The Hottest State Soundtrack

Watch THE HOTTEST STATE trailer and film clips (in theaters August 24th):



The soundtrack for the film, The Hottest State isn’t just another compilation of songs pulled out of obscurity and thrown together for a movie companion piece. No way. If anything, this album—and it is indeed, an album--could also be categorized as a tribute record. The album features sixteen songs, plus two score passages, all recorded exclusively for the film by some of the finest names in music today, all for the benefit of paying tribute to one of the brightest new songwriting talents in the last two decades: Jesse Harris. Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jesse Harris wrote all the music for the soundtrack and serves as the album’s co-executive producer along with the film’s director/screenwriter/producer, Ethan Hawke. Together, they assembled a peerless group of artists to record Harris’ songs: Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Cat Power, Bright Eyes, Feist, The Black Keys, M. Ward, Brad Mehldau, Tony Scherr and Argentinean newcomer, Rocha. Jesse Harris recorded three songs for the soundtrack himself and also has a small role in the film. The soundtrack will be the second release by Hickory Records, the new imprint of Sony/ATV Music Publishing.



“From our first conversation, I was overwhelmed by the quality of Jesse's songwriting and how perfectly matched it was to my aspirations for the tone and mood of the film,” recalls Ethan Hawke. He continues, “An idea began to develop: What if we scored the film entirely with original songs written by Jesse and performed by contemporary artists hand-picked to match certain scenes? To my mind this would give the entire film a continuity of authorship while still providing massive shifts in energy.”



Harris, who has known Hawke since the early 1990s, has released six albums as a solo artist. His songs have been recorded by Madeleine Peyroux, Pat Metheny, and Lizz Wright, and in 2003, he won a Song of the Year Grammy for writing Norah Jones' smash hit “Don't Know Why.”



Adapted by Ethan Hawke from his novel of the same name, The Hottest State is a bittersweet romance that distills the joy, pain, erotic highs, and emotional lows of first love. Hawke directs and co-stars in the film along with Mark Webber (`Broken Flowers'); Oscar-nominees Catalina Sandino Moreno (`Maria Full Of Grace'), Laura Linney (`Mystic River,' `The Squid and the Whale'), Michelle Williams (`Brokeback Mountain') and Sonia Braga (`Kiss Of The Spider Woman'). The movie opens in New York and Los Angeles on August 24, and nationwide throughout September.



The Hottest State Soundtrack hits stores August 7!



TRACK LISTING:

Rocha "Ya No Te Veria Mas (Never See You)"

Willie Nelson "Always Seem to Get Things Wrong"

Feist "Somewhere Down the Road"

Bright Eyes "Big Old House"

Emmylou Harris "The Speed of Sound"

Jesse Harris "It Will Stay With Us"

The Black Keys "If You Ever Slip"

M. Ward "Crooked Lines"

Norah Jones "World of Trouble"

Brad Mehldau "Never See You"

Cat Power "It's Alright to Fail"

Jesse Harris "One Day the Dam Will Break"

Tony Scherr "You, the Queen"

[Score]"Morning in a Strange City (Cafe)"

Rocha "No More"

Jesse Harris "Dear Dorothy"

Rocha "Never See You”

[Score]"There Are No Second Chances"