NYC Composers Collaborate with Directors of 2009 Silverdocs Closing Night Feature Film
New York, NY – G&E Music recently scored the feature-length HBO Documentary, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry, to premier closing night at the 2009 Silverdocs festival in Washington D.C. on June 20 and debut on HBO August 10. Composers Glenn Schloss and Erik Blicker (G&E) worked closely with the filmmakers, Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, to create the musical heart and soul of this decades-spanning look at the life and times of Barry, a polarizing political force. “Music is a major component of this film,” says Oppenheimer, “And, G&E created the emotional core of the soundtrack.”
The Washington D.C native co-director/producers were granted unprecedented access in the making of this documentary about Barry, who served as D.C. mayor from 1979 until 1991, when he was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to six months in prison. The film follows Barry’s storied civil rights work and notorious political career from the 1960s up to present day, where he currently serves as a D.C. city councilman. Musically, the film score and soundtrack is an evolution from The Meters-style funk to 80s hip-hop to modern electronica.
Oppenheimer describes, “Musically, G&E created the overall mood of the film. They were so giving and worked tirelessly until we found that emotional center — the sounds that felt right and evoked those certain feelings we were looking for. And, they really hit that 60s and 70s funky soul sound, which was key.”
With an experimental ambient record project in the wings, Schloss and Blicker were creatively primed to develop the Nine Lives score. “In addition to looking for composers who could cover the gamut of different musical genres and eras, the filmmakers were also looking for a core film sound that was minimalistic and ambient, yet organic and kind of twisted,” says Blicker. “We’ve been exploring and experimenting with ambient music recently, kicking around the idea of doing a record. So, this project was especially compelling to us.”
G&E kicked off the writing process with some live funk sessions, developing thematic elements that would course through the film score. “We took those themes and morphed them into all kinds of ambient musical beds and did some heavy electronic exploration along the way,” says Schloss. Oppenheimer, who served as the film’s music supervisor, was totally on-board for the sonic exploration. “Toby would come in and we’d spend the day twisting sounds, just totally experimenting musically and sonically,” says Schloss. “We provided Toby and Dana with a slew of tracks that they could take into the edit room. We developed a Marion Barry theme, and his wife and the establishment also had themes.”
On collaborating in the studio with G&E, Oppenheimer notes, “These guys are so patient and great — working together really helped us find our musical directions without wasting time going back and forth endlessly as I’ve experienced on other projects. A lot of composers aren’t open to that level of collaboration, but it ultimately saves everyone a lot of time.”
G&E’s work on Nine Lives also inspired the composers to complete their record of ambient music, which they’re releasing under the name Ambient Gelly. “We’d created so many interesting and different-sounding instruments by electronically manipulating and bending organic sounds,” says Blicker. “We ended up composing so much music using these unique instruments — some of which we developed for Nine Lives and others that went onto form this record.” Get into some Ambient Gelly at www.myspace.com/ambientgelly <http://www.myspace.com/ambientgelly> .
Sound mixing for The Nine Lives of Marion Barry was done at FlavorLab, a division of G&E Music. For more information about The Nine Lives of Marion Barry and the filmmakers, visit www.florfilms.com <http://www.florfilms.com> and www.hbo.com/events/ninelivesofmarionbarry <http://www.hbo.com/events/ninelivesofmarionbarry> .
|
