Sony Music Masterworks has released The Space Between Us - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally and physically on CD. The album will also release on vinyl at a later date. The album features original songs by Ingrid Michaelson and the movie's original score by Andrew Lockington (San Andreas, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters). The score was comprised of orchestral elements and salvaged items from junk yards to create unique sounds catered to the film's story. This process of "upcycling" was in line with the film's message about celebrating the beauty of our planet.
"I loved working with Peter [Chelsom, the director] and Richard [Lewis, producer]. They had a real vision as to what they wanted but also allowed me lots of freedom within that vision. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the movie from such an early stage," remarks Ingrid Michaelson.
"Peter Chelsom [the director] and I wanted to build upon Gardner's experience in the film of finding wonder and amazement in daily things those of us born here take for granted," comments Lockington. "In that same way, I set upon finding music in things that I'd so often overlooked. I starting listening to the world in a different way, and in doing so realized that there are extraordinary sounds all around us each day that can be musical if we use them in a musical way."
When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, Gardner is eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars. But after his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner's organs can't withstand Earth's atmosphere. Gardner joins with Tulsa on a race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe.
"One example was these old ice cream dishes," continues Lockington. "Michael, my sound design partner in crime, and I grouped together a whole bunch of these metal dishes and began experimenting with bowing them and hitting hem with different mallets. They were never pitched in the usual equal tempered way, but I realized if I played patterns using their unique pitches it became a musical motif that could be built upon. It was like finding music between the notes, between the c's and c#'s. Peter kept encouraging me to go in this direction often reminding me that beauty is always found in the most unexpected and strange places."