Colin Stetson – “Awake You Sleepy Hearts” (Feat. David Thewlis)

Barry Brecheisen / Getty Images

Colin Stetson – “Awake You Sleepy Hearts” (Feat. David Thewlis)

Barry Brecheisen / Getty Images

Colin Stetson has long had a reputation as a singular, versatile musician, having built his name up by having one foot in avant-garde sax compositions and the other in high-profile indie sideman gigging. But in the last couple years, he’s started to flesh out the resume even more. Ever since he scored Hereditary — one of the best horror scores of the last decade — he’s been increasingly in demand for film work.

In recent months, Stetson’s work had extended to the Nicolas Cage movie Color Out Of Space and the Adult Swim anime series Uzumaki. Now he’s got yet another gig: scoring the new National Geographic show Barkskins. Based on a 2016 novel by Annie Proulx, the show traces the deforestation of the New World by following related characters across hundreds of years.

Today, Stetson has shared a preview of his new score by way of “Awake You Sleepy Hearts.” It features David Thewlis, who has a lead role in Barkskins. As is customary for Stetson’s work, there’s something both unsettling in his arrangement — a sort of frightening, elemental undercurrent. It sounds like a fitting accompaniment for a show that’s supposed to deal with big concepts like man vs. nature. Check it out below.

The Barkskins score is out 6/5 via Milan Records.

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