Angelo Badalamenti has been writing scores for film and television for over 40 years, initially composing under the pseudonym Andy Badale before earning his first major credit on David Lynch’s Blue Velvet in 1986.
Today he is best known for his long-term collaboration with Lynch, having worked on all but one of the director’s post-Blue Velvet features. Yet Twin Peaks is by far Badalamenti’s most celebrated and iconic score, a masterful arrangement that became a central element of the show’s distinctive atmosphere and surreal melodrama.
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This clip, from the 2007 Twin Peaks documentary Secrets From Another Place, sees the legendary composer demonstrating how he and Lynch conceived ‘Laura Palmer’s Theme’, the most instantly recognisable and frequently recurring motif from the soundtrack. The video essentially breaks down the tone and meaning communicated by the song, reminding us why it’s so heartbreaking in the first place.
After being absent on Lynch’s previous film, Inland Empire, Badalamenti has returned to the world of Twin Peaks for the show’s eagerly anticipated third season, which premieres on 21 May.
