12 Years a Slave (soundtrack)
Music from and Inspired by 12 Years a Slave is the soundtrack album to 12 Years a Slave. It contains two tracks from the film score composed by Hans Zimmer, three tracks co-arranged by violinist Tim Fain and Nicholas Britell, and original spiritual songs written and arranged for the film by Nicholas Britell, as well as performances by Alabama Shakes, Cody ChesnuTT, Gary Clark, Jr., Alicia Keys, Tim Fain,Laura Mvula, Chris Cornell, Joy Williams, John Legend, and spiritual song performances from the film.
The album was released digitally on November 5 and in physical formats on November 11, 2013 by Columbia Records in the United States.
Development
Having been interested in each other's work for some time, director Steve McQueen approached composer Hans Zimmer to write the score to 12 Years a Slave after filming had completed. Zimmer was, however, reluctant to accept the offer feeling he wasn't right for the job. Zimmer explained, "I felt I wasn't the guy, in a way. It was such an important, heavy, incredible subject. [...] It took a bit of persuading from [McQueen] to give me the confidence to do it". On April 30, 2013, it was officially announced that Zimmer was scoring the film.