Alice Smith on Crafting Standout ‘Sinners’ Track ‘Last Time (I Seen the Sun)’ With Miles Caton and Ludwig Göransson: ‘A Perfectly Placed Song’

The closing ballad of Ryan Coogler's "Sinners," titled "Last Time (I Seen the Sun)," was born directly from a pivotal scene in the film. In it, an aging bluesman played by the iconic Buddy Guy confronts the immortal vampires portrayed by Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld. Their conversation about a final day of freedom provided the emotional seed for the song, which was co-written by composer Ludwig Göransson and performed by actor Miles Caton and soul singer Alice Smith. Remarkably, the entire creative process unfolded with unusual speed once the core idea was established.

Alice Smith, whose Grammy-nominated 2006 debut "For Lovers, Dreamers and Me" first caught Göransson's ear, was invited to a session where she was shown the scene alongside a pre-recorded string arrangement. The music instantly triggered a vivid, personal memory. "It literally took me to a particular visual... my grandmother's farm in Georgia," Smith revealed to Variety. This immediate, visceral connection allowed her and Caton to compose the lyrics collaboratively, finishing the reflective blues piece in merely a couple of hours. The effortless workflow, Smith noted, felt like a sign the song was meant to be. As film composer David Newman once observed, "The best film songs feel like they've always existed within the story," a sentiment that matches Smith's experience here.

For Smith, whose diverse career includes the acclaimed solo album "Mystery" and recent work on soundtracks like "The Book of Clarence," returning to blues roots was an instinctive move. She describes the genre as a fundamental part of her musical DNA, tracing back to the Southern gospel sounds of her upbringing. This deep-seated familiarity made the stylistic transition for "Sinners" a natural fit. The reward came in seeing the final edit: the song scores a sequence of a car driving through open fields, mirroring the very pastoral imagery she envisioned during its creation. The seamless integration affirmed her feeling that it was "a perfectly placed song."

Smith finds the process of writing for film uniquely liberating compared to developing her own albums, as the narrative framework eliminates the initial hurdle of defining a song's central theme. "With film, that interfering you can do is kind of cut out because it's somebody else's vision," she explained. This collaborative approach has extended into other artistic ventures, including installation work with filmmakers like Isaac Julien. However, her primary focus is now shifting back to her original music. Smith has set a definitive deadline to complete new solo material, with recording slated to wrap in the coming months. Industry observers note her methodical return to solo work follows a pattern seen with artists like Brittany Howard, who balance soundtrack contributions with deeply personal albums. Fans can likely anticipate new music, potentially a lead single, as early as January or February, paving the way for her next major release.