The Angel

Music in Film & TV – Who gets it in there??

The Angel — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:34:53 +0000

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “Who picks the songs for a TV show or film?”. The assumption is that as a composer, I would be choosing or suggesting songs, but that’s not the case… So this is the recurring question that inspired this post.

The music department on any production may be comprised of all of the following, and I’ll break down the function of each one:

The Composer writes, records and produces the original music for the project. As a composer, I work closely with directors and producers in film, and with the producers in TV, in order to create the sonic tone of the project. It’s an incredible experience to be able bring someone else’s vision to light, and it’s my passion to to do this by creating nuanced score for each project I work on.

Some composers work like I do, in a hybrid way, by programming, playing and bringing in musicians… writing, recording, producing and mixing as they go along. Some composers work with orchestrators or do their own orchestrations, ultimately recording the score with a full orchestra. For me, scoring to picture is essential… It inspires textures, melodies and themes and helps me nail down the tone of the project in a way that would never happen, if I worked independently of the visuals. But, not all composers write music to picture. Some composers record a body of work that a music editor can cut (edit) into the film or TV show, in order to create the cues that make up the score. Everyone’s process is different and no matter how it is achieved, it is the composer’s job to satisfy the the collective vision of those in charge of the production.

Back to the question of “Who gets the music in there?”… Every once in a while, a director or producer might ask my opinion about a song or ask me to suggest a song and I’m happy to weigh in… but it’s not my gig. It’s the music supervisor’s (see below).

The Music Editor edits the source music (existing songs) and is also responsible for compiling the composer’s original audio files into a master session to deliver to the dubstage. Generally, the music editor is hired to lay in a temp score (made up of pre-existing music), before a composer is even hired, although the picture editor is often the first person to lay in temp music against the cut… And in TV, the picture editor usually does the temping because it’s more practical due to time constraints. But, back to music editors… The music editor is also the composer’s right hand person, attending what is known as a spotting session along with the composer, notating direction for each cue, and then setting up the road map of cues that the project will need. When I’m scoring a project, the person I have the most day-to-day contact with is the music editor.

The Music Supervisor is the person that you need to pitch your songs to. It is their job to consult with each production to find the direction for the source music and then compile options of songs for the production to consider. Once they have a list of songs in consideration, they obtain quotes from record labels and publishers to see if they can bring in the chosen songs, within a pre-deteremined budget. They are also responsible for turning in cue sheets at the end of the project to the production. Why are cue sheets important? Because they tell the performing right societies, which writers and which publishers have music in the project, so that performance royalties can be paid to them.

People often assume that if they are friends with a member of a band, and that friend has told them, “Yeah, you can have my song for your movie for free”, that it’s a done deal. But it’s more complicated than that. There are two licenses that have to be issued; one for the master recording and the other for the publishing, called a sync license. Many bands are signed to record labels, which means they generally don’t own their own master recordings, therefore they don’t have the right to negotiate the master license fee. Many writers are not self-published, which means that they don’t have the right to negotiate the sync license fee on their own behalf.

Back in the day, I was published by Famous Music, and even though my team could negotiate for my masters, Famous would negotiate on my behalf for the publishing… Sometimes, they would quote so high that it would prevent us from being able to make a deal. And this is the case for many published writers, especially with major publishers, who set arbitrary floors for their quotes. And it can be the case with record labels (both major and indie) as well. These days, through Supa Crucial Recordings and Supa Crucial Music, my team can quote both sides (master & sync) because I own most of my catalogue; including both records and some score.

The Music Clearance Team handles all the licenses, which must be signed by master and sync owners as well as the production. And it is a ton of work coordinating, managing and negotiating the rights in order to complete the paperwork within the timeframe allotted by the production.

In-house Music Departments at film and TV studios, as well as independent production companies, also shepherd projects through their own staff, liaising with producers and directors. Sometimes they will handle all clearances in-house and are an important resource for productions as far as creative input and recommendations of personnel.

All in all, there is a lot of confusion out there in the real world about what each of us does, so hopefully, this will have answered some questions… And now, back to the cave.

Donald Byrd – The Music – The Connection

The Angel — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:16:15 +0000

Lately, it feels like I have reason, almost weekly, to pause and reflect on the passing of a legend, whether from the big or small screen or the audio sphere. This month saw the passing of Donald Byrd and it affected me, not only as a fan, but as a long distance collaborator.

Back in the nineties, before the DJ sets, I actually gigged with a seven-piece band up and down the West Coast. I threw just a couple of covers into my sets, and the classic “(Fallin’ Like) Dominoes” was one of them… from the album “Places and Spaces”.

But there’s another more permanent connection for me. In 1995, Blue Note marketing director, Keith Thompson asked me if I would like to be involved in a remix project for Blue Note, called, “The New Groove”.

Blue Note reached out to artists and producers, who they felt would do justice to reinventing some of Blue Note’s treasures… The Roots, Large Professor, G.U.R.U., The Ummah… Keith said that I could pick any track I wanted out of a long list of artists and songs. I felt an immediate pull toward Donald Byrd’s “Kofi”, a gem of a recording that unbeknownst to me had been sitting in the Blue Note vaults since it was recorded as the title track to an unreleased album, back in 1969! Then, as I starting working on the remix, I got a nice surprise… One day, I was raving about Lew Tabackin’s badass flute solo to my friend, and fellow artist, Monday Michiru, and she casually told me that Lew is her stepfather and she would pass along the compliment… All the musicians gave spectacular performances; Frank Foster, Bob Cranshaw and Bill Campbell to name a few.

As I got deeper into structuring my mix, I thought about involving a phenomenal MC/vocalist/poet from the Bay Area named, Mystic. I’d been looking for a project to feature her on and this felt like a great organic fit. Mystic’s innate ability to tap into the essence of the music, made me confident that she would lyrically match the sophistication and beauty of the piece. Here is an excerpt from her original, handwritten lyrics.

I ran it by Keith, who gave me the ok… and this remix went on to have a new life in the Tim Roth, Tupac film, “Gridlock’d”… More on this here.

There was something about, discovering, excavating and reinventing Donald Byrd’s beautiful song, that gave me access to something deeper… It made me feel like I could almost touch his soul… and that feeling remains.

’12 Addictions, Shout Outs & One Offs

The Angel — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:13:36 +0000

Here’s this year’s eclectic list of people, projects, music, gadgets… whether discovered as new, rediscovered or simply appreciated in 2012. In no particular order…

House of Lies – Shout out to creator Matthew Carnahan and the great cast led by Don Cheadle; breaking that fourth wall with panache.

Bron|Broen (The Bridge) – Newly acquired addiction — Shout out to creator Hans Rosenfeldt. The Bridge is exceptional from its visual and sonic tone to the outstanding performances by Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia.

Rust and Bone – Shout out to director Jacques Audiard, for telling this unusual story with such a refreshing lack of melodrama. It is visually stunning, as are its stars Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts.

Stanley Kubrick Exhibition – This one off exhibition of Kubrick’s work is on display at LACMA through June 30, 2013. Hand-notated script pages, photographs, film memorabilia, letters, costumes, production designer’s notes, sketches and more, give real insight into Kubrick’s thought processes.

I’ve had such visceral experiences watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining and A Clockwork Orange, multiple times… and each time I’ve been drawn in to focus on new things because Kubick’s attention to detail is so acute and layered from performances to cinematography to music and everything in between. There’s always something new to appreciate and discover.

For Kubrick fans who can’t make it to L.A., there’s a free Kubrick App.

Girls – Shout out to creator/writer/director and star Lena Dunham, who is giving long-established writers and showrunners a real run for their money.

Battlestar Galactica - Addiction – Over the years I’d watched a few episodes here and there, but in 2012 what started as a memory refresher before a meeting with the wonderful Michael Rymer, turned into a full on addiction. Shout outs to Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and the fabulous cast led by Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff and Mary McDonnell.

Good Cop – Shout out to writer/creator Stephen Butchard and to Warren Brown for making the leap from playing Idris Elba’s colleague in Luther to starring as a complex and conflicted police officer in his own show. Stephen Graham gets a shout out for jumpstarting the series by putting a capital V in the word villain!

Pariah – Shout out to writer/director Dee Rees for this understated slice of life starring Adepero Oduye… A worthy 2011 holdover.

—————ON AUTO-REPEAT—————

Revolution ft. Jamalski – Shout out to 6Blocc meets Bungalo Dub for a nice blend of styles… always good to hear my friends Raoul and Jamal mixing it up!

The Uprising – Shout out to the ever progressive Foreign Beggars for a brilliant album… ‘Anywhere’, ‘Apex’, ‘Flying To Mars’… Delicious!

Roll It, Light It – Shout out to Cypress Hill x Rusko for a bouncy blend of hip hop and dubstep.

Jahta Beat – The Lotus Memoirs – Shout out to my spiritual brother, DJ Drez for this meditative journey.

Full Circle EP – Shout out to Djunya – Into the Blue is my tune…

—————EXCAVATING THE 90′s—————

Sony TCS-580V with DJ Kiilu Mixtape – A one off spring cleaning event unearthed these items. Ah, the long lost days of cassettes and those tiny Angel stickers…

Four Years On… Inceptions, Elections and Eclecticism

The Angel — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 02:31:57 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since I wrote my very first blog post back in October 2008. I started writing about my own history and threw in some behind the scenes insights into my creative process. Writing about politics was far from my mind, but in November 2008 I felt compelled to write about my feelings of renewed hope at the time of the historic election of President Obama. These four years have flown by and once again I was truly moved by Obama’s 2012 election night victory speech. Even through the haze of an epic flu, which knocked me for six, the President’s messages of determination, inspiration and encouragement to “keep reaching, keep working and fighting”, once again resonated with me. And this time it feels entirely appropriate to acknowledge the incredible First Lady too.

But, like history repeating itself, the day following election day, I was once again disappointed to discover that the eminently sensible Prop 37, a “Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Initiative”, didn’t pass here in California. Post election blues set in, just like they did when I discovered that Prop 8 had indeed passed, four years ago. There are many great articles on the web explaining why Prop 37 didn’t pass, like the one on the KCET website, or the Huffington Post, but the bottom line is that if a ton of money hadn’t been thrown into misleading ads by a coalition of food manufacturers, a majority of sensible human beings would have voted in favor of it. There’s something so fundamentally wrong with a system where the general public is lied to and manipulated, specifically when they are being called upon to vote for these types of measures. I know, I know… I don’t live in a bubble and the world of politics is full of manipulation, but here’s the thing… politicians understand and know how to deal with lobbyists. They can decipher spin, but the average person, has a real problem discerning fact from fiction. To my mind, if you’re asking Joe Public to vote on Propositions, give them the undiluted, un-editorialized facts, then maybe they can make a factual judgement about which way to vote. The way the system stands, the best liars are rewarded and no one really wins.

I read food labels. I have to. I’m vegan. I don’t preach, it’s just what I do. So, more transparency on food labels should not be something I need to vote in favor of, it should be mandatory. And the removal of ingredients, like hydrogenated oils from the food chain, which have been proven harmful to the health of a human being, should be enforced, not left up to the food manufacturers. Transparency is the first step, protecting the public is a much bigger one. Since we’re going to be experimented on, we should at least be in a position to know it and agree it, or opt out with our purchase power.

At the end of the day, I like my food, like my music… fresh. In fact, as I’m writing this, the lyric, “so damn fresh” just popped into my head… so I’ll digress for a moment. In the spirit of eclecticism, which is not only the way I create, but the way I live, this reference is for the junglists and the heads. It’s a nod to DJ Zinc and Tha Alkaholiks for the jungle classic, “So Damn Fresh” released in 1995 and dropped at many a gig in my DJ’ing days.

After all is said and done, if everything made sense, Al Gore would have been listened to years ago and the shock of climate change wouldn’t still be considered so shocking. Without being pessimistic, I guess it’s worth acknowledging that most things don’t make a lot of sense and things aren’t fair and just, or even logical. To my Spock-like brain, I must confess, I have a hard time accepting things that are simply not logical. I’m sure this is a big reason why I really enjoy shutting out the static of the world and retreating into music-making. Like a great meditation, as soon as I’m in the zone, the external angst, confusion and conflict melt into no man’s land, far away from my consciousness. But, when I’m out of that cocoon, I’m fully conscious… and there’s no room for living in denial.

Tales of Masked Men – Documentary comes to PBS

The Angel — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:39:23 +0000

Why so quiet, lately? It’s been the pursuit of knowledge, new experiences and adventures that has pulled my attention away from my blog temporarily. I’ve been working on a bunch of very disparate projects that I will one day shed some light on, but for now some of them will have to wait… and one will get the spotlight.

There’s nothing I love more than to work with passionate people… So, when director, Carlos Avila asked me to score his passion project, TALES OF MASKED MEN, I couldn’t resist. Carlos and I first worked together on his short film, JUNKYARD SAINTS, which aired on PBS as part of their Independent Lens series. We always looked forward to another collaboration, but neither of us would have guessed that it would be on a documentary about masked Mexican wrestlers.

Carlos channeled his enthusiasm from childhood and set out to give us, the greater audience, a glimpse into the history of lucha libre and its cultural importance from its inception in the early 1900′s to today. Carlos’ respect for all luchadores including the featured wrestlers, El Santo, Mascarita Sagrada and Solar and his attention to detail, made the look and feel of this documentary an even more inspiring journey for me… and the team efforts of editor, Thom Calderon and the excellent graphics created by Todd Brunelle and Rachel K. Simanjuntak make this documentary a visual feast. Have a look and listen to this clip including narration by Miguel Sandoval.

Tales of Masked Men airs on PBS, this Friday at 10pm, September 28th in most cities. Please check your local listings for the time in your market. Also check the official TALES OF MASKED MEN facebook page for both local and festival screenings in Southern Cali and beyond, to see it on the big screen.

Monthly Crate Diggin’ #4 – Conscious & Feeling Good in 2012

The Angel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:39:20 +0000

December got away from me, and with the annual roundup, I ran out of time for vinyl musings… I’d been meaning to mention “Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest” and to send a shout out to Michael Rapaport. What could have been a low key passion project turned into a beautifully crafted, well executed, fully realized film… I was transported and immersed in it. This ties in to one of my main reasons for starting this thread of posts, the continued impact of these precious tunes in my collection. So with this inspiration in mind, here are this month’s feel good selects…

Always connected to what was going on back home (NY), I was living in London when these two Tribe albums were released and I picked up the vinyl for “People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm” and “The Low End Theory” in the UK. “Bonita Applebum” filled the dance floor at a cool little spot called, “The Pig”, on Gray’s Inn Road. Even after all these years it sounds as fresh as ever. And I always had a special love for “After Hours”…

Mmmmmmmm Hmmmmmmmm is all I have to say about “Check The Rhime”… “The Low End Theory” is head-nodding, grooviness all the way through with “Excursions” and “Scenario” still hitting the spot. ATCQ are a sample trainspotter’s delight, much like The Bomb Squad. The uniqueness of the genre blending paved the way for so many of us…

Around the same few years, I got heavily addicted to Poor Righteous Teachers’ “Holy Intellect”. I also picked this LP up in the UK, though I remember seeing PRT live in NY on a ridiculous bill with Ultramagnetic MCs, KRS-One and other legends.

“Rock Dis Funky Joint” has some pretty worn out grooves… Not only did I listen to it at home, I used to drop it whenever I had the chance to DJ. The more syncopated tracks set PRT apart from everyone else, like “Speaking Upon A Blackman”. But the tune I could never get enough of was “So Many Teachers” with the most haunting snare sound ever. I know, how geeky… but it’s the little things that connect with people, a sound, a feeling, a vibe and they stay with you forever.

’11 Addictions, Shout Outs & One Offs

The Angel — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:12:00 +0000

Here’s this year’s eclectic list of people, projects, music, gadgets… whether discovered as new, rediscovered or simply appreciated in 2011. In no particular order…

The Shadow Line – year end shout out to Hugo Blick for a great ride. From the opening scene of episode 1, it brilliantly pulls you in with a regular who’s who of talent.

Game Of Thrones – new addiction – A few years back an unconnected TV producer excitedly told me that this brilliant show was brewing over at HBO… and then it surpassed all expectations.

End of year shout out to Peter Dinklage for winning an Emmy for best supporting actor.

Prescott Peavine Trail – one off & year end shout out to Trails Specialist, Chris Hosking. Hiking in Cali one day, I mentioned this spectacular trail to a British friend, who told me that his mate, Chris, is the man responsible for cultivating this trail… An unexpected connection.

The Skin I Live In – year end shout out to Pedro Almodovar. Great to see Antonio Banderas working with Pedro again after all these years.

Boss - new addiction – Excellent writing creates a web of intrigue and room for superb performances – year end shout outs to Farhad Safinia, Gus Van Sant, Kelsey Grammer and Connie Nielsen…

Glen Mazzara – year end shout out for a second year in a row; 2010 for writing episode 5 and this year for taking the reigns as showrunner of The Walking Dead. The photo below says it all about Season 2…

M Cafe – continuing addiction to one of the best vegan desserts ever created, courtesy of M Cafe De Chaya.

I Melt With You – year end shout out to Mark Pellington. I can only respect his personal passion and dedication to say f**k it, I’m doing this with or without industry backing. I have a vision, a great cast and I’m taking no prisoners…

Steve Jobs – a heartfelt, farewell shout out to a man that has changed our world in the most profound and tactile way. I use my Apple products as organically as breathing. I can’t imagine how I would work, communicate and be creative without them…

Luther – Season 2 continuing addiction and year end shout out to Idris Elba for a second, well deserved Golden Globe nomination…

ON AUTO-REPEAT

“Ouch That Hurt” DND Remix – year end shout out to the spectacularly talented Dionne Bromfield… this mix is for the film “Demons Never Die” directed by Arjun Rose, executive produced by Idris Elba and scored by yours truly.
“Everywhere And Nowhere” – year end shout out to Fearless feat. Sonna Rele for the lead single to the film “Everywhere and Nowhere” directed by Menhaj Huda, scored by yours truly.

“Katy On A Mission” – year end shout out to Katy B for a killer single; a holdover from 2010 and a great set-up for the album, which dropped this year.

“Typhoon ft Chasing Shadows” – year end shout out to Foreign Beggars for a bone chiseling, production overload – holdover from 2010. WARNING – If you’re expecting something sweet, melodic and mellow, this ain’t it!

Monthly Crate Diggin’ #3 – Thanksgiving Special

The Angel — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:30:10 +0000

The November selects bring a more eclectic batch of vinyl nostalgia. Thanksgiving unearthed some long forgotten gems, along with far too much sugar and lots of games… oh, and the older folks representing as the biggest card hustlers.

A group of us were talking about TV shows, past and present, when one of the older crowd mentioned how much he used to love the Flip Wilson Show. About an hour later, our host pulled out these two albums on vinyl…

The next day I started digging back into my own vinyl and found a couple of classics, originally from my mom’s collection; a scratchy 7″ single of “Downtown” by Petula Clark followed by an even scratchier 7″ of The Beatles, “Eight Days A Week”.

Jonesing to hear the sweetest male vocal in my collection, I dug out Marvin Gaye’s album, “What’s Going On” and gave “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” a few repeat spins, but actually had to follow up with “Trouble Man”, which always hits the spot with vocal and horn arrangements that are simply delicious… in fact, even more so for the warmth of the vinyl.

Monthly Crate Diggin’ #2

The Angel — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:56:08 +0000

Vinyl. It’s tangible. It’s distinct smell brings back as many memories as the tunes… While you’re listening to an album for instance, you can scan the cover art front and back, and you can read every inch of info printed on the jacket and on the inside sleeve; writers. producers, publishers, featured vocalists, thank you’s… and then you can read all sorts of things into the photos. Okay, you can do some of this with CD’s, but only to a minimizing effect.

For an October pick, I grabbed 3rd Bass “The Cactus Album”. Coincidentally, it was released in October 1989, back when you had to read mags, go to a show or check out a video broadcasting in real time if you wanted to know more about an act and their music. In those days, 3rd Bass and I were all being managed by Rush… them in the US, me in the UK, as I tip my hat to Russell Simmons and Trenton Harrison. As for Cactus, I was always on the lookout for a gem of an album cut. To this day “Monte Hall” is still a big fave with that groovy, Grover Washington Jr. sample from “Black Frost” and the evocative Jim Morrison sample, “This place is everything…”

While on the subject of Def Jam/Rush Management I also pulled out Public Enemy “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” released in April 1988, way ahead of it’s time. Of course it’s a classic, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve listened to it on vinyl, which is the whole point of this post. It was the The Bomb Squad’s production style that subliminally influenced the way I would later arrange music. Another album cut, gem and personal fave is “She Watch Channel Zero?!”

There’s something about listening to vinyl that takes me back in a way that listening to audio files, just doesn’t. Sharing music is a personal thing. You never really forget who first turned you on to a tune and under what circumstances. It’s contextualizing and bonding.

Demons Never Die – Sonic Darkness For The Angel

The Angel — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:20:14 +0000

Speaking of dark sounds…
There’s a horror film in this year’s mix of projects. Continuing a tradition of working with up and coming talent, I’ve recently scored another UK indie feature called, “Demons Never Die”, written and directed by (someone to watch), Arjun Rose. Surprisingly, it was executive producer, Idris Elba, who asked me to come on board. His call came not long before this year’s Golden Globes, and it was the day after the Globes that we had a chance to meet and talk about “Demons” and our greater individual goals to produce and create beyond our respective fields. It was a pleasure to meet someone whose work I so admire. In case you haven’t checked out “Luther” yet, you’re really missing something.

Since my post about the 5 year anniversary of the UK release of “KiDULTHOOD”, you may spot a thread… I like to see fresh faces breaking through and I like being able to support projects like these, with people who are not afraid to take chances and who aren’t willing to wait around for some royal invitation to participate in the creative arena. Arjun had a particular vision for the score of “Demons Never Die”, and as a fan of my dark, contemporary score for “Boiler Room”, he hoped I could bring those sensibilities to his film. We talked about blending traditional and non traditional instrumentation to enhance the horror, while keeping the sound current. Arjun specifically wanted a love theme that sounded like a modern day fairytale for characters Archie (Robert Sheehan) and Jasmine (Jennie Jacques) in order to contrast against the dark themes and the horror. We worked long distance, LA – London, but the creative flow between us made the distance seem negligible and Arjun’s open minded approach to incorporating even suggestions made outside the musical realm gave me insight into how he is likely to grow as a director… Boundlessly.

In “Demons Never Die”, a new crop of young UK talent is getting their chance to shine. UK release is set for Oct. 28th, just in time for Halloween. Tulisa Contostavlos (N-Dubz, The X Factor), Robert Sheehan (Misfits), Jennie Jacques, Jason Maza, Emma Rigby, Jacob Anderson, Femi Oyeniran, Ashley Walters, Reggie Yates, Shanika Warren-Markland, Jack Doolan and Andrew Ellis are all names you’ll be hearing more about outside of the UK very soon…