Blade Runner

Composer: Vangelis
Vangelis' Blade Runner score might just be the pinnacle of synthesiser soundtracks.
It seamlessly blends orchestral elements with vintage synth sounds (and the
occasional sax solo) to create a mood that treads a line between old-fashioned noir
suspense and bleak, dystopian futurism, perfectly mirroring the retro-futuristic feel of
Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic.
The core of the soundtrack was primarily composed using a Yamaha CS-80 and
Roland VP-330, interspersed with elements played on a Fender Rhodes to add an
element of classic romanticism to the sound.
Fittingly, there are almost as many different versions, edits and bootlegs of the
soundtrack kicking about as there are re-cuts of the film itself.

Drive
Composer: Cliff Martinez
Former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Cliff Martinez has, since stepping away from
the rock music world in the late-'80s, emerged as one of Hollywood's finest modern
composers. While he's a number of impressive soundtracks to his name - his score
for Steven Soderbergh's version of Solaris is a definite career highlight - his work on
Drive stands out as one of the finest cinematic synthesiser moments in recent years.
Martinez's score blends classic soundtrack instrumentation with unashamedly retro
synth chords and arpeggiated basslines. It all perfectly matches the nostalgic-feeling
soundtrack contributions provided by French producer College and Johnny Jewel's
bands Chromatics and Desire, creating a weirdly retro, nocturnal feel to match
Nicolas Winding Refn's stylized filmmaking.

Monsters
Composer: Jon Hopkins
Scottish electronic musician Jon Hopkins has worked with Brian Eno and is a vocal
fan of Cliff Martinez, and you can hear the influence of both coming through on his
brilliant soundtrack to indie sci-fi movie Monsters. The film's score is perhaps less
overtly sythesiser-driven than others on this list - as is the case with Hopkins'
albums, there's an earthy, natural quality rooted in acoustic percussion and piano
parts. Yet at its core the whole thing is based around subtle synthesised drones and
looping delay effects that reveal Hopkins' impeccable skill for creating gorgeous,
humanised electronic music.

The Social Network

Composers: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
With their ambient-leaning, electronic soundtrack for David Fincher's account of the
creation of Facebook, Nine Inch Nails mainman Reznor and English musician Ross
do an excellent job of building a sense of impending doom through simple repeated
motifs and menacing, droning synths.
The soundtrack also features a synthesised reworking of Edvard Grieg composition
In The Hall Of The Mountain King, an idea that apparently came from Fincher
directly.