Director Kevin Reynolds wanted to establish the setting and mood for 187 with music. He
had met Chris Douridas, music director of the National Public Radio affiliate
KCRW-FM in Santa Monica, California, and host of the weekday music program
"Morning Becomes Eclectic," on the set of "Waterworld." The two had discussed
collaborating on Reynolds' next project and, for "187," they decided to build a
soundtrack using cutting-edge music, urban-oriented songs by artists that would
serve the film as a score. Douridas says, "A large portion of the music was chosen even before filming began. We set out to try and essentially 'score' the film with found pieces of music, knowing that we may have to hire a composer in the end to link things together. But ultimately that never happened. We ended up using no composer."
Reynolds needed a base sound from which to build, and he found that in the song
"Spying Glass" by the Bristol-based band Massive Attack. The sound can best be
described as 'trip-hop,' the urban sound of hip-hop played by bands out of
England; 'trip-hop' features elements of rap and drum-and-bass sampling,
combined with influences from soul and reggae music. With the 'trip-hop' sound
as their cornerstone, Douridas and Reynolds branched out into other styles with
subsequent song choices, painting a varied urban portrait. The director played
the soundtrack selections on the set during filming to convey the emotional
thrust of the scene to his actors and to motivate the crew while setting lights
and camera angles.
The emotional world of "187" deepened with the addition of the music, according to Douridas. "The songs transport the film to a more universal place. In a way, they lift it out of being Los Angeles-specific and make it a more universal message. There's an integral marriage of the music and image that comes forward as one distinctive voice. Essentially, we've created a progressive urban landscape with a global perspective."
In addition to Massive Attack, other recording artists that appear on the
soundtrack of "187" include Galliano, Method Man remixed by Prodigy, DJ Shadow,
Everything But The Girl, Undercover Agent, Miles Davis, Bang Bang, David
Darling, Madredeus and V-Love.
LINKS TO SOUNDTRACK ARTISTS' WEB SITES:
© 1997 Warner Bros.