Tim Davies leads a very busy musical life, and the Grammy- and Annie-nominated musician splits his time between orchestrating for features, television, and video games; composing his own scores; and conducting and arranging for orchestras all around the globe. Whether it is as composer/orchestrator/conductor or a combination of all three, he’s been a part of Frozen and Frozen 2, both Ant-Man movies, The Lego Movie 2, La La Land, Trolls, Minions, The Peanuts Movie, The Croods: A New Age, Empire and WandaVision. He is currently lead orchestrator for Christophe Beck, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Fil Eisler. When not on the scoring stage, Davies can be found at the podium conducting orchestras…
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Interview…Brittany Allen On Acting, Composing and Finding Her Voice
Brittany Allen, aka BRITT, is a multi-disciplinary artist, who on the heels of a successful career as an actor, is now emerging as one of the most exciting young female composers to watch. Her first score was for the critically acclaimed indie What Keeps You Alive (SXSW ’18) which was named a NYTimes Critic’s Pick, one of Rolling Stone’s Top Ten Horror Films of 2018, and hit the Top Ten films on Netflix. She followed that up with her “soul-tugging score” for Z, one of AMC / Shudder’s most watched films of 2020. Most recently, Allen scored the fan favorite episode of “American Horror Stories,” the anthology spinoff of the…
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Interview…Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins Collaborate on ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’
In the world of film scores, there are many composer/director relationships that get a lot of notoriety. But in the last twenty years, co-composing has become more accepted and just as celebrated. Many times – due to the nature of the business and the timelines on certain projects – it is simply a necessity. Whether it’s temporary help, or invaluable creative input throughout the assignment depends on the project, but having that extra bit of assistance can bring a new voice, err sounds and ideas to the palette. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard on the first two Nolan Batman films, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on The Social Network,…
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Interview…Brian Tyler on ‘The Fast Saga’, Personal Projects and Connecting with the Audience
When it comes to contemporary composers, Brian Tyler is one of our favorite musicians. He is supremely accomplished – skilled in playing piano, guitar, drums, bass, cello, world percussion, guitarviol, charango and bouzouki – and able to walk through multiple genres, even in the same film. It’s been a long time since we interviewed Brian about his work, but he’s done a lot since 2016. Over the years, we’ve had lively and insightful conversations about some of his standout scores: Rambo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Iron Man 3, Now You See Me, The Expendables 3, and Criminal. For years, Brian has been interested in listening to and deconstructing a wide…
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Interview…Junkie XL on the Mondo Box Set of ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’
It’s been a while since we chatted with Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL), and boy how his career has soared. It wasn’t enough to follow George Miller to the ends of the ear and destroy the sonic landscape with such raw and powerful drums. As an artist, he had to push farther, and we’re so glad he did. His signature blend of rhythms – a style that comes from deep down in his DNA – can be heard in all his scores no matter how far apart they seem on the surface. Are we saying that Mad Max: Fury Road, Mortal Engines and Sonic the Hedgehog are the same? Yes.…
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Exclusive: Interview…Stephanie Economou Discusses Collaboration and Inspiration on ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’
Stephanie Economou is a composer and violinist based in Los Angeles, CA. Her early successes have emerged from her exploration and study of widely varying musical styles, including classical, experimental, folk and rock. Stephanie’s experience in film scoring extends from drama to action to comedy, which has demanded the synthesis of an electronic and acoustic musical palette. It is her uniquely hybridized compositional voice which has proven a valuable asset across a wide spectrum of visual media. Stephanie is the composer of the upcoming Netflix TV series Jupiter’s Legacy, based on the comic series by Mark Millar. She has written the music for the Lionsgate/Starz series Step Up: High Water,…
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Interview…Composer Kate Simko on Awareness and Acceptance in ‘Underplayed’
American composer, electronic music producer, and leader of her ensemble London Electronic Orchestra, Kate Simko blends distinctive influences from her hometown, Chicago, and formal training in classical piano and jazz. Kate’s music has been licensed by ABC Television, Victorinox, and Giorgio Armani, and she has written original music for films, commercials and shows featured on the BBC, Netflix and PBS. After graduating Northwestern University’s music school Kate’s career started in Los Angeles interning on feature films, and then took a surprise turn as her live electronic music career took off. She spent her twenties performing at revered clubs and festivals across the globe, from underground venues in Berlin and Tokyo…
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Interview…Composer Jermaine Stegall on ‘Coming 2 America’ and the New Sound of Zamunda
Jermaine Stegall is an accomplished and versatile composer and conductor. Stegall’s extensive music studies include a BA from Northern Illinois University’s School of Music, a Master’s degree in Music Composition from the University of North Texas, and the prestigious Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at USC. Following his formal education, he was selected as a Sundance Composer Lab Fellow, as well as the BMI Conducting Workshop. With over 50 projects to his credit, Stegall’s professional career began as a music intern for the film I, Robot, and Stegall’s scoring and conducting assignments have included film and TV shows in all genres, to leading bands at major musical events.…
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Interview…Composer Alec Puro on ‘The Crew’, ‘Black Summer’ and ‘The Mighty Ones’
The composing world is a fast paced industry. It’s a lot of hustle just to get in the door, and then, once you got the job, it’s even faster. Oh, and if you’re in composing for television, it’s faster still. So why would anyone want to do this for a living? Well, if you’re like Alec Puro, it’s just too much fun not to. Alec has a lifetime of experiences playing and making music. A seasoned drummer, producer and all around nice guy, Alec makes it look easy and has done music (both composing and licensing) for multiple, multiple TV shows. On his crowded plate are a trio of projects…
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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…
