Shiva Baby (soundtrack): History and Key Facts

Shiva Baby (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score composed by Ariel Marx to the 2020 comedy film Shiva Baby, directed by Emma Seligman. The score album featuring 10 tracks was released digitally on April 2, 2021 by Lakeshore Records, and on CD on April 30, 2021.

The film's source material — the original short film, also directed by Seligman — did not have an underscore, and Seligman wanted to take the same approach for its feature film. But in order to highlight the emotions expressed by the lead character, and the intensity of some sequences, she realized the necessity for a score, and approached her classmate and composer Marx to score the film. Seligman insisted on a "dissonant and abrasive score" without any "melodic moments", so Marx composed most of the film, using strings, in order to emulate the style of klezmer music.

The score was positively received by critics, who highlighted the score as "haunting" and builds a traumatic experience to the viewers; some also drew comparison with horror film scores. It has been featured in several publications as "one of the best film scores of 2021".

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