he world has had time to catch its breath from Jodie Whittaker’s casting in Doctor Who, and now a perhaps close-to-as significant figure has been revealed for the show’s new line-up.
Segun Akinola has been announced as the sci-fi show’s new composer, and he’s in for a challenge almost as significant as hers: reinventing one of TV’s best-known theme tunes. The British-Nigerian musician’s unveiling continues the trend for bringing in fresh blood all around for the show’s new era. Composer Murray Gold worked on all 10 series of the revived show, winning acclaim for his blockbustery orchestral scores – despite many fans complaining they became invasive and overbearing.
Akinola, an alumnus of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and part of 2017’s Bafta Breakthrough Brit programme, could prove an altogether different prospect for a remodelled show. Could fans look forward to hearing something a little more pared down, modern and minimalist?
Not that anything is being given away. “Doctor Who is woven into the fabric of British culture and recognised globally,” he said. “I am absolutely thrilled to be given the privilege of working on such a beloved series and to bring my musical voice to it.”
For a young prodigy out of the traps, he already holds a list of on-screen composition credits including BBC Two’s Black and British: A Forgotten History and the currently airing Expedition Volcano, as well as movies A Moving Image and Dear My Shakespeare.
Delia Derbyshire in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Delia Derbyshire in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Photograph: BBC Photolibrary
Yet his latest challenge sets the bar high. Composing soundtracks for all 10 episodes of Whittaker’s debut series might provide the lion’s share of his workload – but he is also tasked with providing a ‘fresh take’ on the show’s theme music. That’s one of the most iconic elements of Doctor Who – just like the show itself, it’s always changing while remaining, broadly, the same.
Composed by Ron Grainer, the eerie, warping titles first emerged in 1963 in an arrangement now synonymous with Doctor Who’s renegade spirit. A female actor in the lead shouldn’t feel like news in 2018. But back in the early 60s, arranger Delia Derbyshire leading the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was breaking glass ceilings as quickly as she was making sonic innovations. A woman in such a role was unheard of, but she is regarded a pioneer of electronic music.
Over the years the theme has reflected the culture. It’s been used in legendary DJ mixes and, alongside tracks such as New Order’s Blue Monday, Giorgio Moroder’s The Chase and Donna Summer’s I Feel Love, become part of electronic music folklore, while remaining timeless. No pressure, then. A challenge of galactic proportions awaits.
END
Be the first to comment