'The Unveiling', taken from my score with @DustinOHalloran for the @CurrentWarFilm. https://t.co/5k25rlooyZ

— HAUSCHKA (@hauschkamusic) September 11, 2017

for composers Volker Bertelmann (“Hauschka”) and Dustin O’Halloran — the duo behind the Oscar-nominated score for 2016’s Lion — scoring The Current War meant finding a sound that would match the film’s scope. “Even though it’s a period film, we wanted it to sound modern and vital and something no one has heard before,” the pair tells EW. “It’s a very experimental score to bring this sense of what Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse were experiencing in their moment.”

Experimental, as in imbuing unconventional instruments into their strings-heavy theme. “Current War is a film about invention and electricity, and we wanted to bring this sense of discovery to the music,” they explain. “We researched a sound that was both electric and organic at the same time, using the sounds of modular synthesizers, prepared piano, manipulated orchestra and even the buzz of broken cables.”