The Film Scorer: Recent Episodes
Nicholas Marcus
The Film Scorer Podcast features a wide array of long-form interviews with film composers, including up-and-comers, established veterans, and everybody in between.
Learn first-hand from masters of the craft about the film scoring process, see behind-the-scenes, and hear all about the art of film and film music.
Hard to believe that we're already about a quarter of the way through season 6 - feels like we've only just started. To commemorate this occasion, I'm joined by Kara Talve. Kara has been the principal composer of The Simpsons for the last few years, serves as the principal composer at Bleeding Fingers Music (the Hans Zimmer-founded composer collective), and has scored projects like Prehistoric Planet. In fact, we spend much of our conversation talking about Prehistoric Planet, for which she received her fifth Emmy nomination just a few hours before we conducted this interview.
Prehistoric Planet gave us plenty to cover: the constantly changing styles and genres (in part due to the ever-changing locations and "characters" of the show), building unique instruments, driving the story due to minimal character or narrative, and more. The instrument side of things was particularly interesting to me. A lot of the time it feels like a gimmick that perhaps has a connection with the film but doesn't actually noticeable change the sound of the score. But then you get something like the terror tone, an instrument based off of the fossilized larynx and trachea of Llallawavis scagliai, creating an otherworldly evil sound. To make this and other instruments, they consulted with paleontologists to get measurements, frequencies, and other aspects related to these creatures. Kara even mentions that using bone in percussion gives a resonance you don't normally find, which reminded me of the use of a deer skull as percussion in Agalloch's seminal album The Mantle.
Kara's score for the first two seasons of Prehistoric Planet, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms while the show itself is available on Apple TV. However, for unknown reasons the score for season 3 remains unreleased (and Kara makes a call for its release during the interview). You can find out more about Kara on her website.
Gavin Brivik is the latest guest on The Film Scorer! I've been familiar with Gavin's work for quite a while, probably dating back to his score for the 2021 film Wild Indian, which was one of those situations where I hear someone making great music on under the radar indie films and wonder when they're going to break out. How to Blow Up a Pipeline helped put Gavin on the map while scoring seasons one and two of The Pitt has really changed things, earning him an Emmy nomination in the process. One of the driving keys to Gavin's success, in my opinion, is that he's a longtime listener to the show, which is actually how we start the conversation and why it has an in media res beginning - it was too good for me to keep out.
All this is just window dressing, however. While we touch on The Pitt, Pipeline, and my own Film Scorer project, we really planned to dig into his latest score: Faces of Death, which is sort of a legacy sequel to the 1978 film of the same name. As a result, we end up going down perhaps the most philosophical conversation that's ever been had on the show, largely stemming from the question of "What makes a piece of art evil?" and going from there. But don't despair, there's still plenty of film music conversation, and we even break the news that Gavin is scoring the Rainbow Six Siege games series, which includes a collaboration with Metal Gear Solid.
Gavin's score for Faces of Death, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while the film itself is now available on Shudder. You can find out more about Gavin on his website.
One of the great pleasures of this show is talking to people whose work I really enjoy. Although I'd known Keegan Dewitt's music for a number of years (probably first taking notice with 2018's Gemini), his score for last year's The Chair Company really floored me, with the distinct and ever-changing palette and approaches intriguing me almost as much as the show's labyrinthine plot. So with all that said, it's great to have Keegan on the show. However, we really focus on Keegan's latest project - scoring the hit romance series Off Campus.
As such, we spend much of the conversation talking about his score for Off Campus, including collaborating with the show's time (particularly the music supervisor's and series creator Louisa Levy) and a little snafu where he accidentally disclosed some confidential behind-the-scenes info early on in the show. Along the way, we cover a number of his other projects, discuss how to score comedy and romance in new ways, and the three reasons to take on a project.
Keegan's score for Off Campus, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while the show itself is available on Amazon Prime. You can find out more about Keegan on his website.
On the latest episode of The Film Scorer podcast, I'm joined by John Paesano (Daredevil, Marvel's Spider-Man)! I've been a fan of John's for a while, with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes being a recent favorite, so it was an extra pleasure chatting with him. His latest score is for the Netflix series The Boroughs, in which he channels an 80s/early-90s big, symphonic, melodic adventure style of scoring. Given that the show itself is designed to be very score-heavy, with music going right in the forefront, it takes full advantage of John's score, a welcome refresher given how much less-common the style of scoring has become. While he talk a fair bit about The Boroughs, it's only one of many topics, which include Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the hesitancy of using symphonic scoring, and (my favorite) a chance "encounter" we had more than fifteen years ago.
John's score for The Boroughs, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while the show itself is available on Netflix. You can find out more about John on his website.
Here we are, season 6, episode 2, things are in motion, momentum is building, and I'm joined by one of my favorite composers: Cristobal Tapia de Veer (The White Lotus, Smile)! Cristo's latest project is the 2026 BBC adaptation of Lord of the Flies, featuring some incredible child actor performances and an increasingly psychedelic and psychotic score. We focus our conversation around that score, but inevitably veer off into different directions, also covering some of his past works with Lord of the Flies director and his longtime collaborator Marc Munden as well as Smile director Parker Finn, our shared interest in metal, the inspiration and magic of the unknown, and plenty more. I even ask point-blank about what happened in The White Lotus. How does he answer?
Cristo's score for Lord of the Flies, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while the show itself is available on Netflix.
After a long wait and seemingly unending anticipation, Season 6 of The Film Scorer Podcast is here! To kick off the new season, I'm joined by the very rare repeat guest, the great Colin Stetson! Colin and I talked several years back (much longer ago than it feels), right around when The Texas Chainsaw Massacre came out, really digging into the weirdness of his score. This time, our focus is technically on his score for the new show Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen, but we get off track almost immediately and seemingly never recover, talking about the show as well as his series of improv/collaboration releases, Chainsaw, playing on audience expectations, and trying to imbue projects with real and honest human experience. Frankly, it ended up pretty wide-ranging.
Colin's score for Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while the show itself is available on Netflix.
And if you haven't yet, be sure to check out our prior conversation here: https://thefilmscorer.com/colin-stetson-on-scoring-texas-chainsaw-massacre/
Season Six of The Film Scorer Podcast is almost here! The new season launches on Sunday, May 31st, with new episodes continuing every other Sunday after that (more or less). Season five had some huge interviews, like Oscar winner Daniel Blumberg, Max Richter, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thomas Newman, and even the noise rock band Chat Pile, so you never who will show up this time around. But I'll give you a taste of what's to come - Season six kicks off with Colin Stetson and Cristobal Tapia de Veer, and it only goes from there.
So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, follow The Film Scorer on Instagram, Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky, and keep those ears open!
Although we're now a couple months into 2026, I finally present you with the "best" film scores of 2025. As usual, there are some very mainstream scores in here that most observers would agree with and there are a few left field choices. If you're a longtime listener, that shouldn't surprise you. As with all of these lists, although I say they're the "best", what I really mean is these are my favorites. Who's to say what's really the best? Surely not me.
This was a much harder list for me to put together than in recent years - there were a few scores that I immediately knew were going to make it, but a number of others where it took a lot more consideration, noticing that the passage of time had changed how I'd viewed a score (for better or worse); ultimately these lists are just a snapshot in time, but some decisions were made based on how I felt now while others were made based on how I felt in the past. It's a good reminder as to the subjectivity of each of these lists, at how you felt when seeing the film impacts your memory of it (and its score) forever on. But all things considered, I'm happy to say that 2025 was another solid year, with a deep set of great scores that stretch far beyond the same handful that received most attention during the year-end awards and recaps.
If you can't control yourself, look below to see what scores I picked, though you'll miss out on the why of it all (and given some of the choices, the why is pretty important).
- Baby Invasion – Burial
- Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
- Anemone – Bobby Krlic
- 28 Years Later - Young Fathers
- Eddington – Bobby Krlic and Daniel Pemberton
- Marty Supreme – Daniel Lopatin
- Fantastic Four: First Steps - Michael Giacchino
- The Accountant 2 - Bryce Dessner
- F1 - Hans Zimmer
- The Shrouds - Howard Shore
Awards season is nearing its end, with the BAFTAs later today, February 22, and the Oscars coming on March 15. I'll always say that, although I'm by no means a massive fan (or detractor) of film awards, I'm always happy that it's the one time of year where film music gets to be widely celebrated. The nominee slates also provide great peaks into the state of modern, mainstream film music, and this year's selections are a great cross-section of style and approach. And of course, it gives me an excuse to talk about them a little bit, so read below then listen on.
Of the nominees, I interviewed Max Richter for Hamnet and also interviewed Jerskin Fendrix near the end of 2023 for Poor Things (which I would have swore was not that long ago...).
This year, the nominees for both sets of awards are the same:
- Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix (Interview)
- Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
- Hamnet – Max Richter (Interview)
- One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
- Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
You poor fools - imagine thinking that The Film Scorer was actually on hiatus? Far, far from the truth. Ending the fifteen second break I took after interviewing Daniel Lopatin is Simon Franglen! For those that don't know, Simon is fresh off of scoring Avatar: Fire and Ash, having already scored Avatar: The Way of Water and working with longtime collaborator James Horner on the first film. This is a much less tangential interview than normal, with essentially our whole focus revolving around Avatar: creating and expanding the palette, the scope and breadth of themes, his prior work with James Horner and carrying a core team through all three films, and, above all, making sure the boss (Jim Cameron) is happy.
Simon's score for Avatar: Fire and Ash and the rest of his music is available on all major platforms. Avatar: Fire and Ash is currently in theaters, and if we're lucky there might be a few more Avatar films on the way some day. You can find out more about Simon on his website.
Here we are, in the dead zone between seasons, where all should be silent. But a voice calls out from the darkness. Who could it be...?
Well my friends, that voice belongs to one Daniel Lopatin, also known as Oneohtrix Point Never (alongside your humble host, of course). Daniel has just scored Marty Supreme, and I can vouch that both film and score are great, certainly landing upon my top tens of the year. Unsurprisingly, then, Daniel and I spend most of the conversation talking about Marty Supreme, including musical anachronism, inspiration from sports films, and long nights spent with Josh Safdie.
Daniel's score for Marty Supreme is forthcoming (though having heard an advance version, I can vouch that it's great) and the rest of his music is available on all major platforms.
The end is here! Well, the end of season 5 at least. That's right, after over twelve months the season is finally over (making it, I think, the longest season of The Film Scorer yet), and what better wait to celebrate than to chat with Max Richter?
Max's (Ad Astra, The Leftovers) latest (Oscar nominated) score is for the incredible historical drama Hamnet, a fictionalized account of the death of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes's son Hamnet and how it inspired the creation of Hamlet. Unsurprisingly, we spend most of our conversation on Hamnet, but despite the quick interview we manage to cover a lot of other ground too, such as the use of "On the Nature of Daylight" over the years, the troubled production of Ad Astra, and how a musician's intent goes only so far once their music reaches an audience.
Max's score for Hamnet is forthcoming (though having heard an advance version, I can vouch that it's great) and the rest of his music is available on all major platforms. You can find out more about Max on his website. In addition to Hamnet's pending release, Max just announced some 2026 tour dates.
There are a few perks to running every aspect of this site and podcast, the biggest being picking who I want to interview (and avoiding whomever I don't). Part of that, sometimes, is using film music as an excuse to interview bands that I just broadly like. Enter: Chat Pile. The Oklahoma noise rock band has one score under their belt, the 2022 indie crime flick Tenkiller, which they released as a score album after their debut God's Country, and have provided some songs for other films, most recently a track for the end credits to V/H/S/Halloween. Not to mention, they routinely talk about movies, including during their gigs. All perfect hooks to have them on, and so today I'm talking with vocalist Raygun Busch and guitarist Luther Manhole.
As such, we jump around quite a bit: from their experience scoring Tenkiller, how movies brought them together and provide a mutual love, and some recent (and not to recent) scores that they've enjoyed (I'll note that at one point Ray is talking about the Bossa Nova score for Black Orpheus before getting interrupted by his dog...). We wrap up on a bit of a detour, actually talking about the economics of albums and touring, and how much a role cost of living plays into that.
Chat Pile's music is available on all major platforms, chief among them being Bandcamp, or you can seek out their music physically. You can find out more about Chat Pile on their website and they have a new album on the horizon, In The Earth Again which they've co-written with Hayden Pedigo, coming out October 31st.
Although this podcast is called "The Film Scorer", every so often it's nice to chat with someone who does significant work in another medium instead. Today, that someone is Jesper Kyd (Hitman, Assassin's Creed). Jesper has been scoring for games for over thirty years, working on some of the biggest video game franchises around. But he's also worked on a number of films (like the Indian films Tumbbad and Crazxy), leading to the best answer I've ever gotten to the question "what's the difference between scoring for video games and movies?"
Jesper's latest score is for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. In fact, Jesper has been scoring this game for years - it first came out in November 2022, and with new maps, characters, events, and other updates he keeps writing new music for it. The result is four separate releases, the latest of which was just in August of this year, about 25 minutes of dark industrial electronic music for running and gunning. I must have spent a dozen hours listening to those releases getting ready for this interview, and let me tell you: I was ready to join the 40th millennia's endless war.
Jesper's score for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Volumes 1-4), and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. You can find out more about Jeremiah on his website.
I know I keep saying that the end of this season is imminent. And it is, but it seems like every time I think it's about dead it springs back to life for a little while longer. Reviving it this week is Jeremiah Fraites. Jeremiah is going to be best known as being one of the founding members of the hit alternative folk band The Lumineers, but lately he's expanded his horizons a bit. Specifically, Jeremiah has scored two films this fall: the Stephen King-based The Long Walk and the biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. We spend most of our time talking about both scores, particularly The Long Walk (since Deliver Me from Nowhere isn't out yet), and of course that becomes a jumping off point for the conversation. We also cover things like how film has expanded music (including visualizing music as you write), getting his wife involved in the scoring process, the differences between writing original score and original songs for films (The Lumineers wrote some songs for The Hunger Games), and plenty more.
Jeremiah's score for The Long Walk, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while The Long Walk is currently in theaters while Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere hits theaters on October 24th.
Composer Jeff Danna (The Good Dinosaur, The Boondock Saints) joins me on The Film Scorer podcast just before we wrap up season 5! Oddly enough, I've listened to quite a bit of music from the Silent Hill franchise over the last 15 months or so, and it turns out that Jeff "scored" the two film adaptations from earlier in the 2000s (I used "scored" in quotes because the real story is a bit more complicated than that). So of course, I used our conversation as an excuse to ask all about Silent Hill, including why the first film never got a proper score release, and he tells me about having to re-record and re-create every single musical sound from Akira Yamaoka's game scores for the films. Quite a feat.
Of course, Jeff didn't come on the show to talk about Silent Hill movies from 15-20 years ago. Instead, we spend most of our time talking about his score for the hit Netflix series The Hunting Wives. The conversation goes from creating a unique palette for east Texas (particularly through the Croatian prim), scoring sexiness (the key is not aiming for sexy music), and plenty more. Along the way, we get pretty in-depth about what makes for a good theme, when you need to cast one aside and start over, and how thematic music requires a commitment from the composer and the director; after all, the latter has to be comfortable with a a musical commitment to their characters, as character and theme become intertwined.
Jeff's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms while The Hunting Wives is currently streaming on Netflix. You can find out more about Jeff on his website.
In a Film Scorer first, a repeat guest joins the show! Daniel Pemberton (the Spider-Verse films, King Arthur) comes onto the show for a second time, after chatting with me back in 2023 about his score for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Even though we're just over halfway through the year, Daniel's already scored about a half dozen projects, so we had plenty of things to talk about. With so much to pick from, we primarily talk about his recent work on the Black Mirror episode USS Callister: Into Infinity and Eddington - two extremely different projects with very different scores. Of course, even though our chat clocks in at just under half an hour we cover plenty of other ground too, including trends in modern film scoring and a big detour into Anton Karas's score for The Third Man.
Daniel's score for Eddington and Callister, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Eddington is still playing in select theaters and is available on demand while Callister is available on Netflix.
And if you haven't yet, be sure to check out our prior conversation here: https://thefilmscorer.com/an-interview-with-daniel-pemberton/
Today I'm joined by Electric Youth! Well, one half of the electronic/synth pop duo - Austin Garrick - without his co-member Bronwyn Griffin. Their latest project is the score for North of Normal, a true coming-of-age drama that jumps between timelines in a forest commune in the 70s and city life in the 80s. Some of you may think that the band's sound would be anachronistic for a film with this setting, and while that may be true, their score still fits right in. Unsurprisingly, Austin and I spend most of our conversation talking about North of Normal, but we also touch on topics like Tangerine Dream and the joy of still getting "new" score releases from them, the importance of a well-curated score release album (learned from becoming fans of the medium at a young age), avoiding being pigeonholed in film and music genres, and plenty more!
Electric Youth's score, and much of their other music, is available on all major platforms. North of Normal is currently available on demand or on Paramount+.
Carlos Rafael Rivera (The Queen's Gambit, Hacks) is one of the few composers my mom has asked me about, so I'm extra excited to have him join the show! Carlos's latest project is Department Q, his fourth series with writer-director Scott Frank (joining Godless, The Queen's Gambit, and Monsieur Spade, as well as the film A Walk Among The Tombstones). Normally this is where I'd say something like "unsurprisingly, we spend most of our time talking about that score", but that's not the case here. Instead, we spend most of the interview dancing around Department Q, whether it be talking about his career working with Scott Frank (going back to when he taught Scott guitar in the early 2000s), the changing nature of friendships as you age, or 80s thrash. Ultimately everything goes back to Department Q, but not everything is about Department Q.
Carlos's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Department Q is currently on Netflix. You can find out more about Carlos on his website.
What a surreal moment - getting to chat with Thomas Newman and Julia Newman! Whether you're a big film music fan or a casual film goer, I'll guess that you're familiar with Tom, having been nominated for fifteen Academy Awards (I accidentally say fourteen...) and scoring projects like The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Finding Nemo & Finding Dory, 1917, and loads more. Now, Julia is picking up the family's film and tv scoring mantle, and the two of them recently co-scored Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, a dramatization of the Menendez brothers crimes. We use the series as a jumping off point for the conversation, regularly referring to and discussing it while also pivoting into broader conversations about collaboration, improvisation and working quickly, the use of theme and repetition, and plenty more.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently on Netflix, and Tom and Julia's score (as well as much of their other work) is available on all major platforms.
The Mission Impossible franchise has been going strong for nearly thirty years, so it's a bit surreal to see it apparently come to an end, with Tom Cruise hanging up the mantle as Ethan Hunt. To celebrate the final entry, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the film's composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey join the show! Naturally, the three of us spend most of the interview talking about Mission: Impossible, including spending a year straight exclusively scoring the film, how score fits into the broader film making process in a project of this scale, the difficulty in scoring the two major set pieces, and how and when to utilize Lalo Schifrin's iconic main theme.
The last point was a particularly interesting one to me, as I've seen quite a few people wondering about it as well given that they don't quote the full theme often at all. Trust me, it's all intentional and done for good reason!
I also want to point out how prevalent the theme of teamwork is in this interview. Naturally, it's become a main thematic motif throughout the film series, with Cruise's Ethan Hunt willing to essentially do anything possible to save his team (and, in turn, save the world). Would Max or Alfie hold onto a biplane as it speeds thousands of feet in the air? Not sure. But they will spend a lot of timing raising up their colleagues and team members. Something I can definitely get behind.
One note: Alfie's voice is the first you'll hear and Max provides the first longer answer.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is currently in theaters, and Max and Alfie's score (as well as much of their other work) is available on all major platforms.
Ahead of the premiere of the third and final season of Squid Game, I chat with the show's composer, Jung Jae-Il (Parasite, Mickey 17). Obviously Jae-Il and I spend much of the conversation talking about Squid Game, including the palette, the differences in score and approach between the seasons (due to different games and loads of character deaths), and the closure that season 3 brings. Along the way we cover things like 90s British death metal, the piano as his natural language, the social themes of the projects he scores, and plenty more.
Season 3 of Squid Game premieres on Netflix on June 27, and Jae-Il's score is forthcoming. However, much of Jae-Il's other music, including scores and solo work, is available physically and on all major platforms.
We also used a translator here (although Jae-Il's English is very good), whose voice you will hear throughout the interview.
Composers Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson join The Film Scorer Podcast to round out the unofficial (and accidental) trilogy of duo interviews (joining Meg Remy & Grace Glowicki and Aaron May & David Ridley). Leo and Zach are fresh off of scoring the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai as well as the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, so it's no surprise that we spend much of our conversation talking about those two scores (and Cobra Kai as a whole). In doing so, we cover things like the importance of putting their own stamp on a score (including making individual Cobra Kai fights seem unique and making their Spider-Man distinct from the many other entries), the daunting nature of creating a Spider-Man score in the wake of Daniel Pemberton's masterpieces, and the bittersweet nature of finishing Cobra Kai. For reference, of the two, Leo is the first to speak.
Leo & Zach's scores are available on all major platforms, as are their other various other scores. There's also a compilation album of "greatest hits" from Cobra Kai seasons 4, 5, and 6 coming out later this year via Mutant. Cobra Kai is currently on Netflix while Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is on Disney+. You can find out more about Leo & Zach on their respective websites (Leo; Zach).
For my second of three consecutive duo interviews, I chat with composers Aaron May and David Ridley. While they've been composing together for a while, their biggest project is also their most recent - the viral Netflix series Adolescence, from director Philip Barantini and starring Stephen Graham. It's not surprise, then, that we spend a lot of our chat talking about the series, including working in the single take, real time format, understanding that the series might not need score at all, and the genesis of the child vocalization that forms an integral part of their score's palette. Dave has also scored all of Phil's projects, with Aaron also scoring all but the first two, so we discuss this long term director combination as well as how the two work together (and work separately).
This is one of the more tangential conversations I've had - Aaron and Dave warned me beforehand that it might happen, but I certainly instigated it! I should have known it was coming when we lost track of time before recording talking about East Anglia and the British ritual/folk year. Shame that wasn't recorded too...
Aaron and Dave's score is available on all major platforms, as are their other scores and their debut solo albums (each released in 2023). Adolescence is currently on Netflix, and there are rumors that a second season may come (though this would at least be a surprise to me). You can find out more about Aaron and Dave on their joint website.
Although we're now a couple months into 2025, I finally present you with the "best" film scores of 2024. As usual, there are some very mainstream scores in here that most observers would agree with and there are a few left field choices. If you're a longtime listener, that shouldn't surprise you. As with all of these lists, although I say they're the "best", what I really mean is these are my favorites. Who's to say what's really the best? Surely not me.
If you can't control yourself, look below to see what scores I picked, though you'll miss out on the why of it all. And make sure to check out my conversation with David Rosen (from Piecing It Together) to see what we think are the best film scores of the decade (so far).
- Evil Does Not Exist – Eiko Ishibashi
- Smile 2 – Cristobal Tapia de Veer
- Megalopolis - Osvaldo Golijov
- AGGRO DR1FT – AraabMuzik
- Dune 2 – Hans Zimmer
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
- Challengers – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
- Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) - Jerome Rebotier
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - John Paesano
- A Different Man – Umberto Smerilli
It's a bit worrying to realize that we're now over halfway through the 2020s - where has the time gone? Well, I suppose we all know one collective reason why it feels like a blur... But rather than lament the passage of time, I've decided to celebrate what's been released during the last five years; specifically, celebrating the "best" film scores of the decade, so far.
Joining me in this endeavor is David Rosen, a fellow podcast host and film composer. Dave and I have "known" each other virtually for a few years now and this gave us a good reason to hop on video for a little while. I'll also give a shout out to Dave's primary podcast, Piecing It Together, where he and various guest hosts look at what past films (the puzzle pieces) have inspired the films of today (the puzzle). It's a pretty cool show, even if I've always been too hesitant to hop on and join for an episode.
If you don't want to listen, you can see each of our lists below (though you'll miss out on the why of the choices, which is most of the fun). My list isn't presented in any particular order while Dave's is presented in descending order, saving the best for last. Don't be shy, feel free to chime in (whether commenting on this episode, dm, or calling me out publicly) with some of your favorite scores of the decade too.
Nick's List: Blonde – Nick Cave and Warren Ellis * Drive My Car – Eiko Ishibashi * Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson * The Batman – Michael Giacchino * Dune (Parts 1 and 2) – Hans Zimmer * The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg * The Green Knight – Daniel Hart * The Personal History of David Copperfield – Christopher Willis * Cryptozoo – John Carroll Kirby * Smile 2* – Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Dave’s List:10. Challengers – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
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Gretel and Hansel – Rob
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The Last Duel – Harry Gregson-Williams
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Minari – Emile Mosseri
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The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
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Smile 2 – Cristobal Tapia de Veer
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Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
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A Different Man – Umberto Smerilli
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Windfall – Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans
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Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
In an absolute coincidence, during International Women's Month Meg Remy (U.S. Girls) and Grace Glowicki join me on The Film Scorer Podcast! Our primary focus is the film Dead Lover, for which Grace is director, co-writer, and lead actress and Meg provided most of the score. As such, we talk about the film itself, the music (and how Meg and Grace worked together on it, trying to find a unifying style), and the benefit of having a female director and composer working together on a female-centric film.
The reason I say that Meg provided most of the score is because of the unusual approach they took to music on the film. Dead Lover is set in a sort of kaleidoscopic Victorian England that constantly jumps around in palette, tone, and style, and with added influences like German Expressionism and silent film. So Meg wrote original music, but also started pulled old music she'd written 15-20 years ago sitting unused on hard drives and scouring public domain music as well. While the final music is incredibly diverse, jumping from opera to 70s prog doom, they manage to unify it and make it all work.
Meg's score release is forthcoming (I believe), but her other music is available on all major platforms. Dead Lover is currently on the festival circuit, including at SXSW on March 9. You can find out more about Meg/U.S. Girls on her website.
Rihards Zalupe joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Rihards' latest score is for the Oscar and BAFTA nominated animated film Flow, which he co-composed with the film's writer and director Gints Zilbalodis. As such, Rihards and I spend much of our conversation talking about the score, including creating themes or specific sonic palette choices for each of the film's different animal main characters, co-composing a score with the film's director (which was also Gints' first time working with a composer on one of his films), and how Cat has become one of Latvia's national heroes.
Rihards' score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Flow is available on demand or streaming on HBO Max. You can find out more about Rihards on his website.
The BAFTAs air on February 16 and the Oscars on March 2. I'd never consider myself a big awards season guy, but I love that it's the one time of year where film music is widely celebrated and has a little spotlight, if only briefly. As such, here's a little peek into the six nominated scores between the two awards.
I've also done interviews on two of the six nominated scores (The Wild Robot and The Brutalist) and also interviewed Volker Bertelmann a little while back about his BAFTA and Oscar winning score for All Quiet on the Western Front, so seek those out as well
BAFTAs:
- Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
- Emilia Perez– Camille and Clément Ducol
- Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Oscars:
- Wicked – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
- Emilia Perez– Camille and Clément Ducol
- Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Although we've just entered 2025, this series is deep in the middle of 2024. The months of April, May, and June released some of my favorite scores of the year (feel free to guess which) as well as arguably the most popular score of the year in Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's Challengers, and plenty more scores, both big and small. I also noticed that I've interviewed almost a third of the composers mentioned during this period - I still get surprised now and again with just how many folks I've interviewed!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
April: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-april-2024/
For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:
- Challengers - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Confidenza - Thom Yorke
- Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1 - John Debney
- The Dead Don't Hurt - Viggo Mortensen
- Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) - Jerome Rebotier
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - John Paesano
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Tom Holkenborg
- Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver - Tom Holkenborg
- Young Woman and the Sea - Amelia Warner
- The Rooster - Stefan Gregory
- The Swimming Diaries - Donna McKevitt
- Evil Does Not Exist - Eiko Ishibashi
- The First Omen - Mark Korven
- All You Need Is Death - Ian Lynch
- I Saw the TV Glow - Alex G
- The Glassworker - Carmine Di Florio and Usman Riaz
- Back to Black - Nick Cave and Warren Elli
- Sasquatch Sunset - The Octopus Project
- Civil War - Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury
- We Grown Now - Jay Wadley
- Unfrosted - Christophe Beck
- The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - Christopher Benstead
- If - Michael Giacchino
- Hit Man - Graham Reynolds
In a quick 1-2 punch after talking with Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist), Bryce Dessner (The National, The Revenant, The Two Popes) joins The Film Scorer podcast! Bryce released two scores last year, for the films Sing Sing and We Live In Time. However, Bryce and I were under a tight time constraint and so had to pick and choose what we chatted about; no time for a classic rambling conversation. As such, we spend much of our conversation covering his score for Sing Sing. This includes, among other things, choosing to focus the music on nature and escapism (rather than the more obvious matching of the prison setting), making space for the performers, and the film's equitable compensation system. Of course, we still manage to pack a lot in, so we cover quite a bit more as well, both about Sing Sing and various unexpected topics.
Bryce's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Sing Sing was released earlier last year and will be re-released in theaters (at least in the US) on January 1. You can find out more about Bryce on his website.
Much to my dismay, The Brutalist is not an industrial grindcore band. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to talk about it. As such, composer Daniel Blumberg joins the show! It should be no surprise, then, that we spend much of our time talking about his BAFTA and Academy Award winning and Golden Globe nominated score to Brady Corbet's 3.5 hour epic, which is only Daniel's second feature score. This includes discussing the balance between improvisational and written music (especially when scoring to picture), using prepared piano to mirror the imagery and plot of the film, and how he and the sound design team overlapped their crafts to confuse the audience (and some of the other crew). Of course, we chat about a bunch of other things in between.
Daniel's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. The Brutalist is forthcoming, currently in limited theatrical release and will expand shortly.
Composer Donna McKevitt joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Donna is someone that I've chatted to here and there over the last few years, so it was a treat having her on the show and finally getting the chance to "meet" her. Her latest scores are for The Swimming Diaries and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, two very different documentaries and very different scores. Unsurprisingly, we spend much of our conversation talking about those two works, while also pivoting into other topics like the discrepancy in representation of male and female composers, the challenges that touring musicians face (and how much better things used to be, such as during her time in Miranda Sex Garden), and plenty more.
Donna's scores, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms. The Swimming Diaries and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock are both forthcoming. You can find out more about Donna on her website.
The Angel (Boiler Room, Kidulthood) joins The Film Scorer! Angel's latest score is for the crime thriller Heist 88, which came out last year but her score only released last month. As such, we spend much of our conversation talking about the score, including the hybrid palette, influences from Chicago's 1980s club/house music scene, and getting into Courtney B. Vance's head. We also touch on some of her other film and TV projects, her long career as a record producer and DJ, obtaining her early publishing catalog from Sony, and plenty more!
Angel's score, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms. Heist 88 is currently available on Paramount+ or on demand. You can find out more about Angel on her website.
In the latest episode of The Film Scorer podcast I'm joined by Wilbert Roget, II (Star Wars: Outlaws, Helldivers 2, Mortal Kombat). While Wilbert is best known for his work scoring video games, including recently receiving a Grammy nomination for Star Wars: Outlaws, our focus is on something a little different. Wilbert has just made his first foray into scoring for tv, with the limited series Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance! As such, we dig deep into his score for the six-episode series, including building out the eclectic sonic palette, working closely with the Japanese team, being the first non-Japanese composer to score a Gundam project (and the pressures that come with that, and plenty more. He even lists some of his favorite Gundam series, both in terms of overall show as well as primarily for their score. We also drive down other avenues, such as his work on other games, scoring 48-hour game jams, and how Japanese music his significantly impacted him.
Wilbert's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance is currently on Netflix (at least in most territories). You can find out more about Wilbert on his website.
Season 5 of The Film Scorer Podcast continues to pick up steam as Kris Bowers (Bridgerton, Green Book) joins the show! The Academy Award winner and nominee (who was just nominated for a Grammy for his score to The Color Purple a few days ago) recently scored the hit animated film The Wild Robot. As such, Kris and I spend much of our conversation talking about his score, which is both adventurous and a tearjerker, and filled with thematic exploration. The conversation touches on the challenges of scoring for animation, the increasing amount of space the film made for Kris's score, how it let Kris run wild with his passion for thematic and melodic scoring (drawing a number of Star Wars parallels), and plenty more.
Kris's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. The Wild Robot is currently in theaters, and available to watch at home now. You can find out more about Kris on his website.
Season 5 of The Film Scorer Podcast is here! In the Season 5 premiere I chat with composer Amelia Warner. Amelia's latest score is for the Disney sports biopic Young Woman and the Sea (starring Daisy Ridley), about Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. As such, we spend much of our conversation focused on that score, including how her score and approaches developed over time, balancing the film's sports and family aspects, working closely with legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and plenty more. Along the way, we also talk about things like Mary Shelley and the pros and cons of temp music.
Amelia's score, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms, and Young Woman and the Sea is currently available on Disney+. You can find out more about Amelia on her website.
Season Five of The Film Scorer Podcast is almost here! The new season launches on Sunday, October 27th, with new episodes continuing every other Sunday after that (more or less). Given the breadth of guests in season three, including Academy Award nominated actor-turned-composer Viggo Mortensen, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Abels, 2024 Academy Award nominees Jerskin Fendrix and Laura Karpman, Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, you never who will show up this time around - all I can say is I already have some great guests lined up!
So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, follow The Film Scorer on Instagram, Twitter, and Threads, and keep those ears open!
Dipping back into the well again, reaching to September 2020, here's the audio version (cleaned up and shortened) of my review of Mondo Boys' score for She Dies Tomorrow. Again, the audio is still a little rougher but after thirty seconds or so you don't really notice (or at least I didn't as I was editing). There's also a nauseating little cue thrown in the middle - which I embarrassingly called a "song", which Sony was kind enough to give me permission to use when I first recorded this.
I don't have a written review of this one, but I did end up reaching out to Mondo Boys shortly after and interviewing them: https://thefilmscorer.com/an-interview-with-mondo-boys/
This is one of my favorite interviews, because we recorded for about two and a half hours on a Saturday night, drinking whiskey. How I turned it into a tight, coherent, sub-hour interview I don't know...
Just because the podcast is between seasons and on a brief hiatus doesn't mean that the work stops. To keep me busy, I chatted with Brooke Blair and Will Blair (Blue Ruin, Green Room), the very rare sibling composer duo, about their latest score: Rebel Ridge. Rebel Ridge marks the fifth collaboration between the Blair Bros. and director Jeremy Saulnier, and is arguably their best. As such, we spend much of our time talking about their score, including developing the palette, experimenting with and avoiding musical clichés, and mimicking cicadas as a “symphony of terror”.
Beyond that, though, we discuss what it's like to build your career alongside a director, how to uncover a director's preferences (and the benefits in doing so), working as brothers (including when their third brother, Macon (I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore) gets added to the mix, and plenty more. I even try to get a little inside information about the forthcoming Toxic Avenger film, which they scored and their brother Macon directed, but no luck. For your benefit, the first long answer you'll hear comes from Will.
Brooke and Will's score, and much of their other music, is available on all major platforms, and Rebel Ridge is currently available on Netflix. You can find out more about Brooke and Will on their website.
Welcome in the new year (and forget that it's already September) by hearing about some of the best and most notable film scores kicking off 2024, including Dune: Prat 2 by Hans Zimmer, Spaceman by Max Richter, and plenty more, both big and small. Remember: the show is still in hiatus between seasons, but hopefully this can hold you over a little bit.
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
January: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-january-2024/
For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:
- Dune: Part 2 - Hans Zimmer
- Kung Fu Panda 4 - Steve Mazzaro and Hans Zimmer
- The Primevals - Richard Band
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - Dario Marianelli
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - Antonio Di Iorio and Tom Holkenborg
- How to Have Sex – Jakwob
- Happy Palace - Adrian Leung
- Silent Love - Joe Hisaishi
- The Seeding - Tristan Bechet (aka TRZTN)
- Night Swim - Mark Korven
- When Evil Lurks - Pablo Fuu
- Out of Darkness - Adam Janota Bzowski
- Femme - Adam Janota Bzowski
- Drive-Away Dolls - Carter Burwell
- Spaceman - Max Richter
- Love Lies Bleeding - Clint Mansell
- Problemista - Robert Ouyang Rusli
- Cop vs. Killer - Shaun Hettinger
- The End We Start From - Anna Meredith
- Home Sweet Home - Michael Kamm, Paul Rischer, and Maximilian Stephan
- Custom - Ted Regklis
- Des Teufels Bad - Anja Plaschg (aka Soap&Skin)
- Asphalt City - Nicolas Becker and Quentin Sirjacq
- Vivre avec les loups - Armand Amar
Somewhat early on in The Film Scorer days, I did a few video reviews of film scores. The first was the 1974 score for Five Shaolin Masters, by the prolific Chinese composer Yung-Yu Chen. Given that the show is currently between seasons, there's a bit of time to kill (and I know you're all clamoring for new episodes), so I've decided to clean these up a bit and release them through the podcast as well. First off: Chen's score.
The audio here is a little rougher than you're used to, as it may have been before I even owned a mic. But that's balanced out by a nice little capture of the main motif of the score that comes about halfway through. This also went surprisingly "viral" on YouTube, racking up nearly 60,000 views. If you enjoy this and want some more, just let me know - I've been meaning to record some more reviews and keep procrastinating...
You can also read my review here: https://thefilmscorer.com/five-shaolin-masters-yung-yu-chen-1974-film-score-review/
We've reached the end . . . of season 4. To commemorate the occasion, Daniel Hart (The Green Knight, A Ghost Story) joins The Film Scorer! Daniel is fresh off of scoring season 2 of Interview with the Vampire, which itself had its season finale only a couple of weeks ago. As such, Daniel and I spend a lot of the interview discussing his scores for both seasons of the show (and some hints about what's to come in the newly-announced season 3). We then break out from there, discussing Philip Glass, the prospects of writing a recorder concerto, and plenty more.
Daniel's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms, and the series is available on AMC. You can find out more about Daniel on his website.
As season 4 draws to a close, I'm joined by someone all of you should know: Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings, The Road)! One thing you might not know about Viggo - it was certainly news to me - is that he's also a musician, making a number of albums with famed guitarist Buckethead and even scoring a couple films, including his latest directorial effort The Dead Don't Hurt. As such, we discuss his musical history, his score for The Dead Don't Hurt, his first foray into making music for film in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, balancing various behind-the-scenes roles in the same film, and plenty more. Even though this is a pretty short interview, we cover a surprising amount of ground.
Candidly, this was the most surreal, hard to believe interview I've ever done. When I saw Viggo pop up on video to chat with me, I was certain I was being pranked, or maybe just dreaming; I'm sure I'll wake up at any second...
Viggo's score is available on all major platforms, while The Dead Don't Hurt has just finished its theatrical run and will likely be coming to home video soon.
I also want to flag that I accidentally attribute a (poorly) paraphrased quote to Ernest Hemingway that's actually from Mark Twain.
On the latest episode, I'm joined by Jason Graves! Jason is best known for a number of different video game scores, such as the Dead Space games, Tomb Raider, Far Cry Primal, and Moss 1 and 2, so it's no surprise that we spend much of our conversation talking about his latest game scores: Still Wakes the Deep and No Rest for the Wicked. They're two very different games, in terms of genre, style, gameplay, and more, and so Jason's scores are equally unique. We probably spend the most time talking about the former game's score, which is a combination of a string quarter, woodwinds, a bass synth, and a roughly two foot tall sculpture - it may seem weird, but I promise that it sounds good. Along the way, we cover things like his journey through scoring, how he works with game writers to understand concepts and plot points before they're rendered in-game, and differences (perceived and real) between scoring for film and video games.
Still Wakes the Deep (the game and the score) releases on June 18, while No Rest for the Wicked is currently in early access with Jason's score forthcoming. You can also find many of Jason's other scores physically or on all major platforms. Find out more about Jason on his website.
Recently anointed Grammy winner Carla Patullo joins The Film Scorer podcast! While Carla has over thirty scores under her belt, she might be most known for her non-score album So She Howls, for which Carla won the Grammy for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, then, Carla and I spend a fair bit of time talking about that album. However, and perhaps more importantly, we actually focus much of our discussion on the genesis of that album: Carla's cancer diagnosis a few years ago. Carla began by recording little voice and vocal snippets, which eventually evolved into a full album. She told me she was worried it might be her final album, but that if so she wanted a chance to sing "one last time". Fortunately, it isn't. We also move into discussions on the scoring world, her love for short films, the concerns surrounding AI, and plenty more.
You can find out more about Carla on her website.
In a Film Scorer first, a composer-director team joins the show! Composer Suvi-Eeva Äikäs & director Ben Steiner recently worked together on Ben's film Matriarch (which Ben directed and which Suvi scored). As such, we primarily talk about Suvi's score for Matriarch from both the director and composer perspectives (and with them each touching on sound design as well, particularly regarding the score edging into sound design and the sound design edging into score). Along the way, we touch on some big questions, like the role of film music, collaborating (and how to push back), and plenty more.
Suvi and Ben actually connected in Bristol, England through a mutual friend, Ben Salisbury (Annihilation, Ex Machina). Suvi has also worked with Ben Salisbury and his longtime composing partner Geoff Barrow on several projects, including Devs and Men.
You can find out more about Suvi on her website or about Ben on his website. Suvi's score is out on all major platforms, and Matriarch is currently on Hulu.
While 2023 ended several months ago, here at The Film Scorer it's only just happened. Tune-in to hear about some of the best film scores that rounded-out the year, included Poor Things by Jerskin Fendrix, Killers of the Flower Moon by Robbie Robertson, Godzilla: Minus One by Naoki Sato, and plenty more that you may not be quite as familiar with.
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:
- Poor Things - Jerskin Fendrix
- American Fiction - Laura Karpman
- The Marvels - Laura Karpman
- Killers of the Flower Moon - Robbie Robertson
- All of Us Strangers - Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
- The Killer - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- L'autre Laurens - Thomas Turine
- My Animal - Augustus Muller/Boy Harsher
- Holly - Johnny Jewel
- The Royal Hotel - Jed Palmer
- Biosphere - Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
- The Pigeon Tunnel - Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan
- Grasshopper Republic - Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
- Dream Scenario - Owen Pallett
- Saltburn - Anthony Willis
- Napoleon - Martin Phipps
- Mars Express - Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye
- Godzilla Minus One - Naoki Sati
- Eileen - Richard Reed Parry
- The Iron Claw - Richard Reed Parry
- Society of the Snow - Michael Giacchino
- Leave the World Behind - Mac Quayle
- The Boys in the Boat - Alexandre Desplat
- Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget - Harry Gregson-Williams
- Migration - John Powell
- Rebel Moon - Part One - Tom Holkenberg/Junkie XL
- Ferrari - Daniel Pemberton
Fresh off of scoring Evil Does Not Exist, composer Eiko Ishibashi joins The Film Scorer podcast! Evil Does Not Exist is Eiko's second collaboration with acclaimed director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and the film itself actually stemmed from Eiko approaching Ryusuke regarding providing visuals for her live performance. Evil Does Not Exist grew out of that, while also spawning the film Gift, a sort of "composer's cut" of Evil Does Not Exist, which removes spoken dialogue and focuses on Eiko's music. Not surprisingly, we compare and contrast her work on Evil Does Not Exist and her prior score, Drive My Car (the Oscar winner for Best International Film). Along the way, we also cover things like Eiko's approach to music and preference to giving control to the director, trends in Japanese film music, and more.
Note that this is an interpreted interview, so you'll hear snippets of Eiko's responses in Japanese but the answers are primarily via English translation.
You can find out more about Eiko on her website. Eiko's score releases digitally and on physical media on June 28, and Evil Does Not Exist is currently in theaters.
To celebrate his first full-length tv series score, Gareth Coker joins The Film Scorer podcast! You video game fans in particular may know Gareth from his work scoring games like Ori, Ark, and Halo Infinite, but Gareth hasn't stopped there. Given that he's already scored the various Ark games, it's no surprise that he was tapped to score Ark: The Animated Series, the animated adaptation of the Ark games. As such, we spend much of our interview talking about his scores for both the show and the game series and the interaction between the two, such as shared palettes and themes (including for the Broodmother fights). Along the way, we also talk about things like the score for Shōgun (Gareth's a fan), the keys behind making great exploration music (with a shoutout to Jesper Kyd's score for Assassin's Creed 2), and plenty more.
Candidly I wasn't super familiar with Gareth's music previously, other than his work on Ori and the Blind Forest, largely because I don't really play video games, which in turn probably limits how much video game music I listen to broadly. So preparing to talk with Gareth gave me the chance/excuse to start digging into his other scores, primarily for the Ark games. With Ark: The Animated Series, Gareth is able to bring the Ark palette into tv, with a massive orchestral score that's actually packed but also heavily focused on building great character themes. The success and quality of the score is, in part, a testament to the resources given to Gareth in the scoring process, something I'd love to see every studio do!
You can find out more about Gareth on his website. Ark: The Animated Series is currently streaming on Paramount+ while Gareth's score, and much of his other music, is widely available digitally.
Five-time Grammy winner Mike Post joins The Film Scorer podcast! A lot of you will probably be familiar with Mike already, who boasts one of the most impressive tv resumes of all time. For those of you that aren't, Mike's responsible for the two-note “dun-dun” sound in Law & Order, as well as themes and scores for shows like The Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, The A-Team, Magnum P.I., NYPD Blue, L.A. Law, various Law & Order shows, and many, many more. He's also played for and with tons of classic artists, like Sonny & Cher and Kenny Rogers, and has produced albums for a number of artists, including Van Halen. Frankly, it's one heck of a career. Despite all that, Mike and I focus our conversation on something a bit different: his new album, Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta (though of course we still talk a bit about some of those other pieces too - they're too intriguing to pass up!).
Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta marks Mike's first non-tv album in something like 55 years. I assumed that would be particularly exciting, releasing music that's his, but he surprised me by saying "[t]he music I make for TV is my own music, it’s just attached to somebody else’s art.” It's a very cool mixture, with half of the album being an exploration of an orchestra and bluegrass rhythm section and the second half exploring orchestra and the blues. He's also pulled in some of the heaviest hitters in each respective genre to make up the rhythm sections - highly recommend looking up each player!
You can find out more about Mike on his website. Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta is currently available on all major platforms here.
Last year's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey drew a pretty divisive reception, but my favorite part, Andrew Scott Bell's score, rose above all the noise and discord. With Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 about to release, Andrew joins me on The Film Scorer podcast. Unsurprisingly, Andrew and I spend a good chunk of the interview talking about his scores for both parts, including the aspect that impressed me the most: how he crafts an organic, "real" sounding score in the face of a very limited budget. Along the way, he talks about the importance of staying a bit playful, he showcases some of the weird, custom instruments used in his scores (like the "beehiveolin", a cello made out of a bear's skull, and the "glorious box"), and Andrew plays some clips from his scores for parts 1 and 2. The latter aspect was really cool: Andrew had a number of cues ready to go to give a closer view into the sound of the score.
You can find out more about Andrew on his website. Andrew's various scores are available on all major platforms, while Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 plays in theaters from March 26-28, with the score release likely to follow shortly thereafter.
Another year, another list of the ten "best" film scores, this time I'm running through 2023. These scores aren't presented in any particular order - I intended to go alphabetically, but instead ended up going by vibes instead, wherever the solo conversation took me. At the end of the day, even though these are described as the "best", they're really just favorites - the idea of something being "best" in the arts is silly, and any attempt to discover that sort of "truth" futile. Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites from the world of film and beyond!
Composer Tom Schraeder joins me for my first-ever in-person interview. Tom and I broke the ice by chatting for about an hour in my kitchen before heading downstairs and hitting record, and I think the comfort really shows up here. Tom has scored a number of horror films particularly, in addition to a long career as a folk musician, and we use both as jumping off points for our discussion, digging into more conceptual pieces rather than focusing on any single particular score or piece of music (although plenty still come up. As such, it's a pretty wide-ranging conversion, not only hitting a few of his old and upcoming scores, but also things like anxiety, finding musicians to work with, and music serving as a way to memorialize those who've passed.
You can find out more about Tom on his website. Tom's various scores, and much of his other music, are available on all major platforms.
Composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch joins the show! Emilie's latest score is for the film All of Us Strangers, a sort of romance-fantasy-supernatural film that I found absolutely moving. As such, we primarily talk about her score for that film, including talking about striking an emotional balance (one that feels organic but not manipulative), avoiding falling into "period" piece clichés, and more. We then meander into other topics, like the use of Michel Legrand's score from The Go-Between in May December and the freedom that horror gives composers.
You can find out more about Emilie on her website. All of Us Strangers is currently in theaters, and Emilie's score is available on all major platforms with a curated vinyl release forthcoming. You may have seem me talk about how much I love when a score release is curated, so it shouldn't be a surprise to say I'm looking forward to that!
The BAFTAs air on February 18 and the Oscars on March 10 - I know many folks don't necessarily like the awards season, but it's the time of year where film music has the spotlight on it and is celebrated in the mainstream. As such, here's a little peek into the seven nominated scores between the two awards.
I've also done interviews on four of the eight nominated scores, so seek those out as well
BAFTAs:
- Killers of the Flower Moon – Robbie Robertson
- Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
- Poor Things – Jerskin Fendrix
- Saltburn – Anthony Willis
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Daniel Pemberton
Oscars:
- Killers of the Flower Moon – Robbie Robertson
- Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson
- Poor Things – Jerskin Fendrix
- American Fiction – Laura Karpman
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – John Williams
The Film Scorer Podcast is back from its season 4 mid-season break! To celebrate in this return, Sam Haft joins the show! As of now, Sam might be best known for being one-half of the duo The Living Tombstone, alongside Yoav Landau. Unsurprisingly, we dig a little bit into this, including how Sam got involved in the band (and his broader musical journey) and what his music-writing relationship with Yoav is like. The bigger part of our conversation, however, surrounds the new Prime adult-animated-musical series, Hazbin Hotel. Sam co-wrote all of the songs in the series (alongside Andrew Underberg). As such, Sam and I primarily talk about the show and his songs, including the demanding pace of work, how his writing process differs from that in The Living Tombstone, and the pressure of pleasing a large, dedicated fanbase.
The entirety of season 1 of Hazbin Hotel is now out on Prime, while Sam's songs (and much of his other music) is widely available on all major digital platforms. You can find out more about Sam on his website.
A few weeks ago Variety published an opinion piece about the use of Michel Legrand's score for The Go-Between in May December. The piece argued that not only was this choice ill-advised, but that reusing film music “is never a good idea.” It proved to be an interesting discussion topic, and a bit of a lightning rod, so I've given my thoughts briefly as well.
Article: https://variety.com/2024/awards/opinion/why-music-for-may-december-viral-hot-dog-scene-is-problematic-1235866494/
My response article: https://thefilmscorer.com/on-reusing-film-music/
Some other examples of scores being repurposed: https://x.com/TheTumboy/status/1745137541613764976?s=20
Welcome to 2024, and welcome to another interview on The Film Scorer! Joining me to kick off the new year is harmonicist extraordinaire Frédéric Yonnet. Fred has toured and performed with an incredible slate of legendary musicians, like Stevie Wonder, Prince, John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Erykah Badu, John Legend, The Roots, Usher, Talib Kweli, Yasiin Bey (f/k/a Mos Def), De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest, among many others. Even if you haven't heard of Fred before, you've definitely heard his harmonica. With all that said, why is he chatting with The Film Scorer? It's because his work doesn't end there.
Fred has lent his virtuosic harmonica playing to various film projects, including the Robbie Robertson composed scores for The Irishman (where his harmonica channels death) and, most recently, the Golden Globe nominated Killers of the Flower Moon (where his harmonica channels greed). As such, while we start off talking about his love of the harmonica and performing with various music legends, our conversation ultimately leads to Robbie Robertson, The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Fred's playful run-in with Scorsese at Cannes.
Killers of the Flower Moon is currently available for digital rental, and releases on Apple TV+ on January 12 with a physical release expected sometime this month. You can hear Fred's harmonica on the film's score, which is widely available digitally or via physical release, and you can find out more about Fred on his website.
NOTE: A prior version of this had audio issues, which should now be resolved.
2023 is nearly over, and to lead into the new year, The Film Scorer keeps you up to date on recent releases (perfect to chat about with your family over the holidays) by covering some of the best and most notable film scores released from July through September of this year, featuring scores like Oppenheimer by Ludwig Göransson, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Bottoms by Leo Birenberg and Charli XCX, and many more!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:
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- Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One - Lorne Balfe
- The Starling Girl - Lord Huron
- Creation of the Gods I - Feng Shen Trilogy - Gordy Haab
- Oppenheimer - Ludwig Göransso
- The Boy and the Heron – Joe Hisaishi
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Haunted Mansion - Kris Bowers
- The Last Voyage of the Demeter - Bear McCreary
- A Haunting in Venice - Hildur Guðnadóttir
- Blue Beetle - Bobby Krlic
- Landscape with Invisible Hand - Michael Abel
- They Cloned Tyrone - Pierre Charles and Desmond Murray
- The Creator - Hans Zimmer
- Barbie - Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt
- Bottoms - Leo Birenberg and Charli XCX
- The Monkey King - Toby Chu
- Lamya's Poem - Christopher Willis
- Cassandro - Marcelo Zarvos
- She Came to Me - Bryce Dessner
- PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie - Pinar Toprak
Pulitzer Prize winning composer Michael Abels (Get Out, Nope) joins the show to round out 2023! Not surprisingly, Michael and I spend a fair amount of time talking about his work with Jordan Peele on the films Get Out, Us, and Nope, including a broad look at their working relationship and how it fulfilled Michael's long-time dream of working in film. But Michael also scored a couple films this year, which we then dig into, including The Burial and Landscape with Invisible Hand. Primarily, we talk about his work on The Burial, in which Jamie Foxx gives an electric performance. As such, Michael digs into the score, including discussing how the palette is aimed at universality, giving space to Foxx and the film's licensed music, and adapting the Bach piece "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" into his score. Even though our chat is just under 25 minutes, we manage to squeeze a lot into it!
The Burial is currently streaming on Amazon Prime while Landscape with Invisible Hand is available on MGM+. Meanwhile, Michael's score for both, as well as much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. In addition, you can find out more about Michael on his website.
Have a great rest of the year, and I'll talk to you all in 2024...
As 2023 starts to close, and the awards season begins to heat up, I'm joined by the composer for what's being widely hailed as one of the best film scores of the year: Jerskin Fendrix. Jerskin's latest score is for the film Poor Things, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. But not only is Poor Things Jerskin's latest score, it's also his first. And it just landed him a Golden Globe nomination. Unsurprisingly, then, we spend most of our conversation talking about Jerskin's score. While this is a shorter interview, so we didn't have as much time to meander into tangents, we still found time to go on them, including comparing how personal and autobiographical solo music and scoring can be, looking for "honesty" in music, and more.
Poor Things is currently playing in limited release, moving to a full theatrical release on December 22, 2023, while Jerskin's score, and much of his debut solo album, is available on all major platforms.
Experimental composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Candyman) joins The Film Scorer podcast in the midst of the year-end blitz. Rob's latest score is for the vérité-style documentary Grasshopper Republic. As such, we spend much of the conversation talking about, and around, Rob's score, which is certainly among the most overlooked of the year. Along the way we talk about Rob's general style and approach, tackle the big questions around how to roll back the commodification of music, and more.
Grasshopper Republic is currently playing in certain festivals while Rob's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms through Invada. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Rob on his website.
I'm getting closer and closer to having conducted one hundred composer interviews, and yet I don't think I've ever covered a Marvel score in one (let alone any superhero score). With Laura Karpman (Ms. Marvel, What If...?) joining the show, that all changes. Laura is fresh off of scoring the latest MCU film, The Marvels, starring Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), and Teyonah Parris (Captain Rambeau), in an interplanetary adventure. As such, we spend most of the conversation digging into her score, and particularly the great lengths to which she was able to experiment with sound. Along the way we talk about composer unionization, her other new score, for the upcoming film American Fiction (which score has been nominated for an Oscar), and more!
The Marvels is currently playing in theaters while Laura's score, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms. American Fiction is set to release on December 15, and Laura's score is scheduled to release the same day. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Laura on her website.
Note that there is a brief spoiler for The Marvels in the interview. Once you hear a chime, skip ahead 15 seconds to avoid it.
I've been familiar with Yair Elazar Glotman ever since I heard his score for Last and First Men, which he co-composed with the great Jóhann Jóhannsson. As such, it's great to finally have him on the show! Yair and I primarily talk about his score for the new Netflix crime thriller Reptile, for which Yair has composed a fairly dense, abstract, and textural score. The score - and the film overall - has homages to older noir films, helping solidify this film as a sort of neo-noir, but it's also aware of itself and these influences, giving them nods while also attempting something new and distinct. Along the way, we hit a number of other points, like Yair's constant quest for inspiration and knowledge (whether it be studying different playing or recording techniques, new composers, or esoteric music concepts), how scores and solo albums influence one another, and more.
Reptile is currently available on Netflix while Yair's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Yair on his website.
In this somewhat Halloween-flavored episode, Rostam Batmanglij (Rostam) (ex-Vampire Weekend, The OA) joins the show! Taking a little detour from his solo and collab music, and writing and producing for other artists like Haim, Charli XCX, and Frank, Ocean, Rostam and I primarily talk about his new score for the film The Persian Version. Rostam's score is quite subtle and restrained, marrying ancient Iranian music with Western classical music, as well as some pop and more mainstream musical influences from the last several decades. His score is capped by a cover of Cyndi Lauper's classic "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", featuring some very cool Iranian musical twists. As always, Rostam and I travel along various tangents, including his interest in film music from a young age, his first post-college music gig (with composer Craig Wedren (Yellowjackets, School of Rock)) and how this experience influenced his work on Vampire Weekend, and his Iranian cultural identity.
The Persian Version is available digitally while Rostam's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Rostam on his website.
To keep the newly-launched season 4 momentum rolling, I'm joined by composer Christopher Willis! Chris is actually responsible for some of my favorite scores in recent years, like The Death of Stalin and The Personal History of David Copperfield, as well as the excellent series Veep (among other things). However, I managed to keep the fan side of me at bay until the very end of our chat. Instead, we chat about his most recent works: the score for the animated film Lamya's Poem, featuring an incredibly lovely, lush main theme (one of my favorites of the year so far), and Demon 79, the last episode in the latest season of Black Mirror, which sees Chris embracing horror.
Along the way, of course, we dig into a number of other topics as well. These include what it's like for Chris and his wife Elyse to work together creating music, the use of AI in music (and particularly film and tv music), and more!
Lamya's Poem is available to rent or buy digitally while Demon 79 is available to watch on Netflix. Chris's scores for both, as well as many of his other works, are available to listen on all major platforms. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Chris on his website.
Season 4 is here! Charlie Clouser (the Saw series, Nine Inch Nails) joins the show to kick-off the latest season. Charlie and I talk about not just his score for the latest Saw film - Saw X - but his work throughout the series, including the famous and essential "Hello Zepp" themes found in each film. Near the end, Charlie indulges me on my personal curiosity regarding the surprising number of 90s and early 2000s industrial musicians that have found their way into the film and scoring worlds, expanding it to cover the desire for filmmakers to bring in musicians on the fringes of music. During this, he hypes up a number of great composers and scores, something I absolutely love to see!
Charlie's score for Saw X surprised me given the amount of melody, seemingly broader palette, and sheer variety throughout. It isn't necessarily surprising, given his fixation on finding the perfect array of sounds to bring onto each project - hand-picking them from his seemingly-bottomless well of sounds collected over the last 40 years. But there's also an extreme level of technical precision on these scores, with endless tempo changes so that the film and its characters seem to be constantly moving to the rhythm of his score.
Saw X is currently in theaters, while Charlie's score, as well as many of his other scores, is available digitally on all major platforms.
Season four of The Film Scorer Podcast is almost here! The new season launches on Sunday, October 1st, with new episodes continuing every other Sunday after that (more or less). Given the breadth of guests in season three, including Daniel Pemberton, Tim Hecker, and recent Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann, you never who will show up this time around - all I can say is I already have some great guests lined up!
So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, follow The Film Scorer on Instagram and Twitter, and keep those ears open!
Season 4 is just around the corner! But until then, satiate your film music appetite by joining The Film Scorer to hear about some of the best or most notable film scores released from April through June of this year, featuring scores like Carmen by Nicholas Britell, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by John Williams, and many more!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
Even though Season 3 is over and Season 4 has yet to begin, The Film Scorer podcast returns with a new interview. This time, I'm joined by composer Sherri Chung! Sherri (Riverdale, Kung Fu) and I intended to chat about her three latest projects, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Based on a True Story, and Happiness for Beginners, but got sidetracked for quite a bit. As a result, we spend a while talking about: the current writers' and actors' strikes, and the impact that those have on film and tv composers; trying to find the opportunity to write music for herself and her personal projects; and "loyalty" between composers and directors, including what it feels like when a director chooses someone else to work with on their next project. Fortunately, I eventually find a little time to slip in some questions about Gremlins, and Sherri discusses working in the shadow of Jerry Goldsmith's excellent scores for the two films while crafting something wholly new and distinct.
For those wondering, Season 4 is still at least a couple of months away. Sherri and I had been scheduling this interview since mid-June (prior to Season 3 ending), so I still wanted to get this conducted and released. That said, there may be a few other one-off interviews here and there prior to next season officially kicking-off. Stay tuned for more...
You can find out more about Sherri on her website. Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is currently on HBO Max, Based on a True Story is currently on Peacock, and Happiness for Beginners is currently on Netflix and Sherri's scores, as well as many of her other scores, are available digitally on all major platforms.
With Season 3 over and the prevalence of union strikes in the American film and tv landscape, I've decided to use this break to give a brief overview as to why composers in the US don't have a union (unlike almost everyone else in the industry). There's a little history in here, a little legal discussion, and some conjecture and opinions I've picked up from composers lately. That said, I've tried to keep my own opinion out of this (and this certainly isn't legal advice).
Keep in mind that I've simplified a number of the concepts. For instance, more factors go into the work-for-hire analysis to determine whether something falls into it, but that broader discussion would be beyond this brief episode. I've also realized that I refer to Loyola in Chicago, when the correct reference should have been to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
To celebrate the season 3 finale, I'm joined by Grammy winning composer Steph Economou! Steph's latest score is for the Dreamworks animated film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. As such, we primarily talk about Steph's score, including her choice to approach the score with a "cinematic dream pop" palette, implementing unique instruments like conch shells and the Bohemian Cristal Instrument, and the daunting nature of this being her first feature animated project. Of course, we also talk about her Grammy win, taking home the first ever Grammy for "Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media" for her score to Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök, as well as the challenge and excitement of scoring for videogames broadly (among many other things).
I found Steph's score to be really exciting, in no small part because it's so distinct. While the "cinematic dream pop" sound ends up being particularly fitting for the film's underwater/nautical setting, it's an unusual choice for film music broadly, even more so for a family animated film. Those that know me will know by now that moving the sonic needle in media music is something I love to see, but so often it's done in indie films or in horror; for this to happen in a bigger-budget, mainstream film is great! Hopefully it's a trend that can continue. Steph mentions that the filmmakers gave her a lot of leeway right of the bat when it came to the score's palette, and she took full advantage of it. Even though she felt a bit daunted at first, with this being her first animated feature, she mentioned her two approaches in getting past it: "I just try to write music that I know I’ll be proud of later” and “you just gotta put your head down and do it; but the fear makes you better.” Things we can all live by.
You can find out more about Steph on her website. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is currently in theaters and Steph's score, as well as many of her other scores, is available digitally on all major platforms.
In one of the last interviews of Season 3, composer and director Mark Jenkin joins The Film Scorer podcast! First off, and something I forgot to mention in the intro, but I appreciate Mark persevering through some major audio issues - our interview went for nearly an hour, but a lot of the audio wasn't salvageable! Mark recently released his experimental folk horror film Enys Men (Cornish for Stone Island) earlier this year, as well as his corresponding score. As such, we primarily discuss the film, including Mark's score, how filmmaking and composing process, and much more. Along the way we touch on imposter syndrome and what constitutes a "musician", Mark's appreciation for good film criticism, and scores Mark's been digging lately (like Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's Wind River).
Enys Men is a tough watch, and likely won't be for everyone, as is the case for most unorthodox/non-traditional films, and the same can be said for Mark's score. It's a very droning, atmospheric piece that slowly pulls you into the nightmarish isolation of the film. Mark also chose a strange sonic palette, starting with recording a tiny, old Korg synth into a tape loop before adding elements like rocks, locally sourced scrap metal from Cornwall's post-industrial landscape, and Mark's voice sung into a mic with heavy reverb. I love it.
You can find out more about Mark on his website. Enys Men is available for purchase, and may still be in some specialty theaters, and Daniel's score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms.
It's a new year, which means a new batch of great film music to listen to! To help you out, The Film Scorer covers some of the best and most notable film scores released from the last three months of the year, including scores like Enys Men by Mark Jenkin, Broker by Jung Jae-Il, L'envol by Gabriel Yared, and many more!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists.
One note: I accidentally reference Chris Lord when I meant to say Chris Miller (of Lord and Miller).
Fresh off the back of scoring the smash hit Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, composer Daniel Pemberton (Enola Holmes 1 & 2, Steve Jobs) joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Not surprisingly, Daniel and I spend the majority of our interview talking about his score, including: the significant amount of time Daniel had not only to write and record, but also to do what he calls R&D expanding the sonic palette from the first film; and creating distinct, genre-appropriate thematic material and sounds for the primary characters while also balancing and integrating these pieces of music (asking himself “How do you write and create a score where all these can interact?”).
We also talk about Daniel's writing process, which places an interesting weight on his initial impression, telling me “every time I read a script, the first hour afterwards can often be the most important hour because it’s so fresh . . . and if you look at Spider-Verse, one of the very first things I wrote becomes the opening and ending of the film”. Finally, we move fully beyond Across the Spider-Verse and talk about his score for last year's lovely Brian and Charles, which showcases his desire to explore new musical directions and take creative risks, his ability to write quickly (Daniel mentions a mystery film he just scored in one week), and the use of composing teams.
You can find out more about Daniel on his website. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is currently playing in theaters worldwide, and Daniel's score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms.
As season 3 of The Film Scorer podcast slowly comes to a close (only a few episodes left), Chad Cannon joins the show! Chad and I primarily talk about his latest score, which is for the documentary miniseries Algiers, America, following a high school football team in New Orleans (the Edna Carr Cougars). The score mostly features Chad's modern classical compositions, as well as some New Orleans-centric elements that Chad crafted with a few local musicians. As such, Chad talks about the challenge of scoring around three hours of music, visiting New Orleans to get in touch with the city's musicality, and balancing various musical elements, styles, and genres.
Along the way, we also cover Chad's prolific work in the documentary scoring arena, carving out a bit of a specialization within the field (although he has done a number of fiction films, series, and videogames as well), and how and why the public reception to documentary music differs from that of music for other media. Finally, we briefly touch on Chad's work in arranging for legendary composer Joe Hisaishi, and Chad's upcoming project in which Hisaishi is providing the main theme.
You can find out more about Chad on his website. Algiers, America is currently on Hulu, and while Chad's score is not yet available, many of his other works are available digitally on all major platforms.
After a brief hiatus, The Film Scorer podcast returns with guest Nitin Sawhney! Nitin and I originally planned just on discussing his latest score, which is for the film What's Love Got to Do with It? but coincidentally timed the interview to coincide with the announcement of his next album, "Identity". As such, we start off by discussing his new album and the recently released single, "Darling Boy", which features vocals from Guy Garvey and lyrics that Garvey used to sing as a lullaby to his then-newborn son. We then dig into Nitin's fascinating hybrid score for What's Love Got to Do with It?, which mixes traditional modern romantic elements, fairy tale motifs, and Indian classical music; it's a combo I've certainly never heard. In relation to the score, Nitin discusses the relatively identical nature of Indian and Pakistani classical music, the line between culture appropriation and appreciation in music, and collaborating with Naughty Boy, and legendary Qawwali singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
You can find out more about Nitin on his website. What's Love Got to Do with It? is in theaters in the UK, Nitin's score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms and his new album "Identity" is forthcoming (though you can listen to the single, "Darling Boy", here).
Brian Tyler (Fast & Furious franchise, Yellowstonefranchise, Avengers: Age of Ultron) joins The Film Scorer Podcast, finishing up our unofficial "month of Tylers"! Brian is fresh off the back of scoring the global smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and we spend the bulk of our conversation discussing his score and experience. This ranges from Brian's lifelong fandom of Mario games (as a kid he'd cut out articles about Mario composer Koji Kondo and game designer Shigeru Miyamoto from magazines), the surreal experience of working with Kondo and Miyamoto, and filling the score with homages to the many iconic themes and motifs that fill the Mario universe. On the way he even spends a few minutes talking about his score for the upcoming Fast X, with his face and voice filling with excitement when he discusses his theme for Jason Momoa's new character.
You can find out more about Brian on his website. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in theaters, and Brian's score, as well as many of his other works, are available digitally on all major platforms.
Better late than never - The Film Scorer returns for the annual tradition of covering the ten "best" film scores of 2022. There's also an eleventh honorable mention of arguably my favorite film score release of the year. These scores aren't presented in any particular order, and are really just favorites - who's to say what's "best"? Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites from the world of film and beyond; even if they didn't make the list, chances are they were close!
One note: I mention that two composers are on their third collaboration, while I meant to say that the score marks their third collaboration with the film's director.
Fresh off of scoring the critical and box office hit action film John Wick 4, Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy Vols. 1 & 2, 300, The Punisher) joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Unsurprisingly, Tyler and I spend a decent amount of time talking about his work on John Wick; not just the latest film, but his work across all four entries and his collaboration across each with Joel J. Richard as well. Throughout the chat, we also cover Tyler's latest series, the animated action/spy show Agent Elvis on Netflix (which he co-scored with Tim Williams), his interest in equitable collaboration, and how he continues to push himself to improve and break his own boundaries.
One note: prior to the interview Tyler had spent the preceding few days playing shows with Jerry Cantrell and flying across the country, so he has a slight cold throughout.
You can find out more about Tyler on his website. John Wick 4 is in theaters while Agent Elvis is on Netflix, and Tyler's scores, as well as many of his other works, are available digitally on all major platforms.
Anne-Kathrin Dern is the latest guest on The Film Scorer Podcast! You might be most familiar with Anne's lush, thematically-rich traditional orchestral scoring on a number of family and animation films, but she's started to slowly move into more hybrid and pure electronic/textural film and game scoring as well. As such, we talk about this transition and how mixing up scoring styles makes her grow as a composer well maintaining her excitement in the field. This transition recently culminated with her latest score, The Devil Conspiracy, a far more electronic, textural horror score that also features heavy use of organ and choir. It's an unusual score for Anne, but also admittedly the most fun she's had scoring in a long time! We then move into discussing some heavier topics, including the recent article from The Guardian regarding MeToo in the composing world, the lack of opportunity for female composers, and the necessity for having open conversations about these types of issues.
You can find out more about Anne on her website. The Devil Conspiracy is now available on demand and Anne's score, as well as many of her other works, is available digitally on all major platforms.
Tim Hecker, one of the leading voices in experimental electronic music (sometimes referred to as "ambient") joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Tim and I primarily talk about his score to the new film Infinity Pool, a psychedelic, nasty ride with an equally wowing, disorienting score. Among the stranger aspects of the score is that Tim actually utilized the sounds of Mediterranean cicadas, spending hours trawling through YouTube for the perfect samples before eventually turning them into a sort of Baltic banjo in a Deliverance homage for the regressive, yet future-forward dystopian mythical island state on which the film takes place. We then get into, among other things, the problematic nature of the "ambient" genre label and our increasing disconnect with music.
One note on this interview: after the introduction, it begins mid-conversation between Tim and I. Our pre-interview small talk started going too deep, so I felt the need to capture it and keep it going rather than abruptly stop it to start a more "formal" interview.
You can find out more about Tim on his website. Infinity Pool is now available on demand and Tim's score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms. Although the score is not available there, most of Tim's works are available directly through bandcamp.
With 2022 over, The Film Scorer covers some of the best and most notable film scores released from the last three months of the year. These include scores like Babylon by Justin Hurwitz, All Quiet on the Western Front by Volker Bertelmann, and many more. A breadth of film music awaits!
The episode opens with some awards season coverage, recorded prior to the BAFTA awards ceremony, and so predicts a Hurwitz win even though Volker Bertelmann ended up winning.
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
October: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-october-2022/
Three-time Oscar nominated composer Carter Burwell joins The Film Scorer Podcast! We primarily talk about his latest score, which also happened to land him his third Oscar nomination (as well as another BAFTA nom), The Banshees of Inisherin! This includes determining the sound palette (going from initial ideas for period-appropriate Irish music to incorporating an Indonesian gamelan), pulling out the essence of Colin Farrell's character, and more. Along the way, he gives his thoughts on experimentation in film music and the benefit of having more time to sit down and score, while briefly covering his a capella score for Catherine Called Birdy.
I was immediately drawn to Carter's score, in part because it deviates from and subverts expectation. Carter creates a sort of dark fairy tale, balancing a childlike sense with melancholy and foreboding, all through a minimal and restrained sound palette. On this point, he told me "When I started really thinking why does this music work or what am I trying to achieve, I began thinking that what it really is doing is turning the movie into a fable. It’s playing a little more like a fairytale.” This comes, in part, because of Carter's choice to largely use the music to play off of Colin Farrell's character, to embody him and his troublesome journey through the film.
You can find out more about Carter on his website. The Banshees of Inisherin is currently available on HBO Max and Carter's score, as well as many of his other works, is available digitally on all major platforms.
I recently chatted with experimental composer Maya Shenfeld about her first major foray into film scoring: the Oscar shortlisted documentary The Flagmakers. Fresh off of her critically acclaimed debut album, In Free Fall (which experiments through electroacoustic arrangements), Maya's score for The Flagmakers is a contemporary, modernized take on traditional American minimalism (á la Reich and Glass). Not only do we discuss these two pieces, but we also cover Maya's long-time interest in film music, dive into the world and communities of experimental music, and more.
You can find out more about Maya on her website or on bandcamp. The Flagmakers has not yet been released, and Maya is still working on potentially releasing (and expanding) her score for the documentary, although her prior works are available on all major digital platforms (and her cinematic album called Cinematic Minimalism and released under the nom de guerre Rouge Fou.
Composer Zak Engel joins me to kick off 2023, and end my brief interview hiatus. We primarily chat about his score for the mind-bending sci-fi thriller Ultrasound, which released a couple of years ago but for which Zak's score has only recently come out. It's a really cool, engaging score filled with older analog synth sounds and more modern electronics, building on influences from folks like Mort Garson, Disasterpeace, and Daniel Lopatin/Oneohtrix Point Never. We also talk about some of Zak's personal influences, how he got into film, and Zak even tackles a few of my surprise and unfair abstract questions about film, music, and the art of scoring.
You can find out more about Zak on his website or on bandcamp. Ultrasound is currently available on Hulu, while Zak's score (and many of his prior works) is available on all major digital platforms.
To finish up 2022, I attempt to unravel the new murder mystery Glass Onion, with the help of its composer, Nathan Johnson. Not surprisingly, then, Nathan and I jump into his big, orchestral score, including revisiting themes from the predecessor film Knives Out, creating new themes (particularly the theme for Janelle Monáe's character, Andi), and finding the right sound for the film. Along the way we talk about working with Rian Johnson and Guillermo del Toro (with whom Nathan collaborated on 2021's Nightmare Alley), picking the right projects, imposter syndrome, and more!
You can find out more about Nathan on his website. Glass Onion is currently available on Netflix, while Nathan's score (and many of his prior works) is available on all major digital platforms.
Pleased to have Academy Award nominated composer Volker Bertelmann join the show! Volker is fresh off of scoring the new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front, a new bleak, harrowing anti-war version of the classic novel. We chat primarily about this score, including creating some of the incredibly distinct, surprising sounds used throughout and his working relationship with long time collaborator (and the film's director) Edward Berger. We also cover a few more disparate topics, like his earlier days in the music industry, finding inspiration when writing, and the drive to constantly challenge himself (telling me "I love being challenged by things that I haven’t done before...I’m actually in a long learning curve of getting challenged”).
Volker's score has been fairly divisive, and I think that's a testament, in part, to the unorthodox sound palette and that drive to challenge himself. The score's main motif is a blaring three note siren or alarm, backed by the humming din of organized industrialization. Although it feels modern and electronic, the thrust of the motif is actually an amplified harmonium from the early 1900s, firmly placing it in the film's time period. It's one of those moments where immediately upon hearing the score's first few notes I knew I had to find out more. I'm glad I did, and I hope you are too!
You can find out more about Volker on his website. All Quiet on the Western Front is currently available on Netflix, while Volker's score (and many of his prior works) is available on all major digital platforms.
The latest guest on The Film Scorer Podcast is French composer Raphaelle Thibaut! Raphaelle (or simply Raph) has been primarily working in documentaries lately, scoring projects such as Secrets of the Whales, Introducing, Selma Blair, and Mama's Boy, the last of which being her latest project. We primarily talk about her score for Mama's Boy, which is a lovely, somber yet optimistic score told primarily through piano, with instances of woodwinds, acoustic guitar, and more. We also touch on some of her musical influences (60s and 70s French and Italian scores), how those influences compare with more modern scores, and appreciation for documentary music broadly.
You can find out more about Raph on her website. Mama's Boy is currently available on HBO Max, while Raph's score (and many of her prior works) is available on all major digital platforms.
As the year draws to a close, The Film Scorer covers some of the best and most notable film scores released from July, August, and September 2022. These include scores like Nope by Michael Abels, Blonde by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, and many more. A breadth of film music awaits!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
July: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-july-2022/
August: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-august-2022/
My latest guest is DJ-turned-media composer Nathan Micay! While those fans of techno, house, and trance clubbing across the world might be familiar with Nathan's work in those scenes, he's recently branched out into scoring for film and tv. In fact, his first big break was with HBO's Industry, season 2 of which has just released. Of course, Nathan and I dive into his work on the show (including the palette, creating motifs, and putting together the forthcoming score release), while also touching on far-flung topics like his love of David and Thomas Newman scores (especially for the first two Mighty Ducks films) and the state of the music industry.
Both seasons of Industry are on HBO in the US and I believe season 2 has just released on BBC Two in the UK. Nathan's score should be out later this November, with a vinyl release coming early 2023, but you can hear Nathan's season 1 score (and much the rest of his music) on various digital platforms or in physical formats.
On this Devil's Night, who better to raise a little hell with than my latest guest: Ben Lovett. Ben and I primarily talk about his latest score, Hellraiser, which is a reimagining/remake of Clive Barker's original novella The Hellbound Heart. As part of that discussion, we cover (among other things), Ben's utilization of Chris Young's themes for the original film, making the score something uniquely his own, and dealing with the pressure (and external criticism) that comes with working on such a big, beloved (sometimes) franchise.
Hellraiser is currently streaming on Hulu, while Ben's score (and much of the rest of his music) is widely available physically and digitally, including on Ben's bandcamp. In addition, Mondo is releasing a limited edition (2,000 copies) vinyl in connection with Lakeshore Records and Death Waltz Recording.
Michael Price joins The Film Scorer for episode 2 of season 3! You might be most familiar with Michael Price (at least I was) from his work with David Arnold on the acclaimed and excellent Sherlock and Dracula series, both created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. But Michael also spent five years working with Michael Kamen, beginning on Event Horizon and X-Men, and music edited a number of films including the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. During our interview we talk about all of those. We also talk about, and cover most in-depth, Michael's latest solo album Whitsun, which becomes an intimate look at Michael's childhood in Yorkshire, a connection of sound and memory. It's a lovely, nostalgic album that's both sweet and melancholic, with a universality that conjures a sense of recollection no matter one's past.
As we wrapped up our chat, we began discussing the importance of music in one's life and Michael said: "If just one person made a little moment to play something or sing for themselves or with someone else in their family or with a friend, just that tiny one act I think is joyful and worthwhile…To anyone: if you do find yourself playing or singing, send me a note on Twitter, cheer us both up." So, if after listening you've found yourself playing or singing, but sure to let Michael know (and include me while you're at it).
Whitsun is available digitally and physically (via CD and cassette) on Michael's bandcamp, and digitally on all major platforms. Michael's scores are broadly available digitally and physically.
For those interested in Scored to Death: The Dark Art of Scary Movie Music, you can find out more information here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scoredtodeathmovie/scored-to-death-the-dark-art-of-scary-movie-music
Season three of The Film Scorer Podcast is finally here! Joining me is legendary musician and composer Cosey Fanni Tutti. Film music fans may not be quite as familiar with Cosey, who's best known for being a founding member of the band Throbbing Gristle, arguably the pioneers of industrial music. However, Cosey has also been busy with solo work, collaborations, and even film scoring. As such, we primarily discuss her score for the film Delia Derbyshire: The Myths & The Legendary Tapes, about the influential electronic musician and composer Delia Derbyshire. We also talk about her new book, Re-Sisters: The Lives and Recordings of Delia Derbyshire, Margery Kempe and Cosey Fanni Tutti, which serves as a "meditation on womanhood, creativity and self-expression, and a revelatory exploration into the lives of three visionary artists" (description courtesy of Amazon).
Cosey's score is fascinating, weird, and, at times, completely haunting; I really enjoyed it. It released on September 16 and is available on all major platforms and on vinyl from Cargo Records. Cosey's other music, both as a solo artist and in her various collaborations and bands, is also widely available.
Season Three of The Film Scorer Podcast is almost here! The new season launches on Sunday, October 2nd, with new episodes continuing every other Sunday. Given the breadth of guests in Season Two, you never who will show up this time around - but I can promise, there's already some great names signed up!
So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, follow The Film Scorer on Instagram and Twitter, and keep those ears open.
With the season 3 premiere right around the corner, we've decided to drop an interview to tease your appetite. Dominic Lewis joins The Film Scorer to talk about his new score to the hit action film Bullet Train. Dom's score is a self-described concept album featuring numerous, far-reaching influences and a number of faux needle drops that completely fooled me when I watched the film. Dom also briefly talks about his two upcoming Christmas films (including Spirited, a musical starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds) and how to make Christmas music that doesn't sound like every other Christmas score. Finally, Dom ends the interview by talking about his time working at (and giving a rare peak behind the scenes into) Remote Control Productions, Hans Zimmer's film scoring production company.
As I mention during the interview, hearing Dom's score is what sold me on the interview. It's such a wild genre mix that somehow works, ending up even more weird and gonzo than the underlying film. It's always exciting when composers try to push the boundaries a bit, and even more so when they can do it in an otherwise mainstream release.
Bullet Train is available to watch in theaters. Dom's score, and all of his other music, is available digitally.
As the inter-season hiatus winds down, The Film Scorer covers some of the best, most notable, and favorite film scores from April through June, 2022. These run the gamut, from "multiverse" scores like Everything Everywhere All at Once by Son Lux and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, to grimy, experimental works like We're All Going to the World's Fair by Alex G or Phil Tippett's Mad God by Dan Wool and more, this period is loaded with impressive pieces.
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
April: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-april-2022/
May: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-may-2022/
While the main branch of The Film Scorer Podcast is on its post-season 2 hiatus, I've decided to do something a little different to fill the absence. I'll be doing some shorter-form audio reviews of film scores. The first of these is Dan Wool's score to the brilliant stop-motion monstrosity, Phil Tippett's Mad God. It's a bleak, apocalyptic piece that blurs the edges of sound design. I highly recommend the score and the film!
You can also read my review of Wool's score here: https://thefilmscorer.com/dan-wools-mad-score-for-phil-tippetts-mad-god-2022-film-score-review/
In the season two finale of The Film Scorer Podcast, acclaimed Northern Irish composer Hannah Peel joins the show! We primarily talk about her score for the new series adaptation of John Wyndham's novel The Midwich Cuckoos (which you may know as The Village of the Damned). It's a supremely cool score, mixing dark, oppressive and gentle soundscape electronics with voice. The most notable aspect of the latter - and the part that sold me on the score immediately - is Hannah's manipulation of her own voice to mimic the sound of cuckoos. In the midst of this, Hannah actually talks about why she thinks experimentations with voice have become more common in recent scores, and we talk a bit about her journey into composing media music as well as the thought that goes into curating a soundtrack release.
The Midwich Cuckoos is available to watch on Sky in the UK and may be forthcoming elsewhere. Hannah's score, and all of her other music, is available digitally, particularly on BandCamp (with The Midwich Cuckoos being released in conjunction with Invada). You can find out more about Hannah by visiting her website.
Experimental musician turned film and TV composer Lucrecia Dalt joins me on The Film Scorer Podcast! Despite a lifelong interest in film and film music, as well as a decade-long career in composing and sound design, Dalt has just broken into the film and TV sphere in the last several months. We primarily cover her two new scores - for the horror feature The Seed and the horror-comedy show The Baby - but also dive into our thoughts on the film and film music landscapes and touch on her broader love of film.
I'm a huge fan of both of these scores, which provide an exciting, fresh experimental take on media music, utilizing strange voices (especially real and pseudo throat-singing), monolithic fear, and hints of comedy. All it took was for me to hear the single from The Seed, "Venutian Offspring", to know I wanted to dig into these more.
The Seed is available to watch digitally on Shudder while The Baby is available via HBO in the US and Sky in the UK. Both of her scores, and all of her other music, is available digitally, particularly on BandCamp. The vinyl version of The Seed is available via Invada.
In between composer interviews, The Film Scorer covers some of the best, most notable, and favorite film scores from January through March, 2022. These include a handful of films released in 2021 whose scores for some reason had delayed releases, like The Harder They Fall by Jeymes Samuel and Benedetta by Anne Dudley, as well as experimental scores like The Seed by Lucrecia Dalt, Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Colin Stetson, and Ted K by Blanck Mass (the latter of whom I recently interviewed), and a whole load more!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
January: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-january-2022/
Experimental electronic musician turned film composer Benjamin John Power (aka Blanck Mass) joins The Film Scorer Podcast! We initially set out to talk about his score for Ted K, which mixes gentle, ambient textures and pounding melodies to get into the head of domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski. However, we take a detour and first talk about his other new score (which, as of recording, hadn't released) for Gazza, which covers the troubled life of British footballer Paul Gascoigne (aka Gazza). Blanck Mass also talks about how hearing Ennio Morricone's score to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly at six years old inspired him to score for film, his long journey to finally having that opportunity (the Irish crime drama Calm with Horses), and the new scoring challenges he hopes to one day face.
Ted K is available to watch digitally in the US (but is forthcoming in the UK) while Gazza is available via BBC iPlayer (but is forthcoming in the US). Blanck Mass's score for Ted K (though not Gazza), and almost all of his other music, is available digitally, particularly on BandCamp.
Film composer and director Nicole Russin-McFarland joins The Film Scorer Podcast! But, Nicole didn't come alone; joining her is voice actor Christopher Andrew Norris, a frequent collaborator of Nicole's (though those of you with deft ears might notice a third guest - Nicole's cat - who makes some infrequent background appearances...). We discuss their working relationship and process, spanning several dozen radio plays that the two have put together, and both of their future plans and aspirations. In addition, we cover topics like accessibility and discrimination issues in film and film music, the AWAL music program, UJAM's virtual instruments, and the Stan Winston School for film effects and vfx (among many other things).
Much of Nicole's music, including her many collaborations with Chris, are available digitally on all platforms. Find out more about Nicole on her website and more about Chris on his website.
This was only my third interview with multiple guests, but the first one where they both called in from different locations. A lot to handle, to be sure, but also a lot of fun! And I think the fun carries over into the interview itself.
Pleased to have composer CJ Mirra join The Film Scorer Podcast! We primarily talk about CJ's feature scoring debut, the UK family drama/horror film A Banquet. Much of CJ's score oscillates between eerie, dreadful atmospheres and textures and gentler yet ominous melodies that complement the film's many classical music extracts. We also get into his prolific work in short surf films (working on 20+), which are collected in the compilation Static, culminating in scoring the upcoming Apple TV Series Make or Break that follows the World Surf League.
A Banquet is available to watch digitally, and CJ's score (as well as much of his other music) is available digitally on all platforms or on vinyl through Burning Witches Records. Find out more about CJ on his website.
At the end of January I "attended" Sundance to watch God's Country, a drama/thriller starring Thandiwe Newton. Today DeAndre Allen-Toole, the film's composer, joins the show! We chat about the film, including the challenges of making his feature scoring debut, palette choices, and the months he and director Julian Higgins spent in pre-production. We also cover his long journey into becoming a composer for media and some of his future goals and dreams.
God's Country releases this fall, although you can listen to some of DeAndre's score (and find out more about him) on his website.
Fall Out Boy vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter turned media composer Patrick Stump joins the show! While our intended focus his score for the new Disney show Spidey And His Amazing Friends, we spend a significant time talking about his transition into a media composer, his early love for film music, and what it's like having this dream finally come true. Eventually we turn to Spidey And His Amazing Friends, covering his rock-powered score and how he composed new (and addressed familiar) themes for the show's characters.
Spidey And His Amazing Friends season 1 is on Disney Junior/Disney+ and YouTube, with season 2 on the horizon. You can listen to several of Patricks' scores, including singles from the show, on all major platforms.
Better late than never - The Film Scorer returns for the annual tradition of covering the "best" film scores of 2021. These scores aren't presented in any particular order, and are really just favorites - there are NO "best" scores! Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites from the world of film and beyond; even if they didn't make the list, chances are they were close!
Colin Stetson joins The Film Scorer podcast to talk about his brutal, unconventional score to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Netflix's new installment in the iconic horror series. Texas Chainsaw Massacre probably displays Colin at his most unrestrained, as the filmmakers largely gave him free reign to go as unconventional and vicious as possible. You can hear this in Colin's voice when he describes the score and composing process, and the feeling is infectious. As always, we go on some tangents like how horror and other film genres compare in terms of score and Ann Arbor's old DIY music scene (a town where we coincidentally both spent a lot of time).
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is now streaming on Netflix while Colin's score is available everywhere. You can also order the gorgeous vinyl from Waxwork Records. Find out more about Colin on his website.
Derek Kirkup joins The Film Scorer Podcast to talk about his gentle, bittersweet score to the new familial drama Sorority. Along the way we talk about Nic Cage's acting career and how his boundary-pushing approach may have parallels to pushing film music forward, as well as music in AR and VR cinematic experiences.
Sorority released on Amazon Prime on February 10th, and Derek's score comes out on February 14th. You can also find more out about Derek on his website.
Four-time Grammy nominated music producer and supervisor Matt Sullivan (Chicago, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) joins The Film Scorer Podcast! We primarily discuss his work with Steven Spielberg as executive music producer on West Side Story, how he carved this role out for himself almost by accident on the set of Chicago, and the upcoming musical Disenchanted!
Matt is actually the first non-composer to join the show, and it was great having a crash-course in music supervision and production, especially from the man synonymous with the mega-musical!
In between composer interviews, The Film Scorer covers some of the best, most notable, and favorite film scores from October through December, 2021. These include Halloween Kills by Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Daniel A. Davies , The Matrix Resurrections by Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer, Spencer and The Power of the Dog by Jonny Greenwood, and a whole load more!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores and see below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
October: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-october-2021/
November: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-november-2021/
December: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-december-2021/
To continue 2022's strong start, the great composer Marcelo Zarvos joins me for a quick chat! Marcelo recently scored the newly released film A Journal for Jordan, directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan. We discuss his work on the film, some early Brazilian rock and metal, and what it's like working with Denzel.
It's a lovely, intimate score that manages to balance tragedy and love, always staying true to the drama that forms the heart of the film.
A Journal for Jordan is currently in theaters and Marcelo's score, as well as many of his works over the years, is available on all major platforms. You can also find out more about Marcelo by visiting his website.
To kick-off the new year, Catherine Joy joins The Film Scorer Podcast! We discuss a number of her projects, as well as (among other things) the Joy Music House, her work with the Alliance for Women Film Composers, and the differences between composing, orchestrating, and score supervising! We actually conducted this interview back in August of 2021, so a couple references may be slightly dated (such as the Oscar shortlists), and I'm glad I've finally gotten around to releasing it.
Catherine has composed a number of scores for TV shows, features, and documentaries. She's also worked on major projects like Wild, Wild Country, Minari, and Homecoming in various capacities, such as orchestrating and score producing. You can find out more about Catherine by visiting her website. Some of this work has come through her company, the Joy Music House, which is a full-service score production company. Catherine is also the president of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, a great organization advocating for women film composers globally and its membership is open to anyone!
Pleased to have Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Mulan, The Chronicles of Narnia) join me for a quick chat. We primarily focus on his scores for the two new Ridley Scott films The Last Duel and House of Gucci, as well as his score for the upcoming Disneynature film Polar Bear. Along the way we talk about distraction in film music and some recent scores that Harry's been enjoying. Although it's a quick chat - Harry originally only had twenty minutes, though we stretched it to just over half an hour - we managed to cover a great amount!
These two films do a fantastic job of showing Harry's range. While The Last Duel is an often somber, heavily thematic and semi-period specific score (late 14th century), House of Gucci sees Harry jump into a much more stylized, nearly-contemporary sound.
The Last Duel is now available to rent while House of Gucci is currently in theaters, while many of Harry's scores are available on all major platforms. Although House of Gucci didn't end up having a full score from Harry, the film's soundtrack release does include his score suite.
The one and only Mark Korven joins me on The Film Scorer Podcast! Mark is probably best known for scoring films like The Witch and The Lighthouse, but his latest score is for Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. We talk about that film and his score, as well as his prior releases, his signature instrument the "Apprehension Engine," and Mark announces an upcoming 25th anniversary release of his score for Cube. Of course, during the interview we touch on a load more as well.
This was a very exciting interview for me since Mark's work is one of the reasons I began down this film music path in the first place. When I first saw The Witch, I found the music absolutely fascinating and unlike anything I'd really heard. Although I didn't begin writing about film music until a couple years after, it certainly planted the seed.
You can find more about Mark on his website. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is currently in theaters, while many of Mark's more recent scores are available on all major platforms.
Fan of the show and prolific film composer and solo artist Andy Fosberry joins The Film Scorer Podcast! We spend a significant time locking into Andy's composing and recording process, which has allowed him to write and record several scores in the span of two weeks each! Afterward, we cover a wide swathe of topics, including a shared love of Mica Levi and Cormac McCarthy, differing thoughts on the Friday the 13th film series, and plenty more.
In a rare twist, I've also included some snippets of Andy's film and solo music in the interview. If you like what you hear, be sure to check out Andy's many scores on your streaming service of choice, including his Bandcamp - he has dozens of albums up there, giving endless listening opportunities! You can find more about Andy on his website, watch several of the films he's score on YouTube, and even listen to some of the "rediscovered" albums he's re-mastered via Spun Out of Control.
Peter Gregson joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Peter and I talk about his Recomposed Bach Cello Suites (in which Peter re-examined some of Bach's great cello works), taking me far out of my musical knowledge depth and comfort! We also discuss his excellent new album 'Patina' and his forays into scoring for film and other media. During the conversation, Peter mimics a few cello melodies by singing, which is a highlight that can't be missed.
You can find out more about Peter on his website, while his scores and 'Patina' are available on all major services (with 'Patina' also being available to buy from Deutsche Grammophon). It's an excellent album and I highly recommend checking it out!
Composer (and fan of the show!) Michael Yezerski joins The Film Scorer podcast to give an in-depth look at his score for the new Starz series Blindspotting! Michael actually co-composed the score with avantgarde and renowned jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and Ambrose was originally scheduled to join the chat but unfortunately had to drop out. Hopefully both composers will be able to join when season 2 rolls around!
We also talk about some of Michael's recent film scores, including The Vigil and The Tax Collector, while exploring some of his musical interests, scoring process, and advice for up-and-coming composers!
You can find more about Michael on his website. Blindspotting is available on Starz, while Michael's score is available on all major platforms.
Excited to have composer Ariel Marx join the show! Ariel has been on a major upswing in 2021, scoring Shiva Baby (which I loved), Rebel Hearts, and the third episode of American Horror Stories. We talk about a few of these projects (as well as some others that are on the way), how the love of collaboration brought her into composing for media, and more!
You can find more about Ariel on her website. Shiva Baby and American Horror Stories are both streaming on Hulu while Rebel Hearts is on discovery+. Meanwhile, most of Ariel's scores are available on all major platforms.
The Film Scorer takes a breather from composer interviews to cover some of the best, most notable, and favorite film scores from July through September, 2021. These include Dune and the Dune Sketchbook by Hans Zimmer, The Green Knight by Daniel Hart, Beckett and Minamata by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and a whole load more!
See below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
July: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-july-2021/
August: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-august-2021/
September: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-september-2021/
Blockbuster Chinese composer Elliot Leung joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Elliot's latest score is for the major Korean War film The Battle at Lake Changjin, which released this weekend and has already smashed numerous box office records (as well as being the highest grossing film in the world this weekend). However, we only briefly discuss his score. Instead, we touch on his other films, his general process, and how Martin O'Donnell's score for Halo inspired Elliot to pursue a career in composing for film and other media!
You can find more information about Elliot on his website. The Battle at Lake Changjin is currently in theaters in China, but has not yet had a worldwide release. Elliot's score is similarly forthcoming, but you can listen to his scores for Operation Red Sea and The Rescue on all major streaming platforms.
Pleased to have Joe Kraemer join the podcast! Though known for films like Jack Reacher and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Joe's latest is the children's fantasy film Emily and the Magical Journey. We discuss that score near the end of the interview, and in the meantime we talk about his other works (including the upcoming Old Man starring starring Stephen Lang), late Soviet-era pop music, Pacino's character in Heat, and much more!
Find out more about Joe on his website. Emily and the Magical Journey is currently available on VOD while his score (and most of his back catalog) is available on all platforms.
Composer Frank Ilfman joins The Film Scorer podcast to do a deep dive into his score for the hit Netflix action film 'Gunpowder Milkshake.' During the dive, we touch on the score's spaghetti western, noir, and broader 60s and 70s American, French, and Italian influences. Along the way we also touch on Frank's own influences, including a chance encounter with Klaus Doldinger during the recording of 'The NeverEnding Story'!
Find our more about Frank on his website. 'Gunpowder Milkshake' is currently available on Netflix while Frank's score (and many of his other scores) is available on all major streaming platforms.
Note: during the introduction I state that 'Gunpowder Milkshake' released in Netflix in the UK this weekend. That's incorrect - it released in theaters and on SKY Cinema.
Overjoyed to have composer and singer/songwriter Jessica Rose Weiss join The Film Scorer Podcast! Jess's latest film score (co-composed with Mychael Danna) is for the new Amazon Prime retelling of Cinderella starring Camila Cabello. Jess and I talk about crafting their magical, romantic (and folk-influenced) score for this jukebox musical, as well as her mentorship with Mychael and her time spent working at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions! We jump right into the conversation in this episode - no chit chat to start off - so don't think you've missed anything! While we unfortunately don't have a chance to discuss these, Jess just released two other scores as well, both for Netflix: the dramedy Afterlife of the Party and the animated feature film Dog Gone Trouble.
Find out more about Jess on her website. Cinderella is currently available on Amazon Prime while her and Mychael's score (as well as her score for Dog Gone Trouble and her score suite for Afterlife of the Party) are available on all platforms.
Prolific composer and musician Roger Mason joins The Film Scorer Podcast! They talk broadly about Roger's media compositions and approach, as well as: the differences between Australian and American productions; figuring out how to play what's in your head; and the famed Australian musician David Page. Note that there's no small talk on this one - Roger jumps straight into the heavy stuff!
I was particularly excited to talk with Roger given his pre-composing background. He was well known on the post-punk/new wave scene, playing in Models, Gary Numan's backing band, and the supergroup Illustrated Man (with members of Japan and Gang of four), while also touring with Wall of Voodoo. Though Roger expected to have left that lifestyle long behind, he's recently worked with Steve Kilbey (of The Church) on a number of projects, including the album "The Hall of Counterfeits" by Steve Kilbey & the Winged Heels.
Find out more about Roger on his website. Many of Roger's scores are available on all major streaming platforms, and the films and shows themselves are available across a variety of streaming platforms too.
Film and video game composer Nima Fakhrara (Detroit: Become Human; Becky) joins the show to talk about, among other things: diversity in film music, the necessity of being genuine in everything you create, and a few of his latest projects.
Find out more about Nima on his website. Many of Nima's film and video game scores are available on all major streaming platforms.
Film composer and singer-songwriter Steph Copeland joins the show to talk about, among other things: her recent scores for Vicious Fun, The Retreat, and The Oak Room, as well as her trend of scoring for horror and balancing her dual identities of a film composer and a solo artist.
Find out more about Steph on her website. Vicious Fun is currently available on Shudder while the others are available on VOD. Certain of Steph's scores, as well as her solo back catalog, are available on all major streaming platforms or on Bandcamp.
Sofia degli Alessandri-Hultquist (aka Drum & Lace) joins The Film Scorer for the season 2 premiere! She talks about scoring hit tv shows Dickinson and Good Girls, facing positive reception for those shows (and the negative public response to the Netflix film Deadly Illusions), and the interrelationship between her scoring and solo music identities.
Find out more about Drum & Lace on her website. Dickinson is is currently available on Apple+, Good Girls' final season just finished on NBC, and Deadly Illusions is currently available on Netflix. Drum & Lace's scores, as well as her full solo back catalog, are available on all major streaming platforms or on Bandcamp.
The Film Scorer Podcast is back - covering some of the best and most notable film scores from April, May, and June 2021, including Junkie XL's Army of the Dead, Clint Mansell's In the Earth, and Abraham Marder and Nicolas Becker's Sound of Metal. Catch-up on the latest film music releases from across genre, composer, and continent!
See below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
April: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-april-2021/
May: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-may-2021/
June: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-june-2021/
Gazelle Twin (aka Elizabeth Bernholz) joins the show to head up the season finale of season 1 of The Film Scorer Podcast! The experimental/avantgarde composer talks about her film score debut with 2020's Nocturne and her follow-up collaborative score for The Power with Max de Wardener. In the process, we talk about ritualism and early music, the themes that draw her to horror films, and the amazing British composer Mica Levi.
Find out more about Gazelle Twin on her website. Nocturne is currently available on Amazon Prime and The Power is currently available on Shudder. Gazelle Twin's scores, as well as her full solo back catalog, are available on all major streaming platforms or on Bandcamp.
For this new, experimental endeavor in The Film Scorer Podcast, catch up on some of the most noteworthy film score releases from the last three months (including brief thoughts on the recently wrapped-up awards season).
See below for articles covering some of my favorite scores for the following months, including detailed writeups and lists:
January: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-january-2021/
February: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-february-2021/
March: https://thefilmscorer.com/best-film-scores-of-march-2021/
Composer Will Bates joins me to talk about scoring the Amazon Prime film Bliss, which stars Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek. Along the way we talk about his work on commercials, starting off as a jazz and indie rock musician, and creating recording and production studio Fall On Your Sword.
Find out more about Will on his website. Bliss is currently available on Amazon Prime and Will's score, as well as many of his other works, is available on all major streaming platforms.
Composer, guitarist, and keyboardist Rob Lord talks about his "cosmic country" score for the Amazon Prime hit 'Troop Zero.' Along the way they discuss their favorite scores of 2019, David Bowie, and floating through the jazz world of New Orleans.
Find out more about Rob on his website. Troop Zero is currently available on Amazon Prime and Rob's score is available on all major streaming platforms, released through Lakeshore Records.
Australian composer Stefan Gregory joins The Film Scorer to talk about his score to the new Netflix historical drama The Dig. They also discuss Stefan's journey from being in an indie-rock band to becoming a composer for film, experimentation in film music, and the parallels between opera and film history and development.
Find out more about Stefan on his website. While The Dig is currently available on Netflix, Stefan's score is not yet available, though hopefully it will be soon.
Composer Jay Wadley joins The Film Scorer to talk about his score to I'm Thinking of Ending Things. As they had a limited amount of time (compared to most other interviews), the two go in-depth into the score, discussing how it came about, Jay's working relationship with director Charlie Kaufman, and the broader abstract thematic elements of Jay's work.
Find out more about Jay on his website. I'm Thinking of Ending Things is currently available on Netflix. Jay's score for I'm Thinking of Ending Things is not yet available, although portions of the score are available online, including the "Dream Ballet." Further, several of his other scores are available on all major streaming platforms.
Composer Nainita Desai joins the show to talk about her new score to the feature documentary The Reason I Jump, as well as her composing process, the differences between scoring for film, tv, and documentaries, and the role of awards acclaim in her work.
Find out more about Nainita on her website.
The Reason I Jump is currently available through Kino Lorber and Nainita's full score is forthcoming (although singles from the score are available).
BONUS EPISODE: Nick runs through the "best" film scores of 2020, which may require fudging the rules a little bit. Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites from the world of film and beyond.
Experimental composer and musician Tom Hodge joins to talk about his latest film score: The Mauritanian, a Golden Globe nominated political and legal drama starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, and Benedict Cumberbatch. We also talk about various and historical approaches to film music, dealing with difficult subject matter, and advice for young composers.
Find out more about Tom on his website.
The Mauritanian is now out in theaters and Tom's score is available on all major streaming platforms.
Composer Reed Reimer joins The Film Scorer Podcast to talk about his recent cyberpunk multimedia project 'Codeburst,' juggling genres from orchestral to djent to trap, and collaborating with a co-composer. Reed also flips the script and takes over as interviewer by the end!
'Codeburst' and 'Cthulhu Dreamt' are both available for streaming on all major platforms, while the full multimedia version of 'Codeburst' is available through Fable Factory.
Fellow film music fan and writer J. Blake Fichera joins The Film Scorer Podcast to discuss his new book "Scored to Death 2," in which Fichera interviews some of horror's greatest composers like Michael Abels, Richard Band, Bear McCreary, and more! "Scored to Death 2" is available for purchase everywhere and I highly recommend it!
Find out more about Fichera and his book at his website and check out his podcast "Scored to Death" in which he similarly interviews composers (albeit in an even longer format!)
Composer duo Mondo Boys join The Film Scorer to discuss their recent scores to the films Fatman, She Dies Tomorrow, and Mortuary Collection. Mondo Boys also talk about how they collaborate with directors, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Roger Ebert's love of breasts.
More information is available about Mondo Boys on their website.
Fatman is currently available on VOD, She Dies Tomorrow is streaming on Hulu, and Mortuary Collection is streaming on Shudder. Several of Mondo Boys' scores are available on all major streaming platforms and others are forthcoming.
Composer, violinist, and pianist Ros Gilman talks about his upcoming animated film The Last Cloudweaver, his road to becoming a film composer, and much more!
Find out more about Ros on his website.
Selections of Gilmans' scores are available on all major streaming platforms and YouTube.
Composer Ben Symons talks about his dread-filled score for the new UK horror film Hosts, his approaches to film music, composing for major YouTube streamers, and much more!
Find out more about Symons on his website.
Hosts is currently available on VOD while Symons' scores are available on all major streaming platforms.
Join The Film Scorer as he talks with composer Roman Molino Dunn about his score to the new psychological drama Huracán, about an mma fighter struggling with dissociative disorder. They also discuss Dunn's composing process, sampling the sounds of subways, and a mutual love of short film.
Find out more about Dunn on his website.
Huracán is currently available on HBO, HBO Latino, and HBO Max while several of Dunn's scores are available on all major streaming platforms.
Join The Film Scorer as he talks with English composer Harry Escott about his jazzy and stylish score to the new BBC One political series Roadkill starring Hugh Laurie. They also talk about some of Harry's films (like the Steve McQueen drama Shame) and a mutual love of drone.
Find out more about Harry on his site.
Roadkill is now airing on BBC One in the UK and PBS Masterpiece Theater in the US while many of Harry's scores are available on all major streaming platforms.
Join The Film Scorer in this seasonally-appropriate episode 3 as he talks with prolific horror composer Holly Amber Church. They talk about James Horner, the novelist John Kennedy Toole, and Holly's penchant for weird "instruments" like fluorescent lights and clown balloons.
Find out more about Holly at her site
Holly's most recent film is Open 24 Hours which has recently released on VOD and DVD, with the score available on all major platforms (as are many of Holly's scores).
Join The Film Scorer for his second episode in which he talks with film composer duo Two Twenty Two (comprised of Tom Nettleship and Daisy Coole). They chat about a love for adventurous film composers, their complicated (and highly effective) process for writing music as a duo, and their latest score - Clay's Redemption - an eclectic synth/jazz fusion hybrid for this supernatural noir.
Find out more about Two Twenty Two here
The uncut video of our conversation (featuring much more of my rambling) is here
Clay's Redemption will be on Amazon Prime in mid-November and you can find many of their scores on all major streaming services.
The Film Scorer's first guest is Sean Carney! A jazz vocalist, touring guitarist, and member of the bands WOLVES and Miscellaneous, Sean has recently released his first feature-length film score for the Neo-Western To Hell and Gone. We dive deep into the process for scoring To Hell and Gone, making the jump into composing for features, and our joint dislike of the Star Wars prequels.
A short, highlights-only text version of the interview can be found here.
More information about Sean can be found on his website here.
To Hell and Gone is available on VOD while Sean's score is available on all major streaming platforms.
The introductory episode to The Film Scorer's podcast! Listen for an overview of this series and what's to come, featuring many, many film composer interviews.