Chatting with Creators: Recent Episodes
Sapphire Skye Toth
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I sought out a way to create content that, like Coffee With Composers allows people to connect to musicians on a personal level. During this time, I thought we needed it more than usual. When members of the Glenn Korff School of Music reached out to me about creating videos to help keep our community connected, I thought this would be a perfect idea. Going beyond the Flyover New Music Series, in Chatting With Creators, I connect with various creatives from the music industry to talk to them about how they’re dealing with the pandemic, their advice for students, and most importantly, how we all stay connected even when we’re apart.
I thought this would be a one-and-done series, but I've had so many requests to continue! I love making the series, so here's season two! For season one information, check out sapphiretoth.com
Today we welcome to the show Giosuè Greco to promote his latest score for Welcome to Wrexham the docuseries that follows the purchase and stewardship of Wrexham AFC, one of professional football’s oldest clubs, by two Hollywood actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Season one is available now on Hulu and FX, with a second season coming soon. His score is currently up for Emmy consideration in the Documentary Series category.Giosuè aimed to create a soundtrack that would capture the epic and anthemic energy of the UK football game and its passionate fans, while also incorporating the comforting folk sounds unique to the small town of Wrexham, Wales. To achieve this, he merged these two seemingly contrasting musical elements, resulting in a composition that embodies the spirit and character of the community. As Giosuè grew up in a small town, similar to Wales, he had an emotional connection to the series, giving him the idea to grow the music as the series progresses. The instrumentation includes piano, strings, bombastic drums, saxophone, and electronic elements, creating a versatile tone for the show.Follow Nate: linktr.ee/natebryant3Follow Giosuè: linktr.ee/soundslikegiosue
THE L WORD: GENERATION Q. Now in its third season on SHOWTIME, the hit show has gone on to create a very special musical episode featuring the epic song, ‘All About Me’. The powerhouse writing trio came together in one room to create this powerful anthem, making sure to not only honor the story and characters that audiences have grown to love, but also to create a song (performed by Rosanna Zayas), that viewers who go through turbulences and challenges in today's world can relate to. Sophie finally breaks free and finds her authentic voice with ‘All About Me.’ The skillful song-writing trio explained that Sophie stands for all of us who have or are going through life’s transformations. "This song is all about Sophie but it represents all of us, not just as individuals but our voices as women, as a black woman, and as a lesbian woman. Once we go through the ‘it’s about me’, it becomes a collective about us.”For more from Sapphire check her out here: https://linktr.ee/sapphire.toth
EA Day 2023 Part 1:This past Monday, I was given the unique opportunity to be invited as a composer and journalist to EA (Entertainment Arts) Day at Berklee College of Music. It’s a great first step, let’s keep talking.
After mysteriously inheriting an abandoned coastal property, Ben and his family accidentally unleash an ancient, long-dormant creature that terrorized the entire region-including his own ancestors-for generations. The score represents the most primal of human experiences: survival. The sound palette uses scraping metals to reflect the cold, metallic water tank where the creature lies. Using a detuned orchestra, Max’s music ebbs and flows, mimicking the slow breathing of the beast. Max comments, “The predatory nature of the creature is mostly slow, and then it strikes quickly when it attacks, and the score is the same. We mimic the slowness of the creature. Then when it comes time to attack is when the whole ensemble plays together.”The score was designed to reflect the monster’s environment and characteristics, sounding like an ancient orchestra. The simplicity of the motif is like an ancient chant; one could imagine when the creature attacked people 50 million years ago, they would be hearing the same score.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Follow Max: http://maxaruj.com/
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Follow Walter: https://www.waltermair.com/home/Follow Nate: https://soundcloud.com/nate-bryant-501806002Apple TV+’s first ever French & English multi-language series Liaison is here, February 24th, on the streaming platform starring Vincent Cassel and Eva Green. The series creators approached composer Walter Mair to bring a uniquely tense and textured score to the contemporary six-episode thriller. The Guardian says it’s a must-see new streaming series.The music had to encompass a wide range of emotions and connect stories told across several countries. From the hi-stakes espionage drama to the undercurrent love story that unites several characters of the series. On one hand, Walter had the suspenseful storyline centered around the London Home Office bureau and the French secret service DGSE. Both agencies required the use of lush themes with were rooted in an electronic score. From pulsing textures created by using Walter’s extensive modular synth rig to treating live recorded instruments with analog and vintage effects. The score embodies strings, percussion, ethnic flutes, and also features an original song. Lyrics written by Jack Beech and Josey Milner-Day and performed by Plumm.Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJXBdH1GfIcLiaison is a high-stakes, contemporary thriller exploring how the mistakes of our past have the potential to destroy our future, combining action with an unpredictable, multilayered plot where “espionage and political intrigue play out against a story of passionate and enduring love.”
When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady, Gemma's unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems-a decision that will have unimaginable consequences. Breaking away from the films’ horror genre, much of Willis’ score uses warm strings, flourishing harps, and breathy, ethereal pop vocals, emulating the innocence of a child. The film’s subject of AI gave him the opportunity to experiment with metallic sounds, managing to mix euphoric tones with vibraphones and synths while still sounding organic. While much of the score is lighter, Willis still utilizes classic horror music with noir references and intensely sinister orchestral sounds. The first track Willis wrote was the original song “Tell Me Your Dreams,” sung by Jenna Davis. The song was used during filming, the lyrics programmed into the doll so the actors could interact with it on a more personal level on set. His cover of David Guetta and Sia’s “Titanium” was a viral TikTok sensation, with more than 4 million plays on the platform. LISTEN TO THE SOUNDTRACK
Jordan Dykstra // 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOLTo score the unflinching véríte style footage, Jordan captures the unsettling and gut-wrenching horror of war by exploring the middle ground between dissonance and consonance in music.Heather McIntosh // CAT PERSONHeather balanced both the humor and horror inside the dating space with her music.Brian McOmber // FAIR PLAYBrian’s “bubbling anxiety attack” of a score avoids melody by abstractly abusing instruments in nontraditional ways.Dabney Morris // SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYINGDabney’s score lives in both a vacation-like escapist space as well as a timeless, romanticized period of Old Hollywood, painting Fran’s world from her perspective, not from her emotions or feelings.Ryan Rumery // FOOD AND COUNTRYRather than being driven by the film’s region, Ryan produced music that was reflective of the audience’s emotions, resulting in a hands-on, tactile score with organic landscape sounds.Patrick Jonsson // SCRAPPERa film about a dreamy 12-year-old girl who lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic when, suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality. A direct reflection of the main character’s surrealist world, Patrick fabricated a score out of scrap metal, utilizing tin pan percussion, brass, wiry guitars, and a mellotron, while also using found materials such as bike wheels and chains.Nainita Desai // THE DEEPEST BREATH a thrilling documentary about the world of freediving. Given the gorgeous seascapes combined with the deeply interior nature of the freediver’s journey and the enormous stakes of this film the score had to traverse a wide emotional spectrum.
From the minds behind Searching comes Missing, a thrilling roller-coaster mystery that makes you wonder how well you know those closest to you. When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June's (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it's too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers...and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.A continuation of his work with the filmmakers of Searching, Julian wrote an experimental score, exploring the musical possibilities of machine-learning. He wrote his own code, took audio files and recompressed them with the worst possible MP3 converter about 5,000 times. Julian researched studies about the psychological effects that compressed music can evoke in humans that may not be present without compression. The time and frequency-based music contained different artifacts of compression, common with Zoom or video chats, creating a synth-driven score, with additional percussive, piano, vocal, and string elements. He discovered a microphone that records electrical interference off any type or machine and integrated it into the score.Part of the film is set in Columbia so he explored Columbia instrumentation, including a pan flute and a berimbau, modified and distorted so the listener wouldn’t even recognize the instruments.
On this episode Brian H. Kim and I dive into the music that he wrote for the new feature film Spoiler Alert exploring his use of low-fi synths, prepared piano, working with Jim Parsons, and being the child of immigrants in this industry.
Join me and Tar's Music Supervisor Lucy Bright as we explore her work for this year's acclaimed classical music film. We explore her traveling to Dresden to work with Cate Blanchette, playing violin, and the chaos of trombone players.
This week I chat with Sharon Farber about her musical score Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power . The score is a genre-bending, hard-hitting score that premiered this year at Sundance and explores the sexual exploitation, problematic cinematography and shifting power dynamics of the film industry at large.
We're back from hiatus! Join me as I chat with the amazing composer's behind Disney's new film Rosaline about their Contemporary-Baroque style, soundscaping and and more!
In this episode I’m joined by Jon Ekstrand to discuss the saving grace of Marvel’s Morbius – his soundtrack! We talk horror, nightmares, sound design, character personality and joining the ranks of Marvel’s Composers.
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In this episode I’m joined by Hesham Nazih to discuss the amazing score for Marvel’s Moon Knight! We talk mythology, the Egyptian sound, multiple personalities and joining the ranks of Marvel’s Composers.
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In this episode I’m joined by Nainita Desai to discuss the amazing score for 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible! We talk about the film editing process, paying tribute to different cultural heritages through music, and the emotional challenges brought with every peak.
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In this episode I’m joined by Jasha Klebe to discuss the score that slaps forthe Peacock’s Queer as Folk! We talk using found sounds, unapologetic identities, character themes, and the long journey of being a composer.
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In this episode I’m joined by Herdís Stefánsdóttir and Dustin O'Halloran to discuss the hard hitting score for Apple TV’s Essex Serpent. We talk close-micing strings, sound scaping with acoustic instruments, the workflow of two composers on one show, and how the world of composer duos is changing the game.
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In this episode I’m joined by the fabulous Mizer and Moore to discuss their work on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4! We discuss the Blue’s Clues reunion, songwriting challenges, and the end of Maisel.
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This week I chat with Hyesu Wiedmann about her work on Episode 7, “John and Sun-Hee”, of Amazon’s “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.” We talk about her journey from big-time orchestrator to big-time composer, cultural sensibility, and aleatoric composing for film score.
Learn More about Hyesu at her website:
www.hyesuwiedmann.com
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https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
In this episode I’m joined by the fabulous Andrew Mell (bassist, composer, and educator) and Ian Rutherford (trombonist and educator) to interview Ego Plum to talk about his score for the Netflix original series The Cuphead Show! We discuss composition absurdity, musical influences, and all things style.
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This week I’m joined by Tori Letzler, the genius composer behind the score for the Netflix original series In From the Cold.
Letzler is best known for her work as a vocalist on projects such as Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, American History and her work as an electronic producer under the moniker TINYKVT.
In From the Cold tells the story of an American single mom, exposed as an ex-Russian spy, who must juggle family life, unique abilities, and a battle against an insidious enemy. Showrunner Adam Glass knew Tori was the perfect choice to compose the series because he wanted a synthetic score where vocals would be prominent—which Letzler definitely delivered with 88 total vocal ques!
In this episode Letzler and I talk education, the nitty-gritty of her recording/composing process, and the unique way that music was used during the filming of this series.
It’s time to kick off Season 3! Today we chat with Jimmy LaValle about his score for the film Something in the Dirt, which premiered in Sundance’s NEXT category on January 23rd of this year.
An established composer also known for his solo work with his band The Album Leaf, Jimmy’s go-to sounds are synths and strings; however, he went out of his comfort zone using woodwinds such as the bass clarinet, and, yes, Levi’s flute.
We chat synthesizers, clarinets, forward motions, studio setup, and the confusion between musicians with common names.
Connect with Jimmy:
Website: https://thealbumleaf.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheAlbumLeaf
Instagram: @thealbumleaf
Twitter: @thealbumleaf
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/The-Album-Leaf
Bandcamp: thealbumleaf.bandcamp.com
Connect with Sapphire:
https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
Learn more about “Something in the Dirt”: https://www.sundance.org/blogs/festival-blog/something-in-the-dirt-premiere/
It's been a hot second... but we're back! Today we look at an interview from last may with Wendy Blackstone about her work on the Netflix docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel and her eclectic life as a composer. We talk about the collaborative process between composers and directors, living an international lifestyle, spotting sessions, and so much more. For more from me, check out my Link Tree.
This week I'm joined by the fabulous violinist Friedemann Eichhorn to talk about his work on the new chamber music album Egdorf: Works for Strings. We chat working internationally, developing professional relationships, and chamber music repertoire. This was my last episode produced through my internship with Paladino Media made possible by IES Virtual Internships. Photos by Guido Werner, used with permission.
This week I chat with Bernhard Lang about his latest album of Works for Piano. We talk about his creative process, living in a state of in-betweens, the importance of understanding instruments, and the movement from performer to composer. For more about Mr. Lang's career check out his website. Thank you to Paladino Media and IES Digital Internships for making this possible. For more information about my work, check out my linktree. Photo in thumbnail © Harald Hoffmann, used with permission.
Today I'm joined by flutist Eric Lamb to talk about his album Icons 2. We chat about repertoire in academia, stylistic choices as a performer, the international music scene, and dogs.Thank you to Paladino Media for making this interview possible through IES internships.
This week I'm joined by Raphaelle Thibaut to talk about her career in film composition, her personal career journey, issues in classical music academia, her technique, and her work on National Geographic/Disney+'s Secrets of the Whales! And, of course, why clarinet is one of the best instruments in the world.
I'm joined today by composer Philip Klein about his work on Wish Dragon (watch it now on Netflix!), his use of traditional Chinese Instruments, the score's strong orchestra presence, his time at Northwestern and more!
For more content go to: https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
On this episode of CwC I’m joined by composer Reza Safina about his new electronic album YANG, creative meditation, nirvana, and his score for the Cinemax series WARRIOR.
Read more about Reza’s forceful career HERE.
Listen to his orchestral solo album YIN.
Listen to his electronic solo album Yang.
For more content go to: https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
Was the delay for this week's episode worth it? I think so! Today, the day of the premiere for the Netflix Series Jupiter's Legacy we speak to the composer of the score. We chat about Latin, choral writing, score scripting, character theme development and dry shampoo. For more, check out my links.
This week I chat with Dino Meneghin and his work on DOTA: Dragon's Blood. We discuss spotting sessions, interpreting directors' and producers'visions, scoring action ques and so much more. For more content go to: https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
This week on Chatting with Creators I talk to Andy Bean about his rockin' score for the Netflix series Kid Cosmic. We get into the weeds of sample libraries, score mixing, working with multiple ensembles... and being a math major. Thanks to the awesome guys at White Bear PR for helping put this together! For more: https://linktr.ee/Sapphire.Toth
In this episode, I speak with Gabriel Hays about his score for "Secret Magic Control Agency" on Netflix, chatting about his approach to writing a melody, working with an orchestrator, and so much more. Huge thanks to White Bear PR for helping this episode come together.
To kick off season 2 I chat with producer and composer Kate Simko about scoring the film "Underplayed" released in March 2021. We cover subjects such as Women's History Month, what it's like to be a woman in the music industry, and the semantics between titling yourself as a composer vs a producer.