Sometimes you can meet a person and the way they look at life, their experiences, or just a few choice words can change the way you think about things. Having conducted over 200 composer interviews – each with unique stories from the industry – this particular podcast was one for the books for a number of reasons.
We spoke with Julia Newman about her work on the second season of FEUD on FX. Most of the session was spent talking about life, her time in school, family ties to the industry and the valuable connections and foundation she’s made for herself. But mere minutes into the session (even before hitting record) I was quite taken by Newman’s composure, context and general demeanor as her responses were poignant, surgical, revelatory, enthusiastic and a laugh was never very far away.
You might chalk some of that to upbringing; her family’s musical lineage is essentially Hollywood royalty. But that exposure and insight into the industry from a young age shows one thing is clear: Newman apples fall really close to the tree.
After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts, she went on to receive her Master’s degree from USC’s prestigious Screen Scoring Program. Julia’s harmonic and textural sensibilities, in combination with an innate understanding of what constitutes drama, set her sound apart making her both recognizable and culturally relevant.
Yet even with exceptional schooling, starting out on your own can be daunting. Attempting to write two or four minutes of music for a short film can feel just as nebulous as eight hours of music in a TV series. What Newman talks about when discussing her work is more focused on technique and approach than instinct or melodic interpretations. It really didn’t even sound musical, yet that level of detail and methodology in her approach is something we don’t often touch on.
When working on FEUD, Thomas once told Julia, “I can sense the composer behind this” which helped inform many creative decisions to let her work simmer as a means of staying out of the way. Writing for this show was no small task as the subject matter is complex, replete with taut, dialogue-heavy sequences that run for several minutes. Time and again, Julia tapped into an overarching tension that puts the drama in the picture at the forefront, and enhanced the scene from the periphery.
She frequently credits her father – esteemed composer Thomas Newman – as inspiration and a continual collaborative sounding board, but also praises former teachers and three specific players for their help on multiple projects: cellist Cameron Stone, guitarist George Doering and woodwind player Steve Tavaglione.
They say that when working with family, or specifically employing someone with your same last name is nepotism. So in the world of music, I think we might start to call this Newman-tism. That’s written in playful jest as I feel like every project would find it a blessing having a Newman (or two) attached to it. Enjoy this chat with Julia!
The eight-episode limited series premiered with two episodes on Wednesday, January 31 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX. The finale for the limited series is March 13.
