Join Andrew as he interviews Daniel Pemberton, composer of Ridley Scott's The Counselor.  In this interview they discuss his musical background, what it means to be a composer, and the details of the score itself.  Being so young, Daniel is a composer in the exclusive Ridley Scott composer club, which itself is a massive achievement.  It's a fascinating look inside the mind of a musician, and also a composer that is continuously working in the industry.  Cues notated in order of listening below:

1 - The Hunter (The Counselor)

2 - The Counselor (The Counselor)

3 - The Lovers (The Counselor)

4 - A Warning (The Counselor)

5 - Seeing Through Ghosts (from The Awakening)

6 - The Hunted (The Counselor)

7 - All These Worlds (The Counselor)

8 - Desert Star Septic (The Counselor)

9 - Memories of Green - Vangelis (Blade Runner)

10 - A Glorious Woman (The Counselor)

11 - World You Have Created (The Counselor)

Last week, I was able to sit down and talk with Steven Price about his recent score Gravity, and I was left astounded by the unique method of composing and his creative relationship with director Alfonso Cuaron.  Enjoy this great interview with multiple clips from the score, in addition to a clip from Attack The Block.

[jwplayer mediaid="2951"]

Sitting down with composer Cyril Morin was a humbling experience.  Talking about his recent release Zaytoun, we also discussed his enormous body of work which includes Borgia ,The Syrian Bride, Samsara, Zaina, and The Evolutionist.  Cyril also talked briefly about his upcoming directorial debut called The Activist.

[jwplayer mediaid="2931"]

http://www.cyrilmorin.com

Stepping into Heitor Pereira's studio was an amazing experience.  With over twenty guitars in a side studio in addition to an amazing workstation, I knew I was stepping into a room with an eclectic musical history.  With his most recent work being the score of The Smurfs 2, we talked about a variety of subjects including his relationship with Hans Zimmer, his musical background, and his overall ideology of what film composing is all about.  It's a fascinating look into an excellent musician and film composer.  Enjoy!

Download the mp3, or listen in iTunes!

Timeline:

0 - 1:10: Smurfs 2 (Naughties Transformation)

1:10 - 9:22: Discussion (Deconstructing the score)

9:22 - 9:42: Smurfs 2 Clip (again, as example)

9:42 - 14:58: Discussion

14:58 - 15:45: Villa-Lobos (Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 - Introduction)

15:45 - 18:59: Discussion

18:59 - 20:02: As Good As It Gets - My Only (Hans Zimmer w/Heitor)

20:02 - 21:18: Discussion

21:18 - 22:59: I Am Sam - Sam's Friends

22:59 - 25:49: I Am Sam - Kramer x Kramer

25:49 - 43:42: Discussion

43:42 - 46:13: Heitor Pereira & Doug Smith - Dueling Guitars (August Rush)

46:13 - 50:06: Discussion

50:06 - 52:04: Smurfs 2 (He's Not My Father)

52:04 - 56:49: Discussion

56:49 - 1:00: The Third Man (Trap To Catch Harry) - Anton Karas

1:00 - 1:11: Discussion (w/clips from Gustavo Santaolalla's Biutiful & Alan Silvestri's Death Becomes Her)

1:11 - 1:14: Smurfs 2 (Essence in Paris, Is This What Happy Feels Like)

1:14 - 1:17: Discussion & Finale

1:17 - 1:21: It's Complicated (Hans Zimmer & Heitor Pereira)

1:21 - 1:22: September 11 - You Should Have Seen This (Heitor Pereira)

Interviewing composer Henry Jackman was a deeply humbling experience. Not only was he incredibly knowledgable about music, but the conversation spanned from logistical elements of composing to the theoretical ideology of music to moving picture. Listen to the entire thing if you can, because everything comes full circle by the end. Enjoy.

Download (320k mp3)

iTunes

Timeline:

0 - 3:29: Utopia Cue

3:29 - 7:36: Discussion (Beginnings)

7:36 - 10:45: Utopia Cue #2

10:45 - 18:07: Discussion (Family & Musical History)

18:07 - 22:41: The Art of Noise, The Seduction of Claude Debussy Cue

22:41 - 25:42: Discussion (Early Albums & Experimentation)

25:42 - 29:14: Transfiguration Cue

29:14 - 39:25: Discussion (The fundamental elements of film scores & Hans Zimmer)

39:25 - 40:52: Turbo Suite

40:52 - 48:10: Discussion (de-constructing the score)

48:10 - 49:44: Wreck-It-Ralph Cue

49:44 - 50:39: Discussion (how he composes... the DNA)

50:39 - 52:43: Puss N'Boots Cue

52:43 - 53:34: Discussion (expanding on Puss N'Boots)

53:34 - 54:49: Puss N'Boots Cue #2

54:49 - 1:00:31: Discussion (working with directors.. the process)

1:00:31 - 1:03:52: X-Men First Class

1:03:52 - 1:11:46: Discussion (This is The End.. working with Seth Rogen)

1:11:46 - 1:18:40: This Is The End Cue

1:18:40 - 1:28:16: Discussion (advice for future film composers....)

1:28:16 - 1:30:44: G.I. Joe, Retaliation Cue

In the last episode of FilmTracks, Andrew had distinguished guest Mark Isham to come and talk about his craft. From his days as one of the pioneering icons of electronic music to his current status as a world-renowned legendary film composer, Mark Isham continues to be one of the most prolific and provocative artists on the scene. His gift for creating unforgettable melodies and his love of fresh, innovative sonic palettes have earned Isham many awards including a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Clio, in addition to multiple Grammy, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his material both as a composer and a recording artist. Most recently, Mark was honored by ASCAP with the Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement. Isham's musical signature is evident in his memorable scores for such notable films as Crash, awarded the Oscar for Best Picture in 2005 (Isham's score was named Best Soundtrack of 2005 by Cinescape.com), Bobby, nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and The Black Dahlia, with its critically lauded jazz noir soundtrack (awarded Best Score for a Drama Film - 2007, and nominated for Best Score of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association). Other highlights include Eight Below, The Cooler, A River Runs Through It, Blade, Nell, Men of Honor, and The Secret Life of Bees. His list of collaborators in film is a veritable who's who of the entertainment industry - Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Brian De Palma, Chick Corea, Jodi Foster, Robert Altman, Sting, Wil.I.Am, Sydney Lumet, Mick Jagger and too many more to name. As a performing artist, Mark has added his unique sound - melodic, moody, sexy and cool - to a wide variety of genres. He has graced the albums of such diverse artists as Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Ziggy Marley, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Chris Isaak, and Van Morrison. His solo recordings span from electronica and classic jazz to hip-hop and ethnic world music, receiving worldwide critical acclaim including Grammy nominations for his albums Castalia and Tibet, and a win for his Virgin Records release, Mark Isham. No matter the genre, medium, or venue, Mark Isham displays a boundless ability to electrify the listener with his talent for crafting evocative new musical worlds.

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Watch it here, or check it out on iTunes!

For today's show, Jessie and I were very pleased to have Mike Knobloch be our guest. He is responsible for all creative and production aspects of Universal films' scores, songs, and soundtrcks. He also oversees the administration and licensing of Universal's publishing catalogue. He's overseen music for dozens of films - some at Fox and now Universal. Perhaps you have heard of some of these... Avatar, Walk The line, Crazy Heart, Battleship, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Fight Club, Snow White and the Huntsman, Kingdom of Heaven, Sunshine...the list goes on and on.

Playlist of Mike's films

Videos seen on the show

Andrew and Jessie were very pleased to have Blake Neely on FilmTracks! You might remember him as scoring USA Network's limited mini-series Political Animals as well as returning to score the sixth season of CBS's hit series The Mentalist, which returns this fall. His film scoring credits include the box office hit Life As We Know It, and additional music for films including The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Neely has received numerous accolades including ASCAP Awards, BMI Awards, several Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Music Composition for a mini-series for The Pacific.

Blake Neely on Twitter! @cowonthewall

Interested to hear what we had on the show? Check out the clips below:

Today on FilmTracks, Andrew and Jessie are very pleased to have Trevor Rabin on the show - a very accomplished guitarist, musician, and film composer. Born in South Africa, he is best known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British progressive rock band YES from '82-94, but now as a film composer for film and television. Not only will Andrew and Jessie talk about his score accomplishments (The Guardian, Gone in 60 seconds, Deep Blue Sea, I am Number Four, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, National Treasure, Remember the Titans), we will discuss his most recent release, Jacaranda - the first solo album in two decades!

Check out the media below for what was on the show!

A versatile composer and prolific songwriter, Alcheh began playing the piano at age seven, and was seriously pursuing the path of a composer by his teens. He received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in composition at The Music Academy at Tel-Aviv University, completing his thesis as a visiting scholar at Chicago's Northwestern University, by invitation of the Music Technology Department. While still a student, Alcheh began his career in film music as a soundtrack producer for Dover Kosashvili's feature Late Marriage, one of Entertainment Weekly's Ten Best Films of 2002 and Newsweek's Top 15 Films of 2002. His score for the award-winning horror-comedy The Man Who Collected Food was named 'The Discovery of 2011' by AmericanMusicPreservation.com and selected among the 'Top 10 Film Scores of 2011' by industry insider AintItCoolNews.com. Other recent feature films and television programs include the feature documentary Together In Guangzhou (the official 2010 Asian Olympic Games film); HDNet's comedy series, Svetlana, and the feature drama Son of Stars. Along with his passion for film scoring, Alcheh is an accomplished concert composer who is currently working on several American and European commissions for 2012. He was recently named composer in residence in the Concerti in San Martino festival in Sqitzerland, where a new septet will premiere in May, along with the Beethoven septet op. 20.

Website: http://danielalcheh.com

The music we listened to on the show: