Film.Music.Media

Composer Interview: Mac Quayle (June 9, 2015)

Mac Quayle takes some time to talk to us about his background and journey to film composing. Mac formed a close collaboration with Cliff Martinez and learned a lot working on many of Cliff's scores. He jumped into the spotlight by taking over on American Horror Story: Freak Show where he delivered a very unique and immersive score for that season's storyline. Mac continues his collaboration with Ryan Murphy as we discuss what he will be cooking up for Scream Queens premiering this fall. Mac also has done impressive work in films such as the documentary Autism In Love. A really informative and interesting chat with a great composer who has established his voice very quickly.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Mac QuayleJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Evan Roth (May 27, 2015)

Composer Evan Roth takes some time to speak about his new feature score to the documentary Maree V. State. We also chat about how he began his path in music and how he pursued becoming a film and television composer. From his approaches and techniques, we cover how Evan takes on each new project. We also chat about his successful work in commercials where he describes how commercial scoring is some of the best training a composer can get. Enjoy this great interview with a bright young talent in the industry.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Evan RothBrent Harvey

Composer Interview: Gabriel Mann (May 27, 2015)

The awesome and talented Gabriel Mann chats Modern Family, Rectify and The Exes in this in-depth interview that explores Gabriel's background into film scoring and his current works. Gabriel shares his unconventional path to becoming a composer (by dropping out of med school), and candidly speaks on the hectic time of year known as pilot season. Gabriel has successfully walked away from pilot season with a handful of new shoes including Angel From Hell, Rosewood, Dr. Ben and School Of Rock. We talk about his upcoming work as well as his current slate. A supremely entertaining and informative interview with one of the most prominent and busiest composers working in television today.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Gabriel MannChandler PolingKrakower Poling PR

Composer Interview: Dominic Lewis (May 13, 2015)

If Dominic Lewis is not on your radar, he should be. Dominic has been a go-to collaborator for some of Hollywood's biggest names including John Powell, Henry Jackman and Hans Zimmer. He is also one of the most impressive talents and voices as a composer in the industry. His premiere score to the hit animated film Free Birds instantly perked up everyone's ears. He was also behind the teen comedy The DUFF and now the big-screen adaptation of the hit series Spooks. US audiences may not know what Spooks (also known as MI-5) is, but the ever popular UK spy series aired for 10 seasons, and now has a big screen continuation starring Game Of Throne's Kit Harrington called Spooks: The Greater Good. Dominic and I chat about how he got the job (with a little help from his friend John Powell) and how he wanted to break the mold of the modern spy genre. Dominic shares all of his tricks of creating an organic electronic soundscape by recording modems, phones and mouse clicks for percussion. The score is refined and intense even in its subtle moments, and we chat about how happy he was as a composer to have a 100% locked picture to write to. It allowed Dominic to build longer tracks and cues without the worry of the edit changing, and therefore having the music fall out of place. We also chat about his upcoming Amazon Prime series The Man In The High Castle based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Dominic co-composed the pilot (viewable on Amazon Prime) with his friend Henry Jackman. Now that the series has been picked up, he explains the thought process he's going through as he begins work on the rest of the season. Another fun and fascinating chat with one of the most prominent and on the rise composers in the industry.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Dominic LewisStéphane Humez

Composer Interview: Tom Holkenborg [Junkie XL] (May 13, 2015)

Even though Tom was a guest on Film.Music.Media very recently, we had to have him back to talk about his masterful score to Mad Max: Fury Road. Tom (also known as Junkie XL) shares the fantastic and rare approach he was able to do working with master auteur George Miller as he brought his classic Mad Max universe to a new audience. Tom worked 18 months on this score and was part of George Miller's collaborative process as he went back and forth scoring to picture as well as the picture shaping around his music. Tom shares how he came up with that descending main theme we heard in the trailers, and all the different layers he added to make the music work. Tom has also built a reputation as a mad music scientist by doing some always amazing sonic experiments on his scores. Here is no different as we discuss how he recorded animal noises (including his own dog) to give the bad guys an animalistic and tribal presence. We discuss it all, from Taiko drums to wailing guitars and mathematically precise action arcs. Mad Max: Fury Road is a masterwork of action scoring, and it's always a blast to dig into the process with the fantastic Tom Holkenborg.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Tom HolkenborgRay CostaAlbert TelloAsenath NakayamaCosta Communications

Composer Interview: Solomon Grey (May 13, 2015)

Tom Kingston and Joe Wilson are the UK-based musician/composing duo that may be better known for their amazing and unique songs in the electronic genre, but they are prominent new voices in the composing world as well. Tom unfortunately couldn't join us, but here Joe Wilson takes some time to chat about their score to the BBC/HBO co-production of The Casual Vacancy. This miniseries is adapted from the critically praised novel by J.K. Rowling. Joe describes one of the most inspiring and creatively liberating scoring processes you will hear about that is pretty much non-existent in Hollywood today. The duo traveled up and down the English and Irish countryside where the story takes place well before production started. There they recorded soundscapes, melodies and organic sounds with the local people and locations to build the score for The Casual Vacancy. This then became the blueprint for the show. Joe sharing their wonderful journey on this project is an amazing story and a must-listen for all aspiring filmmakers and composers. And it was great to hear from such a unique musical talent who is breathing a fresh sense of style and composition into film and television. Be sure to catch The Casual Vacancy on HBO/HBO Go/HBO Now and hear Solomon Grey's unique and emotionally infused score at work.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Joe WilsonChandler PolingKrakower Poling PR

Composer Interview: Brian Tyler (May 2, 2015)

Brian Tyler is one of the most in-demand and talented composers working in the industry today. His incredible style and strong voice as an auteur in the field has helped bring us some of the most memorable high-octane and emotionally infused scores in recent years. Brian joins us for the 6th time here on Film.Music.Media to talk about his two recent scores to Furious 7 and Avengers: Age Of Ultron. We waste no time and dive right into Furious 7. Brian discusses how the series has lasted so long and what he does musically to fight off "franchise fatigue". Since the score is a hybrid of both electronics and orchestra, we talk about how Brian writes either for the orchestra first or builds the synth work first. We talk about the emotional experience it was for him writing a goodbye for Paul Walker, as the series builds a touching send-off not only for the character of Brian but for Paul. Then we dive into Avengers: Age Of Ultron. Brian explains why Danny Elfman was brought onto the project so late in the game, and how that led to one of the most unconventional yet rewarding collaborations. Since the film was so narratively huge and constantly evolving, it was a challenge even for a Marvel veteran such as Brian. Brian explains how continuity was the biggest factor for him, and how he wanted to bring references to his Iron Man and Thor scores as well as Captain America. He pushed to make sure Silvestri's original Avengers theme was there to remain as the all-encompassing motif for the group. We end by talking about Brian's upcoming slate which sees him returning for Now You See Me: The Second Act and most likely to return for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2. Also, we hypothetically talk about if Brian were to reunite with his Fast 5 director, Justin Lin for Star Trek 3. Another fun and informative chat with Brian who is keeping the classic orchestral adventure style of scoring alive in the modern action landscape.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Brian TylerJeff SandersonRyan MazieChasen & Company
Photo Credit: Joanne Leung

Composer Interview: Carl Thiel (May 2, 2015)

If you're a fan of Robert Rodriguez then you know Carl Thiel's music well. Carl has been a part of Robert's creative fold for many many years now, and has become the most prominent aspect of a Robert Rodriguez film's soundscape. Carl started working with Robert all the way back on Spy Kids 3-D, and since then has co-composed scores like Shorts, Spy Kids 4, Grindhouse: Planet Terror, Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Carl talks about his collaborative relationship with Robert and how it has evolved and grown over the years. Since Robert is a musician and a composer himself, it's one of the most interesting Director/Composer collaborations in the industry. Rodriguez recently launched his own TV network called El Rey, and for its flagship series he called on his friend and collaborator Carl to take the helm. Carl talks about his musical approach for From Dusk Till Dawn and how he wanted it to both touch on the original cult classic film, but also give it a more emotional spin while still having fun with the genre. From the instrumentation and how he chose to do a less thematic structure, Carl talks about what the music needed to do for the story. We also talk about Carl's score to the upcoming docudrama, The Teller And The Truth. Hearing Carl's voice as a composer grow over the years has led him to become one of the more bold and stylistically engaging composers working today, and it was great to have him back as a guest.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Carl Thiel

Composer Interview: Jeff Russo (May 2, 2015)

Grammy and Emmy-nominated composer Jeff Russo takes some time to talk about his expansive slate of projects for 2015. Jeff has quickly become one of the most in-demand composers for television with shows like Fargo, CSI: Cyber, Power, The Returned, Battle Creek, and the upcoming mini-series Tut starring Ben Kingsley. Jeff also has two upcoming features called Surface starring Sean Astin and the Wilt Chamberlain Biopic titled Wilt. Jeff talks about the importance of scheduling and how his current slate was able to happen purely out of luck where none of the production schedules overlapped. Jeff goes into detail about how each of these different shows and genres stimulates different creative parts of his brain since the narratives vary greatly. We discuss the importance of season long arcs for certain shows, while something more serial like CSI needs to be treated a bit differently. Jeff also talks about still playing with his band that he co-founded and how performing and songwriting scratches a completely different creative itch. We also get to hear how far along he is on Fargo: Season 2, and when we might expect the series to return. It's so great to have Jeff back as a guest and always an immense pleasure to chat with him.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Jeff RussoJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Nathaniel Levisay (April 16, 2015)

Composer Nathaniel Levisay takes some time to speak about his newest score to The Toy Soldiers; a film that follows a group of teens in the 1980's over the course of one night. Nathaniel talks about his upbringing and how he discovered his love for music and eventually film scoring. We chat about his work on the film, and how he approached scoring a period film where the music of the time was so iconic in its sound. From what sparks the first note to being inspired by colors, we chat about how the score was meant to function in The Toy Soldiers. Nathaniel discusses the challenges and the rewards of working on a picture like this, and reflects on how growing up in the 80's allowed him to connect to it. Nathaniel Levisay has quickly established a unique voice in the industry, and has demonstrated a masterful hand when it comes to scoring films. His diverse range of scores have also quickly established his versatility amongst genres. It was a true pleasure to dig into his process.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Nathaniel LevisayZach TowHowlin' Wolf Records