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 range of music – from Polish new wave to jazz, and he’s a dynamo on six stings, synthesizers and Steinways – so there’s more to his style than just fast music for fast cars.
Talking with Brian is always a blast, and it’s easy to see that he truly cares about the profession. Yet as a music fan himself, he has such a deep love and appreciation for the fans. In our hour-long interview, Brian tells some great stories, but one in particular is a lovely one about a concert he played at Royal Festival Hall. We won’t spoil anything, but have a listen to that and as we dive into his fun-filled and fascinating career.
F9 is the latest installment in The Fast Saga and has close to two hours of music. The score offers Brian the opportunity to bring certain themes and ideas full circle and it’s rare that musicians (or filmmakers) get to close the book on long-game narrative threads. From what Brian shared, he and Justin Lin were able to capitalize on ideas they had going back to 2006 with Lin’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
With three projects on the books so far this year – Taylor Sheridan’s Those Wish Me Dead, Justin Lin’s F9: The Fast Saga (which hit theaters on June 25) and Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (which recently came out on July 16) – Brian continues his prolific output working on upcoming projects like the next installment in the Scream franchise, a revival of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers with an all-new animated film for Disney+, as well as a very personal project called Are We Dreaming (see below for more).
His Madsonik shows and music are outstanding, so we can only imagine what we’re in store for when we get to hear any of the nine hours of music in Are We Dreaming. You read that right. Nine hours. We can’t wait for that.
So hop in, buckle up and hit the gas as we hit high speed with Brian Tyler!
You can find out more about Brian and his work at his official site or follow him on Twitter. As far as his live music events, we’re supremely excited to experience the original work in the Are We Dreaming events. Click the following link for more info, and Brian will list upcoming tour dates in the near future: www.arewedreaming.com
