Elena Setién and Rüdiger score the shadows of «Odol Ilargia»
Elena Setién and Rüdiger release the four-track Odol Ilargia soundtrack through Thrill Jockey, accompanying a Basque thriller premiered at San Sebastián.
A thriller score does not need to tell the audience when to be afraid. Sometimes it works best by leaving room for dread. Odol Ilargia (Original Soundtrack), the new collaboration between Elena Setién and Rüdiger, follows that principle. Released digitally by Chicago label Thrill Jockey, the four-track EP accompanies a Basque mystery centred on an old crime and the secrets carried by a group of former schoolmates.
A reunion haunted by the past
Directed by David R. Losada and presented as part of EiTB’s 2026 San Sebastián Film Festival gala, Odol Ilargia (Blood Moon) follows Julen to a reunion ten years after leaving school. There he encounters Ibai, a former childhood friend newly released from prison after a murder for which he never explained his motives.
It is a story shaped not only by what happened, but by what the characters think they know. That makes the relationship between music and image particularly important: a soundtrack can fill every gap with emotional instructions, or it can allow ambiguity to survive.
Minimalism as a dramatic tool
Thrill Jockey describes the score’s language through minimalist instrumentation, experimental electronic textures and fragile, unsettling vocal arrangements. Rather than seeking constant grand gestures, the composers have developed an atmosphere suited to the film’s wet Basque landscapes and desaturated visual palette.
The label also highlights their open collaboration with director Losada. The music developed alongside the edit, giving both composers freedom to react to the unfolding images. In this context, restraint becomes a form of storytelling.
Two distinct creative voices
Setién is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose work moves between voice-led composition, jazz and adventurous arrangements. Rüdiger is the musical project of Felix Buff, a drummer and multi-instrumentalist closely connected with the Basque independent scene. They previously worked together on the score for Faisaien Irla (Pheasant Island), so this is a collaboration with a history rather than a one-off meeting.
Four pieces across eighteen minutes
Released on 9 October 2026, the EP contains “Odol Ilargiaren Gaua”, “Automatikoa”, “Iluntasunean” and “Eta Erdian Sua”, with a total running time of approximately eighteen minutes. Rüdiger is also touring behind his recent album Love is a Muscle, with further Spanish dates this autumn.
Explore the soundtrack on Thrill Jockey, find it on Apple Music or read the San Sebastián festival synopsis. Taken beyond the screen, Odol Ilargia demonstrates how a brief instrumental work can suggest a whole unseen world.