Erich Wolfgang Korngold once said that “music is music whether it’s for the movie theater or the concert hall or a video game.” We might have paraphrased a little at the end, but he’s right. Moreover, it’s long been understood that a good video game score can help make any game memorable. It can also have a wondrous life outside the pixelated adventure as well. Today’s music review focuses on Mondo and Hollywood Records’ vinyl release of the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Miles Morales. However, before we dig in, here’s a sliver of transparency: this review was done as a stand-alone listening experience. I’ve not played a Spider-Man game since the…
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Interview…Cinematographer Richard Schaefer Discusses Visual Impact and Shooting Style in ‘The Last Champion’
Last year, the Glenn Withrow directed family drama, The Last Champion, was released by Redburn Street Pictures. It tells the story of John Wright (played by Cole Hauser), a scandal-ridden ex-Olympian who, following his mother’s death, returns to a hometown that has not forgiven him. It’s an emotional sports movie, and we’re glad to see one about wrestling. In a story about facing the past, it’s also about finding the hero in all of us. We spoke to cinematographer Rich Schaefer about his experiences on the uplifting film. Schaefer used to wrestle, so he was able to bring some personal expertise to the shoots and help Glenn Withrow get some…
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Interview…John Powell on ‘Solo’, John Williams, and A Long Time Before A Galaxy Far, Far Away
British composer John Powell began his career in the advertising world writing music for commercials. Growing up in a musical family, you could say it was in his blood and it wasn’t long before he left the jingle world and headed to Los Angeles after being recruited by Hans Zimmer. While there, he worked on titles like The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado before being groomed for his first big solo outing: Face/Off. Talk about making an entrance. Powell came out swinging – to match the ballet of bullets and boat chases in the John Woo actioner – but he also gave the film lots of…
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Interview…Composer Will Bates and Director Mike Cahill Discuss ‘Bliss’
Will Bates is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist and founder of music production company Fall On Your Sword. As a solo artist and multi-instrumentalist, Bates has recorded and toured around the globe. As a saxophonist, Bates has collaborated with legendary artists ranging from 60’s icon Lulu to techno legend Marshall Jefferson. Bates works frequently with director Mike Cahill, and the two weave mind-expanding narrative magic for TV and film. Cahill (Another Earth, I Origins) wrote and directed the new film, Bliss, which is being distributed by Amazon Studios and the soundtrack will be released by Milan Records. It tells the multi-layered story of a man whose life lacks purpose, and he…
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Must Listen: Will Bates and Skye Edwards’ ‘You and I’ Music Video from Mike Cahill’s ‘Bliss’
On February 5th, Amazon Studios will release the latest film from director Mike Cahill (Another Earth, I Origins). Bliss tells the story of an unfulfilled man (Owen Wilson) and a mysterious woman (Salma Hayek) who believe they are living in a simulated reality, but when their newfound ‘Bliss’ world begins to bleed into the ‘ugly’ world they must decide what’s real and where they truly belong. The film sports an impressive and dynamic score written by Cahill’s long-time composing collaborator, Will Bates. Along with writing the score, Bates penned the song ‘You and I‘ which he recorded with Morcheeba’s Skye Edwards. GoSeeTalk recently had a chat with Cahill and Bates…
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Interview…Ilan Eshkeri on Honesty and Hope in BBC’s ‘A Perfect Planet’
Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator. We spoke with Ilan in 2015 (about 47 Ronin, Black Sea and The Snowman & The Snowdog) and were happy to catch up with him to discuss his process writing music for BBC’s A Perfect Planet. This new nature series is his fourth collaboration with legendary naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The bulk of this interview focuses on his efforts to write that music and the underlying idea of hope in many of the themes (we’ve included selections from his score below). Recently, Ilan and Ralph Fiennes completed their third film together – a biopic about Rudolf Nureyev, The White…
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Interview…Composer Zach Robinson on Synthwave, Musical Influences and ‘Cobra Kai’
Zach Robinson is an LA-based composer, music producer, and electronic musician. Since 2009, Zach has created 1980s inspired electronic music under the pseudonym D/A/D. His most recent album The Construct (2013) was named one of the best cassette releases of 2013 by NPR and received critical acclaim from numerous online publications including Pitchfork, Ad Hoc, and FACT Magazine. After receiving his degree in music composition from Northwestern University, Zach cut his teeth working with acclaimed film composer, Christophe Beck, writing additional music for films such as Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, Frozen, Hot Pursuit, Sisters, and The Peanuts Movie. He most recently composed the score for Quibi’s action comedy Die Hart, starring…
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Exclusive: Interview…The Album Leaf’s Jimmy LaValle on Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s ‘Synchronic’
The Album Leaf has been making its mark as a soft-spoken innovator steadily and surely since 1999. One year after forming the influential San Diego instrumental group Tristeza, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle turned the solo studio project into a full-fledged live band. The diversity of The Album Leaf’s music is second only to the diversity of the music that has inspired LaValle through the years – the artist has named everything from German Ambient/Pysch bands like Can, Cluster and Harmonia to traditional mariachi music, electronic music and Brian Eno as some of his primary influences. Icelandic band Sigur Rós discovered LaValle and took The Album Leaf on tour with…
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Interview…Composer Erick Schroder on Hulu’s ‘The Ultimate Playlist of Noise’
Acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Erick Schroder is a film, theater, and video game composer whose compositions have included works for vocal and instrumental soloists, choral groups, stage musicals, jazz, and orchestral ensembles. In the last decade, Erick has created music for over seventy-five projects. While attending University of Southern California’s prestigious Scoring for Motion Picture and Television program, Erick honed his composition skills under the guidance of Oscar- nominated Bruce Broughton, Emmy winner Frederik Wiedman, BAFTA winner Garry Schyman (Bioshock) and others. After the program, Erick went on to be mentored by Emmy and Grammy-winning composer James Newton Howard. He also worked alongside the Oscar-nominated John Debney and horror legend Christopher Young…
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Interview…Daniel Pemberton on Aaron Sorkin’s ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’
UK-based composer Daniel Pemberton has such a distinctive voice, er sound, and his compositions never fail to leave us awestruck. The work he creates is as impacting as it is innovative. If that wasn’t enough, this multi-Golden Globe, Emmy and BAFTA Award-nominated musician has worked hand in hand with Ridley Scott, Darren Aronofsky, Guy Ritchie and other legendary directors. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is lauded as a game-changer in the action genre and really put him on the map, Steve Jobs is a masterful progression of digital bits and beeps that segues beautifully into lush symphonic splendor, the Black Mirror episode, U.S.S. Callister, is a darkly memorable alt.…
