Soundtrack: Hildur Gudnadottir Chernobyl CD

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe.

Writer, creator and executive producer Craig Mazin began researching the Chernobyl disaster in 2014, using a wide variety of materials, including several books, government reports from inside and outside of the Soviet Union and first-person accounts. He spoke to nuclear scientists to learn how a reactor works and interviewed former Soviet citizens to gain a better sense of the culture in 1986.

The result of Mazin's endeavours is this 5-part hit (and recently Emmy-nominated) miniseries on HBO, Chernobyl.

Creating the perfect sonic backdrop to Chernobyl is Icelandic cellist-composer Hildur Guðnadottir. While critically lauded in her native homeland, Hildur has an international CV which includes soundtracks for the upcoming Joker, Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), Strong Island (2017) and Mary Magdalene (2018). She has also performed live and recorded music with Mum, Ryuichi Sakamoto, The Knife, Fever Ray and Johann Johannsson. Further, Hildur has released four critically acclaimed solo albums: Mount A (2006), Without Sinking (2009), Leyfou Ljosinu (2012) and Saman (2014).

"Chernobyl, the five-part miniseries concluding tonight on HBO, is not just excellent television; it's paradigm-shifting historical storytelling, the kind of tale that alters, ever-so-subtly, the texture of the real world" – Vanity Fair

"Guðnadóttir takes a cello and gentle voice and, through software manipulation, scales simple phrases up to celestial heights"  – The Wire Magazine