This week's release spotlight is the soundtrack for the hit Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit. Scored by composer Carlos Rafael Rivera, the soundtrack won a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media!
The Queen's Gambit is based on Walter Tevis' 1983 novel of the same name. It follows the life of Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy). Beth is a young orphan who discovers she has a prodigious talent for chess.
As she rises through the ranks of the chess world, she battles personal struggles, including addiction, alcohol dependency, misogyny, and her troubled past.
Capital FM wrote of the 38-track soundtrack, "The score that perfectly tracks Harmon’s extraordinary early life features a strings- and piano-heavy soundtrack, suitable for the brilliant series’ exploration of loss, genius, addiction – and chess moves more complicated than we can keep up with."
Rivera's score was nominated for a whopping 7 prestigious awards, winning 4 of them!
Hollywood Music in Media Awards - Best Original Score in a TV Show/Limited Series
MPSE Golden Reel Awards - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music Score and Musical for Episodic Long Form Broadcast Media
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards - Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie, or Special
Grammy Awards - Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
We LOVE what Mondo did with the vinyl release of this album. The release features custom-cut inner and outer sleeves that hammer home a 3D Visual Effect of Beth Harmon trapped inside her beloved chessboard!
Not to mention having super cool Moon Phase effect records, of course! We think this is a 'gambit' that definitely paid off. ♟
The full spec can be found below should you wish to follow in Mondo's footsteps for your next release!
SPEC CHECK:
MOON PHASE EFFECT VINYL - #9 DR GREENTHUMB BASE, WITH #21 CREAM MOONS
FULL COLOUR A+B AND C+D LABELS
FULL COLOUR, BESPOKE DIE-CUT INNER SLEEVES WITH GLOSS MACHINE VARNISH.
FULL COLOUR, BESPOKE DIE-CUT OUTER SLEEVE WITH GLOSS MACHINE VARNISH.
FULL COLOUR, CIRCULAR MARKETING STICKER.