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1: Your recent film, Escape from Tomorrow, has gained a great deal of buzz at Sundance and seems to be a favorite among audiences there. Can you comment on the originality of this film and how its uniqueness inspired your writing? AK: Escape From Tomorrow was a labor of love from the beginning to the end. The budget was tiny, but fully independent, so I didn’t have to work around studio executives, politics or marketing-related deadlines. The resources were allocated exclusively based on artistic need. The result of our work is a very personal, multi-layer, black-and-white journey to the most colorful place on Earth. This ride is not for everybody. You have to read its subtle references and undertones, being open to an irrational experience.
2: Is there any added pressure when asked to score a debut film for a Director, as was the case here with Randy Moore? Also, was there a particular score from your catalog that led him to you? AK: I do think that each new project should be approached the same way as the first one -- like a new, unknown land, a place that you haven’t been before. I also believe that talent trumps experience -- at least in art. So, as long as a director is certain of his or her creative choices, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the first movie or not. We’ve known each other with Randy for years and he has always been a great supporter of my music. Working with a friend, who had all the details of the movie in his head, was the best of both worlds.
3: Can you describe the range your music had to cover in “Escape from Tomorrow?” Were there any unique angles you pursued for this fantasy-horror film? AK: The kaleidoscopic soundscape of the film required the original score to be exceptionally strong and upfront, as in 1950’s classical movies. It’s lush and unrestrained, with each piece being a story within the story. In addition to the main orchestral cues, there’s a couple of smaller pieces utilizing a smaller ensemble and electronics.
4: I’d like to call out two tracks that were highlights for me in this excellent score. What can you tell us about the energetic “Fireworks” cue and also the amusing vocal track, “Imaginate?”
AK: Fireworks is a bizarre scene -- people watching a fireworks show, forming a ritual ring, motionless, hypnotized, obedient. Our main character, Jim, distressed, on the verge of loosing his mind, is searching for the missing daughter. Music is amplifying the sense of disorder, of reality cracking and breaking apart. The piece is very aggressive and raw, like a sacred tribal incantation.
5: Given the running time of your soundtrack release for this, it seems that the music was implemented in very strategic areas. Given how wonderfully the score plays, did you have a wish to write even more material for this film? AK: That’s correct. I wish we could have afforded twice as much. Due to our budgetary constraints, we had to make a choice between a longer, inadequately produced and a shorter high quality score. We chose the latter and recorded with a 64-piece orchestra at Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage in Los Angeles.
6: Do you have any advice for your fans as to best show filmmakers how much they’d like to hear more from you in the future? In short, how can we more effectively back you? I think I speak for many when I say we’d love to hear multiple scores from you each year. AK: When you share my music with your friends, discuss it and write about it, it’s all I ever hope for. I believe in active dialog with the audience.
Bonus Question: Copernicus’ Star is a score of yours that I haven’t stopped listening to for years now. It’s simply a spectacular soundtrack. How proud are you of this score and how anxious are you to revisit this extended type of scope on Hollywood films? AK: This score was recorded in Poland. The one track that I’m particularly fond of is “Aquarius”. The sound is almost liquid, music flows in many different directions, with all colors of a large orchestra. I would love to develop this style in a Hollywood production. |
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