‘Sirât’ Composer Kangding Ray on How Synths Helped Craft the Film’s Techno Score and Create Desert Sounds

According to its composer Kangding Ray, Oliver Laxe's Oscar-shortlisted film "Sirât" is a profoundly ambitious and radical work. The movie, which is under consideration in categories including International Feature, Cinematography, Sound, and Original Score, follows a father, Luis (Sergi López), and his son as they search a series of remote Moroccan desert raves for Luis's missing daughter. As their hope dwindles during a trek to one final party, the film's sonic landscape, crafted by Ray, becomes a central character. Its opening techno beats pulse relentlessly for nearly 17 minutes before dissolving into an ambient soundscape that mirrors the characters' escalating peril and emotional anguish—a transition the composer cites as his greatest creative challenge.

Ray joined the project early, composing to the script rather than a finished picture. He was immediately captivated by Laxe's vision, despite recognizing its extreme nature. "This is my kind of film; it operates on multiple levels without over-explaining and really pushes boundaries," Ray noted. The extended rave sequence, while central, was the most straightforward element for the veteran electronic musician. The true difficulty lay in scoring the subsequent shift. "Finding the right tone—the precise blend of energy, aggression, violence, and grief to support the story where dialogue fails—was the most challenging part. It was also the most rewarding," he explained. The pacing was crucial, requiring a gradual dissolution punctuated by sonic shocks that reflect the narrative's sudden turns into nightmare, such as a deadly minefield explosion.

To convey the immense scale of trauma and desert landscape after a key character's death, Ray employed extensive sonic layering. "I ended up creating this giant monster of sound," he said. This approach underscores the film's universal themes, suggesting a story much larger than its individual characters. Ray's process relies on the abstract nature of electronic music and modular synthesizers, allowing him to work directly with "the fabric of sound itself." This methodology seamlessly integrated with the puristic field recordings of sound designer Laia Coll. Her analog recordings of rave atmospheres and environmental noises became both inspiration and direct sonic material, blending effortlessly into the score.

The film's cultural clash is poignantly underscored in a moment where a raver tells Luis, "Techno is our church." Initially annoyed by the music, Luis is struck by the realization that his missing daughter used the same phrase. "At that moment, he understands that music has a function beyond entertainment," Ray observed. "For his daughter's generation, it's about community and self-discovery on the dance floor—something much bigger." This thematic depth is anchored by the consistent, haunting presence of the desert, a through-line maintained from script to final edit. Director Oliver Laxe has stated the shoot was a remarkably faithful execution of the initial vision, with only minor adjustments needed, allowing the film's powerful, score-driven atmosphere to remain intact from conception to completion.