Former Beta Band member John MacLean has seemingly left his music career behind and struck out on his own in the world of filmmaking. His first project, the ambitious Slow West starring Michael Fassbender features a soundtrack that’s largely the brain child of composer Jed Kurzel, but there are a few interesting new songs in the mix. Chief among these other songs is Django Django’s instrumental track “Slow West.”
Django Django has always had a very eclectic array of musical influences, The Beach Boys being a particular standout. Very few could have guessed that the highly underrated Beta Band would be one of those influences, yet they have proudly contributed a track to MacLean’s soundtrack, and what a track it is. The four and a half minute track is a pure instrumental that drips with an amazing acoustic guitar lead. “Slow West” is an instrumental number that feels like a natural extension of Slow West. It’s a song that could have been inserted into any of the best westerns that have been made, and yet it seems weird to imagine the song featured in any other film. Adding another layer to the song is a recording of horses running through the countryside that plays out over the last minute of the song. It’s a beautiful fade out to a beautiful instrumental track.
Django Django just released a new record, Born Under Saturn, earlier this month. They also released video for “Shake & Tremble” a couple of weeks after the release of the record.
Slow West is currently out in theaters and video on demand.
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