WaterTower Music is excited to announce the release of The Rider from The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrim, performed by the English breakthrough artist Paris Paloma, written and produced by Phoebe Gittins and David Long for the film. The single is available now on digital platforms and follows the long-standing tradition of incredible performers being part of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies. Previous performers include Enya, Emilíana Torrini, Annie Lennox, Neil Finn, Ed Sheeran, and Billy Boyd.
Producer Philippa Boyens had this to say about the song: “Paris Paloma’s incredible performance of ‘The Rider’ follows in the great tradition of powerful, heartfelt songs within ‘The Lord of the Rings’ cinema universe. Her voice perfectly imbues the emotion, courage and indefinable magic that is Middle-earth.”
Paris Paloma, who has been a fan of The Lord of the Rings films since an early age, had this to say: “I became completely immersed in Middle-earth, both in the books and the movies, and I have never found a world or a story since that inspires me more than this one that Tolkien built. It is an incredible dream come true to have recorded this song for the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, telling the story of Héra, daughter of Helm Hammerhand. To be a part of this family and of Middle-earth is something I will cherish forever.”
The full soundtrack featuring the film’s score by Stephen Gallagher will be available on December 6th. Lastly, Mutant, in partnership with WaterTower Music, will release the physical version of the soundtrack on 4LP Vinyl, as well as 2x CD.
ABOUT PARIS PALOMA
The Derbyshire-born musician Paris Paloma gave the world “labour” in 2023. Its journal-like lyricism and incisive strain of compelling, dark folk-pop skewered the knots of women’s emotional labour, and immediately became a rallying cry worldwide. The track broke over 180 million streams on Spotify, cracked the Official UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Chart, and soundtracked tens of thousands of TikToks. It spurred massive festival appearances and sold-out shows around the UK and US.
On TikTok, her 900K followers send her videos into six-figure views. Paris continues to gain wider recognition from The Kelly Clarkson Show” & Later… with Jools Holland to Billboard, as YouTube’s Trending Artist on the Rise, a Spotify Equal Ambassador, and as Breakthrough Artist to Watch 2024 by Amazon. Her debut album, Cacophony, is inspired by the creation that comes out of chaos – in 15 tracks, we’re shown Paris as an evocative lyricist who constellates human experiences of grief, love, patriarchy, and trauma with Greek mythology, fantasy, and the literary gothic. The sprawling metaphor of chaos to creation knits the album’s universe together. Cacophony is “a stage backdrop”, against which all future music will be positioned. “I’ve chronically released singles and been quite nomadic. I’m excited to set the scene for my world.” She’s already working on the threads of her next album, a Paris Paloma tapestry in motion.
ABOUT LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRIM
The original anime feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim returns audiences to the epic world brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the revered books by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama (the Blade Runner: Black Lotus and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series), the talented voice cast is led by Brian Cox (Succession) as Helm Hammerhand, the mighty King of Rohan; Gaia Wise (A Walk in the Woods) as his daughter Héra; and Luke Pasqualino (Snowpiercer) as Wulf. Miranda Otto, who delivered an unforgettable, award-winning performance in “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, reprises her role as Éowyn, Shieldmaiden of Rohan, who serves as the tale’s narrator. The voice ensemble also includes Lorraine Ashbourne (Netflix’s Bridgerton), Yazdan Qafouri (I Came By), Benjamin Wainwright (World on Fire), Laurence Ubong Williams (Gateway), Shaun Dooley (The Witcher), Michael Wildman (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), Jude Akuwudike (Beasts of No Nation), Bilal Hasna (Sparks) and Janine Duvitski (Benidorm).
Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. A sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg—a mighty fortress that will later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.
With Kamiyama at the helm, the original feature is being produced by Oscar winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies, alongside Jason DeMarco and Joseph Chou, who, in addition to their many separate animation projects, collaborated on the Blade Runner: Black Lotus series. The executive producers are Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Sam Register, Ken Kamins, Carolyn Blackwood and Toby Emmerich. The screenplay is by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, story by Addiss & Matthews and Boyens, based on characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The team of creative collaborators returning from “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy also includes Oscar winners Alan Lee and Richard Taylor, along with esteemed Tolkien illustrator John Howe. The music is by Stephen Gallagher, music editor of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy.
New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation Present, in Association with Wingnut Films, a Warner Bros. Animation and Sola Entertainment Production, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. The film will be distributed theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, released in cinemas nationwide on December 13, 2024, and internationally beginning 11 December 2024.