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| SN: Can you tell us about the musical experience you were looking to achieve with the score for Dark Streets? |
| GA: The instructions from the producers of the movie were to not do a "typical Hollywood score with strings and orchestra," but to give the movie a feel that we are living the blues from the score point of view. Therefore I decided to choose a voice which could have as sensitive an impact as strings and as powerful an impact as orchestra. That voice was the piano. It had to have enough contrast, so it didn't feel like just an extension of of the songs, which are very present in the picture, which has almost wall to wall music , so the piano and the guitar had to have a unique sound. I had initially asked Herbie Hancock to play with his unique style but the Grammys happened, and he got too busy. The Pianist I use has an extensive knowledge of the blues, and a great touch . Michael Lang is his name. He is wonderful and would really understand how I wrote the score and why I wrote certain feels and melodies, and his interpretation is rich and sensitive all in the right places. I also needed another voice to express the blues , and contrast some more with the songs, and this time he said yes to my plea, that was BB King and that is one of the highlights of my career and my life as a musician being a guitar player myself. |
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| SN: Creatively, what was it like for you to be involved in a film that features so many varied and talented musical performers? |
| GA: I actually brought those performers to the film. Therefore, I felt right at home, and in a situation which any musician would love to be involved in. |
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| SN: How closely did you work with the film's director, Rachel Samuels, and what kind of feedback did she provide about the score? |
| GA: She loved the score and gave me a very positive feedback. She likes romance in the writing and would have wished for a bit more strings, but really enjoyed the melodic aspect of my writing. To me scoring starts in the melody and needs to live in it . I love to work emotions thematically throughout a film and capture what the writer wants to say and add to it with music or surround the environment with additional information for the viewer to feel in touch with the action or with the character, even if it means for the music to take a back seat at times. Sometimes silence is the best part of music. |
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| SN: Clearly, music is always important to a film. But with a movie like Dark Streets, it seems that it might be even more critical to get the music right. Were there any challenges in blending the song and score material together to find the proper balance? |
GA: There were challenges, because the movie is music heavy. And it was more than just the songs and the score having to play against and with each other.
I produced the on camera songs performed by the actors who were telling the story that way as well, then I tried to blend it with the source music , which was basically the music that we wanted the audience to feel was performed by the band in the club, so I had to produce those songs with a different enough sound, without straying too much in order to stay in keeping with a 30s sound to make sure the viewer wasn't' distracted from a very rich visual canvas on screen., and then the background songs which were songs that were there to stir the audience in a certain direction and help tell the story from another point of view along with the voice over and the dialogue, those songs I produced in a classical style because they were performed by classic singers ( Etta James, Natalie Cole, Dr John, Aaron Neville, Chaka Khan etc...) I then tried to keep a thematic thread with the instrumental score. which was the biggest challenge, because I felt that with all those songs, we were soaked in so many melodies already, so I had to find the melody which would tie them all together without feeling intrusive, I feel I was able to achieve that, and in order to give it personality I added BB King's guitar sound which is unique and would cut through the overall sonic of the music of this film. Then the final part of it was to make sure the music illustrated and serviced the dance numbers as much as possible. You know like a well tailored suit. |
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| SN: What was the length of time you spent working on this feature, both as Composer and Music Supervisor? |
GA: I spent 3 years working on this film!
I came in early at the pre-production stage, because I had to interact with the choreographer and have the on camera numbers ready for the actors, and the director, as far as timing and how they fit with the story.
Then I had to create a process which was comfortable with everyone, meaning the 3 songwriters in the UK, the Film producer who created the story, and whose brainchild this film is: Glenn Stewart, the film producers who for some were in LA: Andrea Balen, and Corina Danckwerts, others were in Germany, Claus Clausen and Steffen Aumueller. Claus would fly in at certain periods of the film making, and so the game was to find a find a balance with the director, and all this made for lots of different opinions and directions! I was the catalyst, and then I had to dream the perfect cast of singers, and go after them, once we had final decisions for songs.
I had to filter all those songs, which were actually written for the picture, and then hat to put my music producer's outfit and go in the studio and make the music and create new arrangements which would work for the picture without losing the feel and the arrangements at times which were written by the songwriters...then I had to get back into the shoes of the music supervisors, deal with the lawyers, the agents, the managers, the logistics of putting this music in a cohesive business format as well, and to that I have to say Mr Joel Roman from William Morris, has been priceless, it would have not been possible to do this without him!
Once all that part was done, I had to start writing the score, which came in a bit later, but not that much later in the process. |
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| SN: Generally speaking, what do you enjoy most about working in the musical arena as it pertains to filmmaking? |
GA: Well I love scoring, this is something I started back in the early 80s on a Miramax movie called Playing for Keeps which actually Harvey and Bob Weinstein directed, and I left that side of the business to go and produce some records in the UK, and break new grounds with World music and bringing Youssou NDour to the forefront of the scene with the help of my good friend Peter Gabriel, and then bring back Donny Osmond with the Soldier of Love Album which was a serious challenge at the time. This gave me a good 15 years stint at songwriting as well as producing,before I came back to film work in the early 90s. I love writing a song for a movie, and have done so, extensively. The music supervising part of it just helps me keep as much control as possible of what happens to the music I create or participate in creating...and gives me a chance to be part of the bigger picture, which helps guide my decision making in the musical process and helps me service the film and it's creative and executive team.
But overall, scoring is where I am seeing my future in film making .
Having said all that I love the fact that I can with no trouble score a picture, write and /or produce songs for that picture , play several instruments and write arrangements , then jump into a suit and do the deals, broker record deals, haggle with lawyers and managers, on behalf of the film makers, and Music supervise the whole thing , all in the same day. that 's a gas for me ! That is where i get my satisfaction and feeling of achievement ...
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| SN: Who are some of your personal inspirations in the work that you do (past or present)? |
GA: Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Liszt, Mozart, Beethoven ( for his symphonic genius) Wagner, keith Jarrett for his melodies and beautiful voicings, and his ability to go from Jazz to classical and back with taste and not just technique, or both combined when necessary. Bach, ... Ennio Morricone for his taste in film music creation.
Gustave Klimt, and Salvatore Dali for how their visuals open up my ears. and I love Gabriel Faure for his sensitivity when he orchestrates strings around a melody.
The list could go on, but I tap into those artists quite regularly for inspiration, but my kids , my family , life in general is where I find it all. |
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| SN: As you look to the future, are you looking to get involved in composing exclusively or do you enjoy producing enough to remain active in both aspects? |
| GA: I am writing a record, which I am going to try and have released sometime next year, and I have produced some tracks outside of this movie for an album of a new artist. Bijou Phillips asked me if I would produce a record of hers, which I find very exciting. we are thinking to record a hybrid of Jazz meeting country ( Melodies once again) I have other plans for songs in films as well, so I will always be producing tracks or records ( can I still call them that way) but right now it is true that I will spend a little more time scoring pictures as much as I can...Having a foot in both worlds suits me fine... |
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| SN: In closing, are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share with us at this time? |
GA: One is the score to an independent movie called the Ministers I'm just finishing. It is starring Harvey Keitel and John Leguizamo for mid next year release, I am involved in this movie also at executive level, I brought the financing to the picture.
I am also just about done to the scoring of an action movie called The Tournament to be released early 2009, and I am just starting another musical movie with heavy blues influences, but that one is a beautiful love story, not a drama.
And then a project which will involve Music and design. I have a love for high end design. I wrote the music this year for the new Angel perfume from Thierry Mugler with Naomi Watts being the new face, and directed by Bill Condon ( Dreamgirls) I loved writing that piece to which I gave a slight reminiscence of Prokofiev... |
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| SN: Thank you for your time! I hope we can catch up again in the future. |
| Special thanks to Andrew Berg of Chasen PR. |
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