Claim OwnershipLakeshore Records Podcast
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The official podcast of Lakeshore Records, featuring interviews with prominent composers for film, TV, games, and more.
54 Episodes
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For today’s episode, Alon Levitan had an enlightening and fun conversation with masterful composer and hilarious badass Ruth Barrett. Ruth is amazingly versatile, she's a real riot, and incredibly insightful when it comes to the craft and all things music. In their wide-ranging conversation they discussed Knightrider & the Flash Gordon soundtrack, Stravinsky riffs & Jazz improv, fear as an integral part of the creative process, ripping off the band aid off with Antoine Fuqua and Chris Pratt in his underwear, bringing Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann into the world of drums and synths, popcorn TV & musical crack cocaine, the mysterious alchemy of noodling around on a keyboard, Ruth's inner Incredible Hulk, Martin Phipps and orchestral goosebumps, how to find the scene that speaks to you, the brilliance of Prince and Grace Jones, how animals communicate, and so much more. Ruth's scores to Law & Order: Organized Crime, Big Beasts, and The Terminal List are out now worldwide.
For today’s episode, I had a superb conversation with the great Steve Jablonsky. His wide-ranging compositions have had a profound impact on me, my son, and listeners all across the globe. He's such a pro, and just a great all around guy. It was an honor picking his brain for a few hours. In our expansive conversation we discussed how to create dramatic weight and get of your own way in the creative process, the importance of silence, Michael Bay as a metaphor for God, the truly transformative nature of Transformers music, how Hans Zimmer helped Steve channel his grief, listening to the Beatles and the rise of "quote" epic music", collaborating on the Pirates of the Caribbean, the maestro Ennio Morricone and The Untouchables, how the sounds of skateboards influenced The Tiger's Apprentice, the Jablonsky track that impressed Steven Spielberg, Steve's Japanese heritage, the brilliance of Harry Gregson-Williams,Yoko Kano, and Ari Aster, the pitfalls of overthinking, fatherhood, parenting and work/life balance, and so much more. Steve's score to The Tiger's Apprentice is out now worldwide . I hope you enjoy my conversation with Steve as much as I did.
Today’s episode is a real keeper. All around music powerhouse Gary Clark has performed, written, produced, and composed incredible sonic gems that span every genre time adores, and our host Brian McNelis (president of Lakeshore Records) has released thousands of soundtracks and music supervised countless films, video games and more. In Gary and Brian's wide ranging conversation they discussed how Gary came up in a classic Scottish Irish musical household, the perennial wisdom of David Bowie, the bravery and trust of John Carney and "The John Carney Test", magical co-writing moments with stars Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the Flora and Son songwriting room, Musicals that aren't Musicals, the brilliant jazz harmony of Duke Ellington, the intimacy of songwriting, always diving into new situations as a creative, the fine line between God and Steely Dan, practicing until your fingers bleed, the song that sparked Sing Street, the politics of song selection, how to marry exclusive original songs to films, and much more.
We highly recommend you put your good listening ears on for this interview, watch Flora and Son today, and listen to the incredible soundtrack (out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records). Enjoy!
Award winning composer / co-director Kris Bowers and Katya Richardson discuss The Last Repair Shop, music education and much more with our host Alon Levitan. The Last Repair Shop is one of those incredibly rare life-affirming projects where everyone on camera and behind the scenes is a wellspring of inspiration. In their wide-ranging conversation Katya, Kris and Alon discussed the many splendors of learning an instrument, the genius of Keith Jarrett, Prokofiev, Flying Lotus and Bach, the connection between persistence & authenticity, recording an orchestra of LAUSD alumni, the hidden contributions of our ancestors, how to destroy the ego with insignificance, the orchestration of Peter and the Wolf, self-discovery and the road to catharsis, what musical instruments would say about us if they could speak, the purity & darkness of childhood, the externalization of the idea of repair, and so much more. We highly recommend you watch The Last Repair Shop today and listen to Katya and Kris’ phenomenal score album, which is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.
"The only people who don’t make it are the ones who quit"
Emmy award-nominated composer Ariel Marx redefines what a composer can be. If you are an artist or creator of any sort, you should be hanging on Ariel’s every word. She’s a one of a kind, avante-garde risk taker with a knack for pushing boundaries and getting under our collective skin in the best way possible. Alon and Ariel covered a lot of ground including breakdowns of her brilliant approach to the scores for Sanctuary, Shiva Baby and A Small Light, the importance of perpetual contrast, Ravel’s string Quartet, Judaism’s deep cuts, The Alliance for Women Film Composers, the hidden dangers of the word “compromise”, and more. We highly recommend you go down your own private Ariel Marx rabbit hole and make her music part of your essential playlist.
Award winning composer and producer Trevor Gureckis breaks down the visceral sound of Dead Space as an intimate journey through Hell, his outside the box collaboration with M. Night Shyamalan and how the master of thrillers keeps Trevor on his toes, the influence of Aphex Twin and Stanley Kubrick, Phillip Glass’ minimalism vs. a more dense maximilist approach to composition, pushing the boundaries of organic instruments, archetypal dread and Dante’s inferno, and so much more. Trevor’s scores for Dead Space and Servant are out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.
Emmy award-winning composer and master craftsman Theodore Shapiro offers profound insights into the art of story-telling, his brilliant score for Severance, the shock and thrill of winning an Emmy, “Eureka moments” with Ben Stiller, Brahms’ best music, the explosion of streamers into the new era of great TV, puzzle-solving and the key to unlocking stories, the sound of "Innies" and "Outies", alienation and the nature of self, Henry Mancini + Exotica Jazz of the late 50s and 60s, how Severance respects the viewer, creating happy musical veneers for dystopian scenes, the maestro John Williams sage advice: “just do your best work and everything else will follow”, how to make action scenes feel rich and complex, the importance of business built on relationships, and more. Theodore Shapiro’s Emmy Award-winning score for Severance is out now world wide via Lakeshore Records.
Groundbreaking composer and resident board member for The Alliance for Women Film Composers, Stephanie Economou breaks down her Grammy nominated, pulse-pounding, primal score to Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök. Stephanie recently made history, becoming the first woman ever nominated in the first ever Grammy video game category: Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media.
In our wide ranging conversation, we discussed Pink Floyd, Mendelssohn, comic books and geek culture, the chief importance of immediacy and instincts, collaborating with Ubisoft to sculpt the game’s hard hitting, raw, emotional sound palette, how to constantly challenge listener expectations, the cross section between Death Metal, Black Metal, Neo Folk and mythology, how NOT to score a boss fight, Stephanie’s main takeaways from the great Harry Gregson-Williams, how to tackle writer’s block, performative vs practical initiatives to promote Women Film Composers, how slowing down a track can create killer intensity and chaos, and so much more.
Stephanie Economou's epic score for Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.
Award-winning composer extraordinaire Chanda Dancy gives our host Alon Levitan a virtual masterclass in scoring (and so much more). Chanda’s absolutely brilliant music for Devotion is one of our favorite film scores of 2022, and we feel very fortunate she was so gracious with her knowledge.
In our wide ranging discussion we touched upon the importance of priorities, persistence & patience, the concept of melodic destiny and Bach Chorale style writing, how composers use sound waves to create empathy, the brilliance of Vivaldi, Yoko Kanno, Shostakovich, John Williams, and the Final Fantasy scores, how Chanda captured the sound of positive masculinity and the notion of devotion itself, what makes a good melody, the practicalities of living a well-rounded life, how to seamlessly marry classical orchestration and big sound synths, the power of countermelody, and so much more.
Chanda Dancy’s phenomenal score for Devotion is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
Jeff Garber's music can be heard in Netflix’s smash hit VIRGIN RIVER, NANCY DREW, and more.
We discuss why Virgin River un-controversially resonates deeply with so many people, how Jeff transitioned from hard-edged songwriter + rock musician to a chameleon-like composer, his earthy minimalist approach to the music of Virgin River, the genius of Thomas Newman, Lindsey Buckingham, Helmet, The Smiths, and The Cure, the influence of Less than Zero and The Lost Boys, the allure of fingerpicking acoustic guitar, how to unlearn the past and develop new versatility, the importance of college radio and keeping up with the zeitgeist, and so much more.
Note: amidst the conversation we contended w/some internet audio hiccups and dogs barking, but it’s a small price to pay for great conversation. Virgin River (Music from the Netflix Series) is out now worldwide via Lakeshore Records.
Hosted by Alon Levitan.
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