Lakeshore Records Podcast

Disasterpeace Talks Scoring Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Award-winning composer Disasterpeace discusses making midi-based music for cell phone games in the pre smartphone era, ascending through the E-wrestling gaming community, the link between concept albums, prog rock, and soundtracks, logging ungodly hours of Elder Scrolls and World of Warcraft, how to ease up on internal pressure and external expectations, creating deliberately synthetic performative sounds and the uncanny valley, experimenting outside the box with David Robert Mitchell, the importance of pursuing of creative novelty, not playing it cute for Marcel the Shell, the influence of Japanese New Age music in the early 80s, the political challenges of scoring Hollywood films, composing with synths as an ensemble, and more.

Disasterpeace’s moving score for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Amelia Warner Talks Scoring Mr Malcolm’s List, Wild Mountain Thyme, and More

Award-winning composer Amelia Warner discusses the pros and cons of torturing kids with piano lessons, her storytelling appetite for the classic, otherworldly, mysterious, strange, and the beautiful, the brilliance of Randy Newman and Rachel Portman, how to properly capture the sound of love, mischief and a busy mind, her minimalist, anthemic, subtractive approach to melody, how to be a composer if you’re not classically trained, the pitfalls of performance anxiety, the devastating simplicity of greats such as Johann Johannson and Max Richter, how to tap into the sonic DNA of a film, composing for comedy and conceptualizing dialogue as rhythm, music as a means to articulate that which can’t be spoken and so much more.

Amelia Warner’s stunning scores for Mr. Malcolm’s List and Wild Mountain Thyme are out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Nico Muhly Talks Scoring Pachinko

Brian McNelis had the great pleasure of speaking with Grammy-nominated composer extraordinaire Nico Muhly. They discussed Nico’s stunning score for Pachinko, the concept of involuntary music and Nico’s dream to design new sounds for cars and public transit, composition for concert music vs TV and film, the practicality of solving the hardest problems first, establishing a vocabulary of trust with your team, creating Wagnerian themes vs a fluid score in constant flux, the invaluable music conservatory lessons about the golden triangle of how to hear music, see it, and be able to play it, working with the great Phillip Glass, and so much more.

Nico Muhly’s exquisite score for Pachinko is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Jeff Russo Talks Scoring Star Trek

On Cue With: Jeff Russo. You've heard his music in many epic franchises including Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Fargo, Altered Carbon, Legion, The Umbrella Academy and more.

 

Topics discussed include Pink Floyd guitar melodies, the fun and emotionally resonant swashbuckling sound of Star Trek, what it feels like to write a mega hit song, collaborating with the great Zoe Keating, tips for time management, the ever-present fear of failure, how composers translate ideas into music, the name of Jeff’s band with Noah Hawley, why empathy and the ability to communicate supersedes musical talent, and more.

 

Jeff’s incredible scores to Star Trek: Discovery and Picard are out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Gustavo Santaolalla Discusses Scoring Finch, Babel, Brokeback Mountain, and The Last of Us

Two-time Oscar winning and multi-Grammy winning composer, producer, recording artist, and all around badass Gustavo Santaolalla: they say to never meet your heroes, but connecting with Gustavo was an enlightening and fun one-of-a-kind experience.

Topics discussed include how Gustavo became an enemy of the state in jail for having long hair and playing rock n roll, the revolutionary rise of his band Arco Iris and Argentinian folk music, his ever expanding audience from teenage stardom to scoring apocalyptic videogames, composing for The Last of Us, Babel, Finch and his iconic Brokeback Mountain theme, working with NASA to bridge quantum physics, sonic frequencies and music therapy, the immeasurable impact of the Beatles, Che Guevara, Eastern philosophy and experimental drugs, Anne Hathaway’s canny ear for dissonance, the honesty and power of punk rock, what it’s like to win a second Oscar, the wonder of Tom Hanks, creative freedom with Steven Spielberg, good vs bad music and art vs. craftsmanship,  finding the spirit of a sacred instrument like the Ronroco, and so much more.

Finch is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Isobel Waller-Bridge Discusses Roar

This episode of On Cue With interviews composer Isobel Waller-Bridge (whose music you’ve heard on Roar, Fleabag, Black Mirror, Emma and more). In this wide-ranging conversation, topics discussed include Isobel’s formative years and family radio plays, the resonance of Greek tragedy and empathy, the pros and cons of playing trombone at the pearly gates, the unifying music of Florence and The Machine, unlearning classical music, working with Brian Eno’s Earth percent charity, proper attire for working with synths, composition as a form of language and catharsis, Isobel’s deeply personal relationship with the piano, the brilliance of Wes Andersen, how to lean into genres, Rachmaninoff’s harmonies, the mechanics of a good melody, and so much more. Roar is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

The Legend of Vox Machina’s Sam Riegel, Neal Acree, and Peter Habib discuss Critical Role

Welcome to the Lakeshore Records Podcast series, On Cue With. This episode features The Legend of Vox Machina's Sam Riegel, composer Neal Acree, and producer / songwriter Peter Habib, a.k.a. Mr Fantastic. Discussion topics include:

• The evolution of Critical Role’s enormous success from streaming weekly hangs to Kickstarter to the screen
• Magic lutes, trap beats and heavy metal guitars
• The importance of planting thematic seeds as a composer
• The mysterious bridge between James Brown, funk & fantasy
• Fan culture, honoring OG Critters & welcoming a broader audience
• How to make a nasty nasty boy more sophisticated over time
• The Super Mario Brothers Theme
• Decoding pop songs
• Hints for Season Two

The Legend of Vox Machina is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Sam Riegel , Neal Acree and Peter Habib.

Danny Elfman Describes the Creative Process in Scoring for Film and TV

James Ponsoldt interviews Danny Elfman about the process of composing for film and TV. In this excerpt from The End Of The Tour, Danny Elfman shares a few insights into his creative process and the collaborative nature of working with directors to realize their vision.

Angel Kristi Williams and Khari Mateen Discuss Really Love

Angel Kristi Williams and Khari Mateen talk Really Love. 

Angel’s exquisite directorial work can be seen in Really Love, Colin in Black and White, Cherish the Day and more. Khari’s incredible songwriting, production, and compositions can be heard on albums by artists such as The Roots, Gill Scott and RJD2, and in films and TV series such as Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, D Wade Life Unexpected, Really Love and elsewhere.

On this episode of On Cue With, hosted by Alon Levitan, we discuss how Khari and Angel arrived at the beautifully elegant, sophisticated sound of Really Love, experimental film and photography in Baltimore, working with Questlove and the Roots in Philadelphia, art as catharsis, how to capture nuance, hanging out at Prince’s house, what vulnerability, pain, lust and love sound like, the biggest sacrifices of being an artist, Bach’s cello suites, the incomparable Sade, creating revolutionary drama without trauma, getting in the studio with God, and more.

Khari’s phenomenal score for Really Love is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.

Fabrice Lecomte Talks Sylvie‘s Love

Fabrice Lecomte talks about creating the beautiful jazz-infused score and songs heard in Sylvie's Love.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Fabrice discusses the crucial advice he received from the late great Ennio Morricone, his early days in Milan listening to music in old school record booths, how he navigates the dichotomy between pop and art, pre-Michael Jackson Quincy Jones, John Coltrane’s mesmerizing ballads, the lyricism of Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins, progressive Jazz and Ornette Coleman, how Fabrice’s compositions reflect the complex tonal shifts in Sylvie’s Love, Keith Jarrett’s mind-blowing harmonic choices, the importance of listening to music with undivided attention, how great musicians bring out the soul of a composition, the great Johnny Mandel, and so much more. 

Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.