposed that we send the script to Trent and Atticus,” Guadagnino recalled, “And I said, ‘Would they be interested in such a small movie?’”
In fact, Reznor and Ross were waiting to collaborate with Guadagnino for years. “A few years ago, we had made a short list of people that we felt would be intriguing collaborators to work with, and Luca was one of the names on that list,” Reznor told IndieWire. “I remember getting wind that Luca was interested in us and that it was a love story about cannibals, and that was about all the information we needed.”
Meanwhile, a new Nine Inch Nails album is in the works aside from Reznor and Ross’ filmic obligations, including collaborating with Guadagnino yet again for upcoming release “Queer.”
See the full “Challengers [Mixed]” track list below, and check out a full stream of the new album.
- I Know [MIXED]
- Yeah x10 [MIXED]
- L’oeuf [MIXED]
- Challengers [MIXED]
- Pre Signal [MIXED]
- The Signal [MIXED]
- Brutalizer [MIXED]
- Compress / Repress [MIXED]
- A New Year Carol [MIXED]
