Shigeru Umebayashi - The Dark Sea (Mare Nero) (Original Film Soundtrack) (2025)

SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI is an internationally renowned film composer, best known for creating ‘Yumeji’s Theme’ in Wong Kar-Wai’s film In The Mood for Love as well as collaborating with Wong Kar-Wai on 2046. He was the music producer and composer for Zhang Yimou’s films House of Flying Daggers and Curse of The Golden Flower and composed the end-title song ‘Lovers’ for the soprano Kathleen Battle.

ROBERTA TORRE is an Italian film director and screenwriter who won the prestigious Nastro d’argento award for best new director with her first film, Tano da morire (“To Die for Tano”) in 1997 and has been nominated and won many awards since for her body of work. She first worked with Umebayashi on the 2006 film MARE NERO and again on MI FANNO MALE I CAPELLI from 2023.
The director had been looking for an opportunity to work with Umebayashi.

“It was the first time we worked together. I searched for him for a long time and was certain that he would be perfect for the film. I was fascinated and deeply moved by his music, and in fact the soundtrack is extraordinary.

The first time we met was at the Tokyo Film Festival I had a film in competition (Angela) it was 2002 and I had been looking for him for a long time but we had not been able to meet in Europe. I was very happy because I finally had a chance to tell him what his music represented to me.”

The mood of MARE NERO proved inspirational for the composer –
“Roberta gave me free reign to create the music for ‘Mare Nero’. I used a Japanese bamboo flute for the main theme and some electronic elements to create suspense. It is one of my favourite scores.”

Shigeru Umebayashi started composing film music in 1984 and his talent was immediately recognized in 1985, when the music he composed for the Japanese film production Sorekara (And Then) won several film music awards. He has since scored more than 30 Japanese Films, including Onmyoji and Onmyoji II.

Tracklist:
1-1 Shigeru Umebayashi - Mare Nero theme [3:39]
1-2 Shigeru Umebayashi - Carillon [1:45]
1-3 Shigeru Umebayashi - Lounge About the Streets [2:54]
1-4 Shigeru Umebayashi - Luca & Ivano [1:27]
1-5 Shigeru Umebayashi - Morgue [2:12]
1-6 Shigeru Umebayashi - Veronica's Piano 3 [3:16]
1-7 Shigeru Umebayashi - Main theme solo sax [1:34]
1-8 Shigeru Umebayashi - Selling Drugs [2:14]
1-9 Shigeru Umebayashi - Torture [2:43]
1-10 Shigeru Umebayashi - The Blond Girl 1 [2:07]
1-11 Shigeru Umebayashi - Bar [2:15]
1-12 Shigeru Umebayashi - Luca's Dream [2:58]
1-13 Shigeru Umebayashi - Veronica's Piano [1:41]
1-14 Shigeru Umebayashi - The Blond Girl 2 [1:48]
1-15 Shigeru Umebayashi - Luca & Veronica [2:22]
1-16 Shigeru Umebayashi - Vila Fiano 2 [2:47]
1-17 Shigeru Umebayashi - Mare Nero rumba [3:15]