Original score from the 2022 drama television series directed by Peter Mackie Burns, starring Tony Curran, Martin Compston and Tracy Ifeachor, produced by Synchronicity Films and released by BBC (UK).

THE STORY: A friendship forged between James and Tully in a small Scottish town in 1986. One weekend, they make a vow to each other to go at life differently. But then, 30 years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has the worst kind of news.

THE SCORE: “For the Mayflies score we settled on a unique blend of primarily string quartet, piano and bowed marimba- with solo viola and cello melodies performed by Scottish players bringing a rich and subtly celtic folky flare to the score. We are both from Scotland – as are the vast majority of the cast and crew on the show – and so we felt it was important to give it a bit of a Scottish edge. We also recorded the score there as we felt it was important to represent and showcase Scottish musicians. The music starts off fairly tentative and sombre, and has its moments of warmth and nostalgia scattered throughout. However as the story moves gradually towards its heartbreaking conclusion we needed to introduce a sense of tension and inevitability- of time ‘running out’ for Tully as the cancer begins to take hold and the story barrels towards its heartbreaking conclusion. We created this sense of inevitable and sorrowful dread through the use of subtle percussive pulsing, ticking and hypnotic piano and solo string figures.” – Joseph Stevenson

THE COMPOSERS: Lorne Balfe is a Grammy Award winning, Emmy and BAFTA nominated film composer from Inverness, Scotland. His filmography boasts an incredible breadth of titles, ranging from major studio to independent films, tentpole video game franchises, beloved animations films, critically acclaimed television series, and documentary features. Lorne’s recent film and television credits include the upcoming The Cut, Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, Steven Spielberg’s Life on Our Planet, DC Studios’ Black Adam, Luther: The Fallen Sun for Netflix, Ticket To Paradise starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Top Gun: Maverick as score producer, Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, the Amazon original The Wheel of Time, and three series of the television adaptations of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials for BBC One/HBO. Lorne began his career in Hollywood providing additional music on several major motion pictures including The Dark Knight, Inception, Rango, Kung Fu Panda 2, Madagascar 3, The Dark Knight Rises, and the 2009 Golden Globe nominated film, Frost/Nixon.

Joseph Stevenson is a BAFTA nominated Scottish composer and producer for film, TV and games currently based in London. He has worked with Lorne Balfe on numerous productions, including His Dark Materials, Mayflies, Life on Our Planet, and Ticket to Paradise.

MMS25007 MAYFLIES (Original Television Soundtrack)
Music Composed by LORNE BALFE & JOSEPH STEVENSON
Release date: March 28, 2025