You didn’t take a symphonic approach at all here.
Gus actually used some of my orchestral music for the temp. Strangely enough he even used Juan Darien as temp and I couldn’t stand it. I hated it; it sounded terrible. I felt that using a symphonic orchestra would be very wrong in a movie like this. I could’ve directed the budget in that area, but I decided not to.
Is this one of your most experimental scores?
Even if I hadn’t written it as music for film, it’s very experimental because of the use of a combination of electronic sounds Richard and I were so carefully putting together. I used world instruments and various surrealistic carnival-like compositions, which might have a connection to Juan Darien. I think it broke some ground and because the film was about different drug states it let me be poetic and surrealistic about the composition with that.
It seemed like you were using some very odd sounds to create a rhythmic structure in part of the score; like you said, “Depicting certain drug states”.
Yes, in a way. That was when I was describing the scene of people sitting around and talking about drugs; it was one of the most boring scenes in any movie I ever saw. I figured if we put in this didgeridoo and this electronic sound that sounded like a didgeridoo, it felt like this kind of pulsating low didgeridoo heartbeat. By using electronic loops along with acoustical instruments it created this interesting rhythmic interplay, but it also felt like ritual music, drug rituals.
Ritualistic-type music defines a city-type feeling as well because a lot of the film wallows in this type of environment.
Also in this film there were different types of physical things like clocks, trains, and those type of things which Gus Van Sant was preoccupied with. I then created musical portraits or musical haikus of poetic things as opposed to tunes.
What was it like working with Gus Van Sant?
I had a great time working with him and a great deal of the time was spent by me finding things at the keyboard. Gus would always come in and listen to what I did at the keyboard, approving it because it was so experimental and electronic. Then I’d enhance it with various acoustic instruments later. I’d spend the whole entire morning, afternoon, and evening in the studio coming up with experiments for Gus to approve. I’m very happy about the result of the film and I’m very proud of my score.