What is Matthew McConaughey humming in The Wolf of Wall Street?
1.46s in
2 Answers
Arik Beremzon,
Views
I scoured the interwebz for this. It's most likely Ai Du by Ali Farka Toure and Ry Cooper.
Why? There's an NPR interview with McConaughey where he explains that he hums and beats his chest to that song. While he's not excplicitly saying that he did that in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 movie), it's still the most plausible given the earlier explanation (emphasis mine):
From: Matthew McConaughey, Getting Serious Again
According to IMDB trivia on the Wolf of Wall Street he improvised, which makes it even more likely that he just did his "regular" hum.
Why? There's an NPR interview with McConaughey where he explains that he hums and beats his chest to that song. While he's not excplicitly saying that he did that in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 movie), it's still the most plausible given the earlier explanation (emphasis mine):
GROSS: So I just want to explain, you're at a studio in New York, and I'm at a studio in Philadelphia. So we're not in the same room. And when my engineer turned on your mic, you couldn't hear me yet, but I could hear you. And what you were doing was...
(LAUGHTER)
GROSS: ...kind of singing, chanting. Part of it was like a meow, meow, meow, meow. And then you were doing this other thing. What was that about?
MCCONAUGHEY: Oh, I was - it was a couple things. It was - I was sort of banging on my belly and chest and humming and (makes noises). And it's something I do kind of, one, to get the voice going, which is good for radio and these wonderful mics you guys have.
GROSS: Oh, yeah, so that's - yeah.
MCCONAUGHEY: Also, rhythmically, it loosens me up. It relaxes me. And you know third is? You always - you used to have it. I don't know if you all have it anymore. There was a musician, Ali Farka Toure, and he used to be the segue, or maybe he still is in places.
(SOUNDBITE OF HUMMING)
MCCONAUGHEY: It's from a song "I Do," a great song off of "Talking Timbuktu" that he worked on with Ry Cooder. And I actually went and met that man, and he's the reason I went to Africa. I found him in a little town called Niafunke on the Niger River. And he has since passed away, I think, a few years back. But that was always - that's where a bit of that chest beating, humming comes from.
And so I'm here in the offices in New York talking to you on NPR, and it's a little call out to Ali, as well.
GROSS: Huh. So do you do that on a set to warm up your voice and kind of get in the rhythmic spirit? Yeah.
MCCONAUGHEY: It's a rhythm thing. It's a rhythm thing. It sort of, you know, takes the periods and turns them into commas for me. So it's - and I'm a - music and sound is very important to me, and it relaxes me, and it sort of - there's also something relaxing about someone going what in the hell's he doing, you know.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCONAUGHEY: And I'm look good, I got one on you. You're not sure what I'm doing. OK, we're free. But it's very good for the instrument. It's very good for the acting instrument, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF HUMMING)
GROSS: So that's your chest you're playing?
MCCONAUGHEY: Yeah.
GROSS: It sounds like you could work McConaughey into that chant.
(LAUGHTER)
MCCONAUGHEY: Yeah, you could work - it's got the right amount of syllables.
From: Matthew McConaughey, Getting Serious Again
According to IMDB trivia on the Wolf of Wall Street he improvised, which makes it even more likely that he just did his "regular" hum.
Before certain scenes in the film, and his other films, McConaughey does this to relax. After five takes of that particular scene, Scorsese was ready to move on, but Leo DiCaprio asked McConaughey about his chest thumping. Leo suggested they do another take to include that and it was eventually included in the final cut.
It originates from McConaughey's method of relaxation between scenes, which he has said was taken from a song called "I Do" by Ali Farka Toure from "Talking Timbuktu", which Toure had collaborated with Ry Cooder on. Toure passed away.
Matthew McConaughey's radio interview | The Totally Unnecessary Wolf Of Wall Street Board
Update: Arik Beremzon has the proper answer as well. I didn't realize he had referenced the same source in an answer here, as this was an A2A for me. Consider the first paragraph some added context.
It originates from McConaughey's method of relaxation between scenes, which he has said was taken from a song called "I Do" by Ali Farka Toure from "Talking Timbuktu", which Toure had collaborated with Ry Cooder on. Toure passed away.
Matthew McConaughey's radio interview | The Totally Unnecessary Wolf Of Wall Street Board
Update: Arik Beremzon has the proper answer as well. I didn't realize he had referenced the same source in an answer here, as this was an A2A for me. Consider the first paragraph some added context.
