From Oppenheimer to The Mandalorian, Childish Gambino to Vampire Weekend and more: 10 of the best by Oscar-winning producer and composer Ludwig Göransson

Ludwig Göransson was born to be a famous composer. Named after Ludwig van Beethoven, how could he not be? The producer, composer and songwriter from Linköping, Sweden is a modern musical dynamo, a polymath who has forged a successful collaborative partnership with hip-hop supremo Childish Gambino, worked with Adele, Vampire Weekend, Haim and more at the same time as establishing himself as an Oscar-winning go-to guy for Hollywood’s top brass for film and TV scores. The dramatic, orchestral swells that elevated all the talky bits in Oppenheimer? That was Ludwig. The Mandalorian’s cosmic-cowboy theme tune? Yes, Ludwig. In celebration of his 40th birthday today (1st September), here are ten of Ludwig van Göransson’s, as he shall now be known (just for this sentence), best moments:

Forever (by Haim, 2012)

Göransson was co-producer on the debut single from LA sisters Alana, Danielle and Este Haim, also a standout from their 2013 debut Days Are Gone. It’s a summery indie-pop number that sounds like Fleetwood Mac in a hurry.

You’re A Creed (from Creed, 2015)

His work in the Star Wars universe has proved that Göransson has a knack for paying homage to what has gone before whilst also moving the music forward. That is very much the vibe with this cut from his score for the first instalment in Rocky spin-off Creed, which includes elements of core themes from the original Rocky melded with 808 beats and majestic strings.

Opps (from Black Panther: The Album, 2018)

Göransson did the score for Black Panther but he also got involved in the accompanying record overseen by rap gamechanger Kendrick Lamar, working on this car-chase-soundtracking cut with Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok. It’s one of the record’s most thrilling songs, hi-octane hip-hop built on urgent vocal delivery, synths that sound like sirens and incessant beats.

This Is America (by Childish Gambino, 2018)

Göransson was co-writer and co-producer on this tour-de-force by his long-running artistic sparring partner Childish Gambino, aka actor and musician Donald Glover. Accompanied by a mesmeric, masterpiece video, it’s an electrifying dissection of modern America, race and gun violence to a soundtrack of intoxicating percussive grooves, gospel crooning and forbidding soundscapes.

My Mistake (by Vampire Weekend, 2019)

A plaintive piano ballad from the arty indie-baroque crew’s fourth album Father Of The Bride, Göransson co-write My Mistake was one of the low-level highlights from that record, jazzy and dusty and featuring a contemplative vocal from frontman Ezra Koenig.

The Mandalorian (from The Mandalorian, 2019-2023)

If the idea behind any theme tune is that it manages to convey the vibe of what you are about to sit through, then Göransson absolutely nailed it with his theme tune for this Star Wars Disney+ show about a bounty hunter-turned-protector. With its menacing Morricone-style drum rolls, desolate woodwind repetitions and imposing blasts of brass, it said that Mando was a cross between Star Wars and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, set out in the wilds of a galaxy far, far away and featuring a lone maverick we could all get behind. Which is what it was, exactly.

Posterity (from Tenet, 2020)

Tenet was a bit of a mess. To paraphrase big Christopher Nolan fan Winston Churchill, it was a riddle trapped inside enigma trapped inside a cryptic crossword where every answer is “Inception was better”. In places, Göransson’s score is equally murky, more about atmosphere and unease than melody. But not so with Posterity, the piano motif from which was used for the film’s trailer. An electro epic that sounds a little bit like a cross between Muse and Nine Inch Nails, it was the first masterpiece in what now looks like will be a long-running collaboration between director and composer. Spare a thought for Nolan’s previous guy Hans Zimmer, who suggested Göransson for the job when he opted to do Dune instead, not realising just how fruitful a pairing it would be.

He Wasn’t There (feat. Jorja Smith) (from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 2022)

One of the more pared-back moments from his score for Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever, this melancholic and tranquil piece is Göransson at his ambient best, never feeling the need to chuck the kitchen sink at it, letting a drone-y synth and Jorja Smith’s murmured harmonies conjure something simple and affecting.

The Book Of Boba Fett (from The Book Of Boba Fett, 2022)

Mando spin-off The Book Of Boba Fett was not a good show, unfortunately – unless you count the bits where it basically turned into The Mandalorian 2.5 – but Göransson didn’t let the quality control issues seep into his theme tune. It feels like a beefed-up sequel to his The Mandalorian theme, the Western swagger melded with sumptuous strings and extravagant choral work.

Manhattan Project (from Oppenheimer, 2023)

The pulsing centrepiece of Göransson’s Oscar-winning score for Oppenheimer sums up everything that is great about his compositions for Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning biopic. It’s bombastic and restrained at the same time, its minimalist piano echoes and gently stirring strings a reflection of all that stress packed into Cillian Murphy’s face.

Niall Doherty is a writer and editor whose work can be found in Classic Rock, The Guardian, Music Week, FourFourTwo, on Apple Music and more. Formerly the Deputy Editor of Q magazine, he co-runs the music Substack letter The New Cue with fellow former Q colleagues Ted Kessler and Chris Catchpole. He is also Reviews Editor at Record Collector. Over the years, he’s interviewed some of the world’s biggest stars, including Elton John, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Robert Plant and more. Radiohead was only for eight minutes but he still counts it.