Here’s the official trailer for one of the latest projects I’ve wrote the music for, the korean thriller “The Frog In the Stone” directed by Chi J. Lee
At the following LINK you can listen to the full soundtrack.
Here’s the official trailer for one of the latest projects I’ve wrote the music for, the korean thriller “The Frog In the Stone” directed by Chi J. Lee
At the following LINK you can listen to the full soundtrack.
http://www.soundtrackgeek.com/v2/soundtrack-geek-awards-2015-nominees-vote-now/
I’m really happy to announce you that my score received a nomination at the 5th Annual Soundtrack Geek Awards presented by Soundtrack Geek and Soundtrack Dreams!
“Rocks in My Pockets” is in noination in the Best Animation Score category, here are the other nominees
The Nominees are chosen based on Top Scores 2014 Critic’s Choice, Soundtrack Geek Index and Soundtrack Dreams top choices for 2014.
Basically 7 nominees are chosen based on what 20+ soundtrack review sites say about the scores and the rest are added based on the Soundtrack Geek Index and Soundtrack Dreams top scores for 2014. For the category Best Score 10 are chosen. For Best Cue, there are 20 nominees.
So start voting! The votes will close in 6 days (at midnight 17 of January) and the winners will be announced on Sunday January 18!
Tell us a little about yourself and how did you get into scoring for films?
I’m a cinephile and I have a true passion for movies and storytelling. I was lucky enough to grow up in the eighties, a great decade for movies for young audience, with amazing orchestral scores (think about Star Wars, Back To The Future, The Goonies and so on…). I have written music since I was very young and even when I was pursuing a career as a jazz musician people kept telling me that my music had visual qualities, and could be good music for images. As a matter of fact my inspiration, even when I write music not attached to any movie, usually comes from images or stories. So I guess that writing music for movies was sort of my destiny.
What is your usual process for creating audio content for different media?
It’s always different, depending on each project. I usually try and immerse myself in the world of the specific project I’m working on, I do musical and technical researches on instruments in order to create a unique palette of sounds that I think can be good and original. Then I cross my fingers and hope for inspiration to come… and I’m often very lucky.
How did you get involved with “Rocks In My Pockets”?
I was searching for animation projects to score and I had contacted Bill Plympton, a well know director and animator. He’s a friend of Signe Baumane’s (director of “Rocks in my Pockets”) and suggested she contact me to score her debut feature movie. She did and it all worked out.
How long did it take you to score “Rocks In My Pockets”?
It took about three weeks to score this film. That was the deadline to submit the movie to some major festivals.
What would you consider to be your favorite track to score in “Rocks In My Pockets”?
Probably “Anna’s Theme”, which became the main theme of the movie. It is a rather simple track, a bouncy waltz, funny but at the same time a melancholic tune. At first, when I was trying to find a tune for Anna’s character, it was coming out really sad and melancholic (I was probably influenced by the Beatles’ song “She’s Leaving Home”, as in the movie we have this story of a young girl who left her home). The director then showed me another point of view, that this girl leaves her home and family to start an amazing adventure, that is to say the discovery of her adult life. So I trashed the old cue and started from scratch, and the result was so good that “Anna’s Theme” became a reoccurring melody in the movie, even in the end titles.
You have mostly scored films. If you were to score a television show, what would be your ideal show?
Great question! Probably something like “Black Mirror”, “Utopia” or “Twilight Zone”, projects where you can use different musical approaches and even a bit of humor here and there.
Your first project you scored was “The Mongol King” in 2005. How do you think your work has changed since that project?
I think I’m maybe more conscious of what I’m doing. I’ve built a workflow that helps me save time and stay focused on the projects I’m working on at the time. Hopefully I’ve developed a personal voice as a composer.
Any specific “lessons learned” on a project that you could share?
Every project is a lesson, because working for film is an intimate and collaborative experience between artists, you share ideas, feelings, and you correlate with other people’s lives. I love this job because there’s something to learn on every project. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is that the best thing is to be honest with yourself and your music, while trying not to imitate any other composer (something that people do all the time for the desire to find an easy consent). This way, in the end, you know that your time is well spent because you’ve created something new and original.
If your budget was endless for “Rocks In My Pockets”, what would you have done different musically?
Nothing, from a creative point of view. Monetary wise, maybe I would have recorded in London, at Abbey Road, just for the pleasure of working there for a couple of days.
Any tips, hints or motivational speeches for the readers?
Be original, the world needs new beautiful music, not something “already heard” elsewhere. Try to push yourself to experiment as much as possible and be brave to defend your ideas and your musical identity. Also, pray that you find a good director who loves your music and believes in you as much as you do.
New interview about the soundtrack I wrote for Rocks In My Pockets this time for the cool guys at Agents of Geek

http://agentsofgeek.com/2014/12/composer-kristian-sensini-talks-rocks-in-my-pockets/
We recently had the chance to interview composer Kristian Sensini about his new project Rocks In My Pockets. The film is currrently an early contendor for Latvia’s Best Foreign Language Film for the 87th Annual Academy Awards.
Directed and written by Latvian animator Signe Baumane, Rocks in My Pockets focuses on how Baumane and five women in her family handle depression. Their stories are told with visual metaphors and surreal images. Keep reading to learn about Sensini’s scoring style and experiences while working on Rocks in My Pockets.
Rocks In My Pockets is getting a lot of potential Oscar buzz, what do you think about this?
It’s amazing, of course! It’s one of the 84 movies running for Best Foreign Film and at the same time also one of the 20 movies selected for the Best Animation category, and the Academy has just announced that the soundtrack has been included in the 114 scores in contention for the prize. As an animation movie, Rocks in my Pockets is running with giants like Disney and Dreamworks movies with a big budget (and scores with big orchestras). It’s sort of funny to see our little independent movie compete with them, but after all I really think that Rocks in my Pockets does deserve this kind of recognition. It’s a traditional animation movie, entirely hand-drawn (no CGI or computer images were used) and hand-made (just like the soundtrack). It’s a brave point of view on a really serious topic, depression and mental illness.
What was the hardest part about scoring Rocks In My Pockets?
The director’s voiceover (a great interpretation of hers) is present from start to finish, so the difficult thing in this case was trying to compose music on frequencies that wouldn’t disturb the sound of her voice. Another obstacle was using themes/orchestration in order to enhance the storytelling without distracting the audience.
Where did you get the inspiration for the tone of this soundtrack?
I got inspiration for this soundtrack from the stunning visuals and voiceover acting of the director. A “Funny Film about Depression”, is quite an impossible mission in itself, and the risk of a bad musical choice was just around the corner… For example, the use of a tone too light or “cartoony” in the most amusing scenes and the over scoring on dramatic ones could have led to disaster. I let the voice guide me in finding the right tone in each cue, seeing it as the main melody, so I had to underscore that with various countermelodies.
There is many dramatic scenes in Rocks In My Pockets, but the score makes it feel a little lighter at times. Was this intentional?
Yes, it was intentional. This is the whole point of the movie, not making a joke out of such a serious topic, but trying to explain that depression and mental illness could be considered a part of life. Maybe something we do not want to celebrate, but something we can deal with and that can even help us understand other’s issues and struggles. This film has a brave and amazing view on life, and I think it’s really original and something worth sharing. Life itself has the equal combination of light and darkness and everything contributes to our growth as human beings. It’s exactly what I want to express with my music (and not just in this movie).
This is one of your first animated films, is it a lot different than scoring live action?
I’ll never stop saying that animation filmmakers are amazing. They’re usually so imaginative and so caring about their projects, at times more than other directors. When you work on an animated project you feel you are part of a family. From a musical point of view, you may have a little bit more freedom to experiment with new ideas, but it really depends on the director and movie. I’ve tried to score this movie as it was live action in some parts: somehow knowing that it was a true story and that the characters were real people was more predominant than the fact that the visual medium was animation.
What direction did the director, Signe Baumane give you when you initially started? Meaning what was the main goal for her in terms of the soundtrack?
One of the first things we did when we started thinking about the score was to have a brainstorming session about past soundtracks we really enjoyed. I remember in our first phone call, we talked about the soundtrack for Sherlock Holmes by Hans Zimmer, and found that it was one of our favourites because it was so creative and has a really innovative use of orchestration and instruments. We agreed we wanted to keep it a “small” orchestration and use instruments in an original way. We also decided to have something ethnic in the score, hence the inclusion of the Kokle (a beautiful string instrument from the Latvian tradition) because part of the movie is set in Latvia. The main goal was to lead the audience by hand into this beautiful story, and help their immersion in the movie in a good way.
There is a lot of the piano in this score. Is that your go to instrument? If not, what do you find yourself playing reoccurring in your film scores?
Flute and piano are my two main instruments. They are the ones I usually record myself in the projects I score. The piano is the instrument on which I compose a lot, it is so rich that it helps one imagine the sound of a full orchestra or of different orchestral sections. I tend not to use an instrument in a score just because I like it, unless it is strictly necessary to the movie. In this case, I thought the piano was the best choice to help fix the harmony and for one of the main themes, “Anna’s Theme”. Recently, I realized I have used a lot of cello in my previous scores, it is such a beautiful instrument and can be really useful in a lot of different situations.
Who is your favourite character in the film?
Irbe, probably because she is a musician like myself. I wrote one of my favourite cues in this film for her.
When you found out you got the job of scoring this film, how long did you have to experiment with instruments/sounds before you actually had to start?
I usually try to do my research and to experiment with sounds before I sign any contract. To me it is really important to present a demo (usually more than one) to the director which expresses both my point of view on the film and the result of my research. So for about four or five days I researched Latvian and Eastern Europe music because I felt that in terms of feelings and orchestration this sound was the right one. I listened to different kinds of music from different centuries, classical composers, film composers and popular music too. Then I composed two demos for two different scenes and I got the job.
This film is highly musical. How many minutes did you end of scoring?
More than an hour of music!
What would you like viewers to take away from the film?
You should ask Signe Baumane (the director) about this, I’ll just give you my humble opinion. p>
I think this film is a great start for “global conversations” about the things that scare us, in this particular case depression and mental illness. We live in a global society where we think that medication can solve anything and cure any illness. To me, this is a way of seeing the reality too easy and naive. The real deal is taking the journey of your life, questioning ourselves about who we are and especially who we want to be or become, without forgetting that life is full of light and darkness all at the very same time.
Listen to an album preview below:
Read more at http://agentsofgeek.com/2014/12/composer-kristian-sensini-talks-rocks-in-my-pockets/#J17ROvWwTQcJFAlW.99
In Spring 2013, Award-winning film composer Kristian Sensini dove into a challenging project that was equal parts light and dark. A year later, “Rocks in My Pockets,” is now considered a critically-acclaimed animated feature and Latvia’s entry for “Best Foreign Language” at the upcoming 2015 Academy Awards.
Musically, the film’s soundtrack delivers the appropriate amount of melancholic and uplifting themes for Signe Baumane’s passion project. In short, the score left viewers enthralled for 88 minutes. The New York-based Latvian animator wrote and directed “Rocks in My Pockets,” which was released on Sept. 3, 2014 by Zeitgeist Films and can next be seen at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January. The film is a personal story on how she and five women in her family handle their battles with madness.
In this interview, Sensini talks about his process, his inspirations and what he looks for in a project. More of his work can be heard in “The Becoming,” “7 Giorni della Fine del Mondo,” “Brightside,” “Hyde’s Secret Nightmare,” and many more.
How did you get involved with “Rocks in My Pockets”?
KS: By chance, as it often happens… I had got in contact with the director Bill Plympton so that he could listen to some of my works, and Signe – Plympton’s friend and collaborator – was looking for a composer for her first animated feature film. After exchanging a few e-mail messages, I prepared some mock-ups for two scenes of the movie, she liked them… and I immediately started working on it.
Was it difficult to find a tone for the music after viewing the film?
KS: It was a deep overwhelming emotional experience just watching it, so I had to find the right balance between the various tones of the film: it’s an animation movie for adults, very funny in some parts and very dark and down-to-the-earth in others. I didn’t want to see it just as an animation project, constantly taking into account that behind every single character there was a really rich and complicated life and, in some cases, a sad and horrible death. At the same time I had to lighten the weight of some scenes, but not too much, because Signe was really brave and not at all afraid of having some scenes scored in a really dramatic way.
What was the most difficult thing that you encountered as a composer on this project?
KS: This is a real story AND actually the story of Signe’s family, so at first I was worried about ruining everything. It’s the same feeling you have when you’re invited to a family dinner and you don’t know anyone, and you’re scared of saying and doing the wrong thing in the wrong moment. But this was a special family and Signe was so friendly that I immediately sympathized with her and I feel extremely proud that she wanted to share her story with me; I loved all the characters and, in the end, it was like… sitting at lunch with MY family, where you’re allowed to talk about everything and even to joke about pretty serious topics as mental illness, suicide and depression.
On a more “practical” level, the most difficult thing was trying to create a musical presence that was a sort of companion to the voiceover. The whole movie is narrated by Signe’s voice that acts as a counterpoint to the beautiful drawings. This detail was an essential part in the composition and orchestration process, as we together chose and carefully selected the instruments that could better create a musical background to the voice without distracting the viewer from the narration itself.
What was your favorite scene to score?
KS: Probably the cue about Irbe (if you’ve watched the movie it’s a very delicate and touching moment in the movie): she was a young and promising musician, and I guess I feel somewhat connected to her character. “Irbe’s theme” is in fact a beautiful and melancholic piece.
Did you find yourself using one instrument more than others when creating this score?
KS: Yes, the cello plays an important role in this movie, actually. I’ve used it a lot, mainly as a melodic instrument but also in harmonies and rhythm patterns. I just love the warm sound of the cello and I thought (the director as well) that it was the perfect sound to use in this movie: it doesn’t fight with the frequencies of the voiceover and can be really dramatic in a scene and really quirky in the very next one. It’s the “Jack of all trades” instrument of this soundtrack!
The film is getting a lot of potential Oscar buzz, are you surprised at this?
KS: Well… Let’s say that I was surprised to read the title of a movie I’ve worked on in the same sentence of the words “Academy Awards”, it certainly is something that doesn’t happen every day! Other than that, I’m not that surprised because Rocks in my Pockets is a great movie, extremely honest and well crafted, not to mention that it is pure storytelling and adventure, exactly what a movie should be. I hope that the Members of the Academy will recognize this big little work of art, it’s something different from the usual animation movies.
What was your working relationship like with the director, Signe Baumane, since you are not located in the same country?
KS: Everything was perfect. As we kept in contact using the email and Skype, we had to consider the different time-zones, and this allowed me to work in my studio and send the daily cues to New York by mail at the end of the day and go to sleep; the morning after I would receive Signe’s feedback, be able to make adjustments and send them back. It was really smooth! When I was sleeping Signe was working and vice versa, but there were times when both of us were working! It’s a really clever solution, and that’s one of the reasons why I like so much to work on overseas projects.
Did you give each character special themes? If so, which was your favorite character to score for?
KS: Yes, every character has his or her specific theme, it was a chance I didn’t wanted to miss. Nowadays, soundtracks are so buried and hidden in the mix that music has become a sort of sonic wallpaper, really inconsistent. What you hear is “pads” and soundscapes, you can’t catch a single melody when you are out of the theatre. I love the soundtracks that can live a life out of the movies (as Morricone taught me). My favorite theme is “Anna’s Theme”, because she is a great character, really complex. At first I had some trouble finding the right theme for her, I needed something that was joyful, uplifting and dramatic at the same time… a real challenge. In the end it worked so well that I’ve used it extensively all over the movie, in little cues with different arrangements (for solo piano, for two instruments and so on). At the very end of the movie you can listen to the full track with orchestral arrangements. Some critics wrote that this piece reminds a little of the works Nino Rota composed for Fellini, and I’m very proud of this… of course.
You have sc
ored a lot of horror films in the past and the genre for this film is very different. Where did you get the inspiration for the tone for this film?
KS: When I score a movie my focus is on the characters and the story, so I really don’t worry about the genre of the movie. If there’s a great story to tell and it is written well then it’s something that I’m interested in working on. That being said, the inspiration comes directly from the beautiful images Signe drew and from her way to tell the story. The voice-over you hear in the movie was recorded by Signe herself, so it was easy to connect to such a personal and deep story, as the anecdotes narrated are the stories of Signe’s family and her personal fight against depression.
Which composer would you say has the most influence on your music?
KS: John Williams. He is the main reason I got interested in film music. Then, Bernard Herrmann and Nino Rota, to follow.
Is there a genre that you would love to work in film scoring, which would it be?
KS: Anything which has a good script and is a work of art. We are in this world to learn lessons and feel emotions, so I’d choose everything with a good and clever storytelling. Also, I hope to find more animation movies to work on in the future, the people involved in this genre are the best, they’re great and imaginative artists who work for years on a single project and really care about it.
What is your favorite film that you’ve scored so far in your career?
KS: “Rocks in my Pockets”, no doubt about it.
If a project came along that you would get really excited about, what would it be?
KS: As member of the audience I’m really excited about the upcoming “Peanuts” movie (even more than Star Wars VII and I’m a HUGE SW nerd). Talking about my contribution as composer to a potential project, I would be excited to work on a good biopic (the story of Nikola Tesla could be a great one) like “The Imitation Game” or any sort of historical movie.
Are you currently working on any projects?
KS: I’m working on a couple of interesting projects and pitching some others but I really can’t tell you which ones, I’m really superstitious and each time I’ve talked about an upcoming project in an interview, well… it didn’t end well! I’ve had my amount of rejected scores as each and every film composer on Earth (except for John Williams, clearly).
Very special thanks to Kristian for being so gracious with his time for doing this interview together and let’s do it again after you win and Oscar! Also very special thanks go to Jordan Von Netzer for the major assist on this one. I definitely owe you one!
The soundtrack to “Rocks In My Pockets” is available from MovieScore Media on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rocks-in-my-pockets-original/id923017808
KRISTIAN SENSINI BIO
“Composer for film specializing in Thriller, Drama, Fantasy and Documentary. He is a Piano and Flute player with Classical and Jazz Background studies, with credits for Movies in Italy and USA. His music is present in the best Music Library worldwide specialized in movie music (credits Rai and Mediaset, the biggest Television Network in Italy). From 2010 Sensini received a total of 9 Nominees for Best Score (categories Feature Film, Documentaries, Promotion, Best Song, Best Short) at the Jerry Goldsmith International Film Music Award.
In 2013 he won the Global Music Award for the soundtrack of the horror movie “Hyde’s Secret Nightmare” Sensini studied at Conservatory “G. Rossini” (Italy) composition, arrangements, piano and classical flute. He’s attended Master classes and Composition Workshops with Ennio Morricone, Ludovic Bource, Nicola Piovani, Michael Giacchino, Bruno Coulais, Abel Korzeniowski, Murray Gold, Nathan Barr, Dave Grusin and Christopher Lennertz.
He also studied Orchestration and Composition with Conrad Pope, orchestrator for John Williams, Howard Shore, Alexandre Desplat, Alan Silvestri.”
http://www.jmhdigital.com/2014/10/moviescore-media-rocks-in-my-pockets.html
Nice Job, if you close your eyes and listen to this score you can find yourself drifting into a far off land where things build to a pleasant proportion.
I say very whimsical and uplifting, you will really enjoy this score by composer Kristian Sensini and find it to quickly become a favorite for 2014.
Jeremy [Howlin’ Wolf]
The nominations for the music and the film keep coming in!
My Soundtrack for Signe Baumane’s animation Movie “Rocks in my Pockets” received a nomination for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
It’s a fantastic achievement for an indipendent movie like this, and for a basically low budget soundtrack recorded in my small recording studio.
The Best thing is that I’m running with the most important Film Composer in the whole world!
Here are the nominations:
ORIGINAL SCORE – ANIMATED FILM
Danny Elfman – Mr. Peabody and Sherman
Dario Marianelli – The Boxtrolls
Gustavo Santaolalla – The Book of Life
John Powell – How To Train Your Dragon 2
Kristian Sensini – Rocks in My Pockets
Mark Mothersbaugh – The Lego Movie
ORIGINAL SCORE – FEATURE FILM
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Theory of Everything
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar
Steven Price – Fury
Thomas Newman – The Judge
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
ORIGINAL SCORE – SI-FI/FANTASY FILM
Tyler Bates – Guardians of the Galaxy
Steve Jablonsky – Transformers: Age of Extinction
James Newton Howard – Maleficent
Michael Giacchino – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Howard Shore – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Clint Mansell – Noah
September is a month that I particularly like… for different reasons.
This year I’m adding more to the list, professional ones, related to the movie “Rocks in My Pockets”. After receiving an award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and a nomination for the Jerry Goldsmith Film Music Award, the movie is debuting in quite a few venues in the United States (you can browse through past and future screenings at the following link http://www.rocksinmypocketsmovie.com/Screenings.html ).
The reviews are great, and the music was noticed and appreciated unanimously.
Rocks in my Pockets Screenings in Los Angeles and New York
As I’m writing this, it’s just been announced that the movie will represent Latvia in the race for the foreign language Oscars. This means that the soundtrack will as well be nominated in the Best Original Score category, and this is utterly unexpected, what a surprise! (for more information, please visit the following link http://variety.com/2014/film/news/oscars-rocks-in-my-pockets-selected-as-latvian-entry-1201306820/ ).
So in this post I’d like to talk extensively about the soundtrack, since it’s just been published by Movie Score Media http://moviescoremedia.com a young label that has quickly become one of the most important in the industry.
Here’s the link to purchase the Album on Itunes
If you want to listen to a preview of the music check this video
How did my collaboration with the filmmaker Signe Baumane start? By chance, as it often happens in our job… I had got in contact with the director Bill Plympton so that he could listen to some of my works, and Signe – Plympton’s friend and collaborator – was looking for a composer for her first animated feature film. After exchanging a few e-mail messages, I prepared some mockups for two scenes of the movie, she liked them… and I immediately started working on it.
It tells the true story of the women from Baumane’s family, including herself, and their battles with madness.
That’s why I wanted to work on this movie right from the start: writing music for a cartoon which deals with such dramatic, real issues was a challenge for me. Not to mention the fact that these events belong to the personal story of the director, meaning the risk of ruining everything was always around the corner.
The whole movie is narrated by Signe’s voice that acts as a counterpoint to the beautiful drawings. This detail was an essential part in the composition and orchestration process, as we together chose and carefully selected the instruments that could better create a musical background to the voice without distracting the viewer from the narration itself.
The basic ensemble is made up of piano, cello, flute, clarinet and double bass, instruments that I tried to use on different frequencies than those of the voice. Such a small set was ideal for this project: it wasn’t a choice dictated by the budget, but mainly the outcome of the search for an intimate, evocative sound.
The kokle, a traditional Latvian string instrument, has been added in some of the tracks. Signe Baumane is a New York-based filmmaker (she has worked and lived in the United States for years now) but has of course Latvian origins, and most of the story of “Rocks In My Pockets” takes place in this country. So, the use of this wonderful instrument became imperative and absolutely challenging for me as a composer.
After some research I got in touch with Sanita Sprūža, a Latvian musician (and renowned teacher) and kokle expert: she recorded her parts in Riga (the capital of Latvia).
Other musicians who, on the other hand, recorded their parts in my studio are Stefano Mora – double bass, Marco Messa – clarinet, Federico Perpich – cello.
I played the parts of piano and flute, and of course programmed the electronic parts. If you listen carefully, you can hear several little “noises” in the background: the sound of the piano pedals, the creaking of the wood of the cello, the breath of the clarinet, the sound of the flute keys and so on. These are the typical “noises” one usually tries to avoid at all costs during a recording session. I like them to be heard, and felt, I’d like our presence to be identified behind the music. It’s precisely for this reason that my studi
o is not completely “aseptic” and perfectly soundproofed: in each of my works you can hear (although imperceptible) the distant sounds of the environment. For example, in some tracks of the score for “Hyde’s Secret Nightmare” (2012) you can feel the sound of the rain or the swallows flying over the studio roof. These sounds make the recordings unique and add something special to the music itself; I love to listen to the songs and, thanks to an unexpected noise, remember the recording session and the time spent composing and working on that particular track.
I tried to follow the advice of Maestro Morricone in developing this soundtrack. I tried to compose songs that could be of service to the narrative and the aesthetics of the film, but that could also be heard outside the context of the movie and still have meaning in themselves. I hope I succeeded in doing so, at least in part.
When I started writing the music, the film was pretty much finished, so that I had the opportunity to get an idea of the exact narrative and emotional development, and to write the music following the chronological order of the various scenes. Here are the individual songs you’ll find in the album, along with some notes about them. I promise I won’t spoil any scene…
How to Not Commit
That is, all the (many) ways not to commit suicide, the title is pretty self-explanatory… each method has its own musical “presence”. The scene was, in part, cut in the film where you can only see one of Signe’s ideas for committing suicide. Originally, there were at least five and one of them was jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge: for this scene I wanted the xylophone to quote the music that Bernard Hermann wrote for the soundtrack of “Vertigo”, before taking a funnier and light-hearted direction.
Anna’s Theme
It’s one of the main themes of the movie, it comes back in on several occasions with variations in tempo, arrangement and orchestration. Here the theme is very playful and carefree, deliberately minimalist (just piano and double bass). It has a slight melancholic mood in the central part, to give a sense of foreboding about the evolution of the story.
Indulis
Indulis is Anna’s husband. He is an eclectic character, full of life, funny in some way. For him, I wrote a mysterious, grotesque theme. This is the very first piece I composed for the movie, being the demo that allowed me to join the project.
Divorce Latvian Style
The title of the song is named after the famous Italian comedy of the 60s, “Marriage Italian Style”. For this variation of Indulis’ theme, I composed a trio for 3 cellos (which were actually overdubbed) with the addition of a clarinet in Part B.
The Secretary and the Entrepreneur
A fun little tune that grows and develops slowly like Anna and Indulis’ love story. It’s from Anna’s point of view: she is attracted to his employer, a mature man (married, too) who appears as the most charismatic and charming person in the eyes of a young girl who’s entering city life for the first time.
New Wife New Life
Change is not always a good thing… in this slow and almost fragile ¾ I used the melodica for the melody, which has a vibrant, melancholy sound, while the harmony is supported by the kokle. In Part B, more positive, the harmony is up to the accordion, an instrument I’m particularly fond of because my grandfather used to play it. And here I played the very same “Paolo Soprani” accordion he used to own (which dates back to the beginnings of the 20th century).
Back Home
Variation of Anna’s theme, much more melancholy thanks to the slow tempo, the use of the cello and the repeated Part B (in minor key).
Russian, German, Partisans
A glimpse of the invasion of Latvia by the Russians, the Germans and the Partisans themselves: the track is thoroughly ironic, to highlight the stupidity of all wars. I was inspired by Russian and German popular and military music of the World War II; the partisan theme has instead a folk flavour.
Jealousy
The title says it all, but how can you describe jealousy with music? It is a mixture of sadness and fascination, anguish and melancholia, with a melody that gives the impression to be about to get somewhere but that actually revolves around itself, with suspicion…
10. Helpless Creatures
Piano and kokle arpeggios give the basis for a light melody of only two notes, floating by, a sort of sad lullaby, not very reassuring. The sweet voice is of Agnese, my wife, who always affectionately lends herself to my experiments.
Forest
The forest is the most magical place, so in this piece I tried to create a mix of curiosity and mystery, from the point of view of a child who looks out into the woods, fascinated and frightened at the same time. In the second part there is a new variation of Anna’s theme which begins cheerfully and lively but then leaves room for two cellos playing a sad melody, but also warm and captivating.
Partisans
It’a reprise of the aforementioned “Partisans”, which develops into two other themes, one of which is rhythmically reminiscent of Indulis’ theme. It is essentially a duet for piano and kokle.
Miranda’s Theme
It starts gently as a solo cello piece and evolves slowly with the addition of the piano, in a mixture of hope and sadness.
Center of the Universe
The carillon-like intro gradually takes on nuances I’d define almost sacred. The center of the Universe is in this case the woman as a Mother.
Nothing to Hold
After a very bright and hopeful opening, the melody played by the clarinet and the harmony by the kokle give to the piece a very archaic and melancholy solemnity, peculiarly typical the old folk ballads. Piano and cello then enter to bring the sound up to date, meaning that some events in life are universal and belong to the personal sphere of all men and women of all ages.
Signe and Anna
Signe’s theme and the one of her grandmother Anna converge in this piece, where they have the same ¾ pattern but with different meanings. Signe’s theme is more modern, more curious and hopeful about the world and life, while Anna’s theme, that we’ve heard quite a few times by now, keeps having a feeling of underl
ying melancholy even in this version (which doesn’t include Part B, mainly in minor key).
Miranda’s Solstice
An evolution of Miranda’s theme: in this version it becomes a celebration of the Summer Solstice (the most important festivity in Latvia), of Nature and the Earth. The theme is “born” from the cello and is developed first by a clarinet and then by flutes.
Linda’s Theme
There are several themes in here. The first two belong to Linda’s character and her adventure to be admitted to medical school. Both of them have a certain rhythmic drive and an ironic disposition, almost one of superiority towards everyone and everything. At the end of the track, the brief Irbe’s theme is peaceful and cheerful, to describe a young and talented musician who’s ready for new experiences.
The Bride
Another theme related to Linda, completely different from the previous one. It’s a slow and eerie dance with madness, performed by a woman who has seen every single dream of love and professional ambition dissolve before her eyes. At the same time the music has a solemn, resolute pace, symbolizing the dignity and the will to bite the bullet and go ahead, in spite of everything.
Like A Clown
The title would seem to hint to a particularly funny piece, but it’s actually a song in constant balance between major and minor keys, giving the music an extremely grotesque direction, especially in combination with the pictures and the story of the film, which I’m not going to reveal…
Irbe’s voices
By far my favorite track on the album, it is basically a trio for cello, viola and piano. It’s so very different from the other little tune I dedicated to her, as it represents the struggle she embraces against her will, against the voices she hears inside her head, driving her towards the abyss. The ¾ tempo, which I used extensively in this soundtrack, somehow expresses the madness, the unconscious (perhaps inevitable) desire to surrender to and be carried away by it, as it were the mysterious and deadly partner of an endless waltz.
I Hear Music
This track contains two different scenes which are musically interconnected because they are, in a way, conclusive. Both of them represent the triumph of self-determination over insanity, or rather the acceptance of depression as one of the possible drifts of life. In the first scene, the bouncy rhythm of Irbe’s theme comes back, while, in the second one, the music is a sort of milonga, melancholy but with an encouraging, optimistic ending.
23. Finale
The opening piano and clarinet notes stand for the hesitant and humble way of those who live their life unnoticed, standing in a corner as if they didn’t belong to it. But the piece eventually changes into a melody that wants to express that they are ready to get hold of their own existence, thanks to a renewed awareness of their family, their heritage and life itself.
24.Rocks in My Pockets – End Titles
I had written a song for the final credits, but then we thought it was too “conventional”, an attempt to finish up the movie as if to say, “That’s all folks, don’t you worry, it’s just a tale of fiction.” Truth is, this story belongs to us all, on different levels, it is a celebration of life, of our inner struggle against our own demons and the social conventions that restrain us. Signe specifically requested to give free rein to the orchestration here, as this is the only piece in the film where the music dominates the scene, without the voiceover. So I chose the main theme, Anna’s theme, which starts very slowly, only played by the clarinet, and then develops for the whole orchestra. The inspiration comes from the music of Nino Rota for Fellini’s movies, it’s playful, joyful, reminds of a circus, and reveals that underlying melancholy of popular music. It’s a hymn to life, an invitation to accept it as it is with all the difficulties and idiosyncrasies, knowing that, even with its ups and downs, it’s unique, special, worth living the best that we can.