The prolific and versatile Daniel Pemberton takes some time to chat about his recent score to Ridley Scott's The Counselor. Daniel has scored films such as The Awakening, Blood and video games such as the popular Little Big Planet 2 and The Movies. The Counselor marks Daniel's first venture with Scott, which is significant because the director rarely changes composers. We talk about how he got into film scoring as well as how he got The Counselor gig through editor Pietro Scalia's recommendation. We discuss the musical approach and how he wanted his orchestra of guitars and unique textures to truly be something modern and new. He shares about the discussions he had with Ridley and all the cool things he tried to implement musically. We talk about the story and plot's thematic structure, and how that influenced his musical thematic structure. A great interview with a composer whose music I accidentally discovered in 2005 through the video game The Movies and have been a fan of ever since.

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*NOTE: Spoilers, including the film's ending are discussed in this interview.

Steven Price may be a relatively new composer, but his score for the critically-acclaimed Gravity shows that he is a master at building a sonic narrative. We chat about how he got his start in the business and what ultimately led him to being hired for Gravity. Gravity's technical complexity provided great challenges and Steven shares how he and director Alfonso Cuarón approached what they wanted to achieve. We discuss the restraints the score needed to have, the emotional draw of the characters and how the score needed to act as more than just the score but as an integral anchor of the whole sound design. A fascinating interview with a composer who has proven his amazing abilities early in his composing career.

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Carl Thiel is a fantastic composer who has been working with director Robert Rodriguez for many years now. Carl has been part of Rodriguez's musical team on a slew of his films and was the lead composer for Machete Kills, which Carl co-composed with Rodriguez. Carl worked extensively on the first Machete as well as part of Rodriguez's band Chingon. We discuss the collaborative differences between the first film and this one. Including what it's like working with a director like Robert who holds almost every title behind the camera including director, writer, editor and more. Carl talks about the different sounds he created for the many characters while upping the adventure factor for this installment. Even though the movie is crazy over the top, Carl shares how in some scenes he even had to tone the music back and find the right balance. We also talk about the James Bond influences in Machete Kills and how that affected the score. A very enlightening talk with a great composer.

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Photo Credit: Mathew Sturtevant

The incredibly talented Jeremy Zuckerman provides some insight behind his amazing work on The Legend Of Korra. We delve into how Jeremy got his unconventional start in the business and went on to score one of the most successful animated shows on television with Avatar: The Last Airbender. He discusses his time schedules and process working on an animated series including recording with live musicians. We discuss how it's important to treat the subject matter as real as possible and never try to simplify emotions just because a show or film is aimed at a younger audience. Jeremy also shares a bit of what he loved (and didn't love) about the live action film adaption of The Last Airbender. A fantastic interview with a terrific composer.

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The always great Christopher Lennertz chats about some of his newest scores like Thanks For Sharing and Revolution. Thanks For Sharing is a drama about sex addiction, but it also has a lot of light life moments. It's a film that will make you laugh and cry at the same time so we discuss all the challenges that came with it. It's also a deeply psychological film requiring a lot from the score to get into the head of the characters. We discuss in depth the psychology of film music. Especially how composers need to be able to analyze characters well in order to know what the music needs to do in order to evoke an emotional connection. Chris shares how 20 years ago he wouldn't have had the life experiences needed to be able to properly write a score like Thanks For Sharing, and how living life is the best way to become a better storyteller. We also discuss Revolution and what his method and approach is for a huge broadcast drama. A truly fascinating and insightful interview with an amazing composer. It was great to chat with Chris once again.

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The busy Lorne Balfe takes some time to chat once again about all his recent projects including The Frozen Ground, Salinger, Beyond: Two Souls and more! We chat about his experience of putting together a live concert in Spain at the PlayFest Festival where he won an award for best video game score for Assassin's Creed III. Lorne talks about the long journey of making Salinger and his love for documentaries. We also discuss game scores with Beyond: Two Souls, which is an extremely unique project. He shares about working with director David Cage on this bold interactive narrative starring Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. It's always a pleasure to catch up with Lorne in all his endeavors. Enjoy!

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NOTE: Christine was suffering from Laryngitis at the time of this interview, but was still eager to speak about her work!

Christine Wu is a concert violinist, cellist, composer, string arranger, and studio musician for records, film, television and live performance. She has recently become more involved in film scores as a musician and a composer herself. Her collaborations with Lorne Balfe are extremely wonderful. We discuss her background and a lot about performing on a film score. She shares the work relationships between composers and musicians, and the approach of working to what is right for the score. She gives a great insight between the differences of performing for a score and performing live on stage. Christine also talks about what inspires her when writing music of her own. A wonderful interview with a great talent.

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Composer Daniel Hart composed the amazing score to Ain't Them Bodies Saints. We discuss a little about his background and focus on his approach for the score. We analyze which characters really spoke to him, working with director David Lowery, and incorporating non-traditional percussion such as clapping and chest beating. Daniel also shares a bit about his upcoming score to The Sideways Light. Daniel is a fantastic composer whose music is worth discovering. His music was so captivating, and it was an honor to have him for this interview.

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Nathan Barr is a busy man with projects like True Blood, Hemlock Grove and The Americans. Nathan recieved two Emmy nominations this year for the main titles of Hemlock Grove and The Americans. We discuss how he got into music including his first gig in Hollywood being an assistant to Hans Zimmer. He quickly started making a name for himself and that has led to nothing but success. We discuss what makes a great TV theme, and his approaches for his two Emmy nominated themes. Nathan shares his view on the success of the Netflix show model since Hemlock Grove is a Netflix original series. We also talk True Blood including his approach to the show and what his thoughts are on the upcoming final season. A fantastic interview with one of the most prominent composers working in film and television.

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Joel P West takes some time to chat about his amazing score to the film Short Term 12. The film and the score are getting raving reviews and bringing lots of attention to the relatively new director, stars and composer. We discuss how Joel's friendship with director Destin Cretton led to their collaborations up to Short Term 12. He shares his history with his band The Tree Ring and how he fell in love with composing. We discuss the approach and goals musically for Short Term 12 as well. A wonderful pleasure to talk with such a talented composer.

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