District 9 (soundtrack)

Shorter prepared for three weeks to score the film. He initially used a kamancheh in the soundtrack, but director Neill Blomkamp felt that it "was not dark and deep enough". Shorter used computer effects to make the kamancheh sound more synthetic. Blomkamp felt the orchestral score sounded too much like traditional film music, like that of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and liked Shorter's production. Some of the film was scored in full orchestra. Shorter further recalled:[2]

"One of the tricky things was, the film starts off as a documentary, and it took us a while to get the sound together, because I’m used to scoring sequences, and what he really wanted was more of a blanket type of score for the opening, the first act. He couldn’t really articulate it, he just wasn’t too sure, and I kept scoring and scoring and scoring … I was framing in too much, and he really wanted it to be more a documentary style where they just ride the fader up and down, then as the film gets more dramatic and cinematic, they introduce more traditional scoring styles."[2]

Blomkamp wanted a "raw and dark" score, but one that maintained its South African roots. This was a challenge for Shorter, who found much of the South African music he worked with to be optimistic and joyful. Unable to get the African drums to sound dark and heavy, Shorter used a combination of taiko drums and synthesized instruments for the desired effects, with the core African elements of the score conveyed in the vocals and smaller percussion. The score also featured music and vocals from Kwaito artists.[3]

Music critic Jonathan Broxton reviewed the score positively, but noted that he "may have been a little more scathing" if it was written by a more esteemed composer.[4] Thomas Glorieux of Main Titles was disappointed by the soundtrack because "several of the better tracks just didn't make it on the CDR edition that Sony published after the success of the film", but felt that the album consisted of "appropriate tension music and moody sound design".[5]

Filmtracks.com compared the soundtrack positively to Hans Zimmer's work on Tears of the Sun and Batman Begins, calling it a "guilty pleasure".[6]

Credits adapted from CD liner notes.[7]