Over the years, we’ve spoken to lots of people in the entertainment business, and neither our good friend Bryan Kluger (of BoomStickComics) nor myself have met many individuals with the all-out energy and enthusiasm that Paul Leonard-Morgan exudes. No joke. The Scottish composer is a delight to speak with and you can tell he doesn’t just love his job…he realllly loves it and that comes through in how he describes his process (using analog synthesizers), his projects (Disney Test Track at Epcot Center and Limitless), and his collaborators (Alex Garland, Mark Romanek). He loves life, cares for everyone, has great taste in film and scores, and he even coined a catchphrase…
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Interview…Composer Joseph Stephens on Danny McBride, HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, and “Misbehavin'”
This week, we got to hang out with North Carolina-based multi-instrumentalist, film score composer, and songwriter Joseph Stephens. He’s got a lot of experience in TV and film and one of the gems in Stephens’ in his crown is the a little ditty called “Misbehavin‘” otherwise known as the most unlikely of upbeat bangers featured in The Righteous Gemstones, HBO’s breakout series from series creator Danny McBride. Stephens is the composer behind the show and has worked with McBride many times; their relationship goes back to their college days. Stephens composed and co-wrote the original song with McBride and Edi Patterson (who both star in the series). The twangy, fun-loving song…
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Interview…Composer Mark Isham on Jazz, Frank Darabont, and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’
Seasoned composer Mark Isham (pronounced I-sham) has one of the most diverse and prolific careers in film and television. With a background in jazz, and proficiency with trumpet and piano, Isham has scored innumerable titles and given a incredible flair to each of his projects. His latest works graced with his musical muscle is Hulu’s familial drama Little Fires Everywhere. Taking inspiration from the narrative, Isham’s themes mirror the duality of the interweaving characters (from two vastly different worlds). Even the main theme represents the delicate and sometimes violent interactions between lead characters played by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington – what starts out prim and proper soon segues into…
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Interview…Composer Michael Abels on Get Out, Us, Bad Education and The Shags
Music is an intangible element in film, TV, and video games. Many times, a score, theme, or even a few notes is asked to deliver the emotions that either a story or character lacks. Granted, that’s the worst case scenario. But when both the narrative and music work in harmony, it can yield the some legendary cinematic experiences. Submitted for your approval are a handful of those: Lawrence of Arabia, Taxi Driver, Blade Runner, Inception, and, for you horror fans, 2019’s Us. Recently, we spoke with composer Michael Abels about his craft. Abels got the bug for music with those three famous notes from The Sound of Music. After that,…
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Interview…Gareth Coker on the Score to ‘Ori and the Will of the Wisps’
Gareth Coker grew up playing video games, and has a true knack for writing music which services the gameplay. It mainly comes down to his number one rule: composers have to play they game they work on. In our hour-long discussion, we chatted about his early days playing piano, the hundreds of hours spend devouring numerous games, and how the story (not necessarily the music) makes certain titles so impacting. Coker made a name for himself with the 2015 mega hit Ori and the Blind Forest. The success of this phenomenal Metroidvania style game was half attributed to Coker’s bold, lush, and wondrous score. The 2020 follow-up is just as…
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Interview…Composer Scott Bomar on the Funky Soundtrack to ‘Dolemite Is My Name’
When Dolemite Is My Name came out last year, it blew everyone away. And how could it not? It had Eddie Murphy in the lead role, the story was charming, heart-warming and hilarious, it featured amazing costume design from Ruth Carter (she won an Oscar for Black Panther), and the grooviest soundtrack you could ask for. Having grown up in the ’70s, Memphis-based musician Scott Bomar knows this sound well. With a combination of horns, mean guitar riffs, a well-placed harmonica, and one funky clavinet, he weaves a magical tapestry of soul over Craig Brewer’s film. As fans of the film and the score, we were thrilled to speak to…
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Interview…Jason Graves on Scoring TV and Video Games Galore
In the world of music composition – whether it’s film, video games, TV or all three – there are plenty of people working very hard. They may not be household names like Williams or Elfman, but it doesn’t mean they are any less talented. And to stay in the game, nearly everyone penning music is downright prolific. One of these unsung musicians is two-time BAFTA award winner Jason Graves. You may not recognize him at first, but we’re pretty sure you’ll know everything he’s ever touched: Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-O, Tomb Raider, Far Cry, Friday the 13th, and that’s just the short list. Graves started playing music early on, and…
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Interview…Le Matos on Outrun, RKSS, and Mondo/Death Waltz Vinyl Releases
Last month, we had the great pleasure to speak with a team of composers we’ve admired for some time. Hailing from Montreal, Le Matos has found their way into the hearts of ‘80s fans around the globe with their energetic sound – one that is as catchy as it is perfect for the films to which the music is attached. From their debut album Join Us to the scores to Turbo Kid and Summer of 84, they continue to improve and expand their audio palette. If that wasn’t awesome enough, they’ve won tons of acclaim and scores of fans with their theme remixes from genre classics like Akira, Blade Runner…
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Interview…Nathan Johnson on the Lush Orchestral Score to ‘Knives Out’
One of our favorite composers, and one we’ve been fortunate enough to speak with several times over the years, is Nathan Johnson. With each film score, he’s continually gained an audience with a signature and stylistic approach to his work. That’s partly because he and his cousin are a package deal. Nathan and long time collaborator, Rian Johnson, go way back…even before Brick. The two grew up on the East Coast bringing their stories to life any way they could, hoping to one day break into the biz. Well, they did, and in a very big way. Thanks to titles like Looper, The Last Jedi, and now Knives Out, the…
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Interview…Giancarlo Vulcano on the Surrealism of USA’s ‘Briarpatch’
Composer Giancarlo Vulcano has years of experience in television writing music for long running series. The trick, so he tells us, is to have a system to getting his cues put together. As Michael Giacchino told us long ago, TV is a non-stop grind. Writing music for film can be a thankless job. Moreover, what Vulcano shared with us is that the perception of being a composer doesn’t exactly line up with the reality. It’s still difficult using music to convey emotion that the audience should feel while looking at moving images, but the most comforting aspect of our exchange was that the creative process can yield many answers to…
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Interview…David Wingo Discusses Patriotism in ‘The Report’ and Sound Design in HBO’s ‘Barry’
The last time we spoke with David Wingo, he was wrapping up work on Loving, the latest in a series of continuous collaborations with friend and director Jeff Nichols. Their relationship has resulted in some standout music in films like Take Shelter and Midnight Special. Since then, Wingo has taken a crack at TV shows. Musicians don’t like being pigeon-holed, and lucky for Wingo that Kidding and Barry couldn’t be any further removed from each other. Last month, Scott Z. Burns‘ film, The Report, hit theaters (and is now on Amazon Prime). It’s a riveting thriller (based on actual events) that follows idealistic Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones who, tasked…
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Interview…Composer Rendra Zawawi on the Emotion and Empowerment of ‘M for Malaysia’
Rendra Zawawi is an award-winning composer, songwriter and music producer. He composed the song “Arena Cahaya” for the 2016 Malaysian sports football film, Ola Bola, which won Best Film Song at the 2017 Malaysian Film Festival and a Golden Horse Award for Best OriginalTheme Song at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. Rendra’s credits include working with Emmy-winning composer Mac Quayle on shows including Mr. Robot, FEUD: Bette and Joan, 9-1-1, FOX’s Scream Queens and Netflix’s The Politician. Rendra also contributed additional music to American Horror Story and American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. He most recently scored the drama documentary M for Malaysia, which was selected as…
