Television series or rather “streaming series” have taken on an extremely important role in the world of entertainment, an example of this is what Marvel Studios is doing, expanding its universe through series. Something particularly interesting with this phenomenon is that along with the importance that is being given to this format, comes the greatest investment and creative freedom. The Loki series was completely benefited from this situation and therefore its musical composer Natalie Holt had the opportunity to create a very interesting and mysterious soundtrack, managing to bring together the best of the analog and digital world.
Although Marvel has done a very good job bringing comic book stories to the cinema, the truth is that in terms of the musical aspect they hadn’t done something really memorable and catchy enough so that the audience could immediately hum the songs related to the MCU. However, this began to change since the last two Avengers movies and it seems that in the Loki series they took this issue very seriously.
And you have to remember that even if you have an excellent visual narrative, the audio and music are the perfect complement to make the scenes memorable and make the viewer feel that bomb of emotions that runs through their body while watching a key scene from the film or series.
And that is precisely what Natalie Holt achieves since you listen to the intro of the series using a kind of ticking clock as a base (which refers to the importance of time in the plot of the series), the use of the theremin as a timeless feel catalyst that goes hand in hand with TVA’s old-fashioned seventies and eighties tech look and the impressive use of percussion and brass that lends that epicity and mystery to this great opening soundtrack.
Another example of Holt’s work is the theme of the character Miss Minutes, which is a rather interesting mix between a cartoonish, friendly and funny essence, combined with the mystery that the very organization of the TVA evokes. This is possible thanks to the use of traditional orchestral instrumentation together with the musical hallmark of the series, which is the Theremin.
It is also interesting to highlight the implementation of some instruments that are not as common as the Ondes Martenot, which is a kind of synthesizer that has some characteristics such as Volume control, monophonic keyboard, an expression ring and in some models an horizontal vibrato built into the same keyboard system, which makes it easy to find a unique and expressive sound.
Another example is the use of the Nyckelharpa, a Swedish stringed instrument played with bow and keys, with a sound similar to the violin, whose extra strings allow it to have a natural reverberation. This instrument is used as the protagonist in the theme of Frigga (Loki’s adoptive mother), endowing this musical piece with touches of nostalgia, sadness and reminds of Loki’s home, Asgard.
While the Loki series has had a great acceptance and has generated a lot of anticipation for what will come of the MCU, the magnificent work of Natalie Holt achieved the main objective of every musical composer, to take the narrative of the project to the next level.
