Rolfe Kent

Cave Echoes

2007-08-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

The main focus now is the forthcoming Burning Man, where my little camp IRONICA is hosting some more of my musical experiments.

I am really looking forward to this one, especially since the last few months have been so full of difficult stuff.
I have been working intensely on FRED CLAUS, a film which kept being recut and reconceived, and I was whipping up new music all the time to keep pace with the new versions of the film. Really an incredible process, and I was very excited by the depth and detail of the music I created. Unfortunately the completed score fell victim to some studio exec, and is to be replaced by someone else. None the less I had a really exciting time working on it, and the manner in which the score evolved still suprises and delights me.

Gerry Kent, RIP.
On 4th July, my father died. I was fortunate to be with him in the UK, having flown over once I realised how seriously ill he was. Given that I immediately went back into the whirl of work I didn't have time to really process what it meant, the loss of a Dad who was distant, but whom I loved from afar. Now I think of him often, with mixed emotions, but mostly a gentle sadness that we never became close. He was 84.

My construction project is nearing its' close.
My new studio is nearly built, and I am very much looking forward to being in an airly and light room, built with film scoring in mind. The process of building has been stressful of course, and I have much to do before I can set up all the gear in there. I hope the next score, starting in Sept, will be composed there. The first new location for me in 11 years!

But as I said, Burning Man is getting my focus now, as I plan the YoSingSU choir workshop, and the Great Singing Buddha Bowls (Chants, Rhythm and Singing). For YoSingSu I am piecing together some amps and mics and delays to create an echoing environment. The idea is that you can enter the space and feel as if you are in a huge canyon or cave with magnificent echoes and reverberations. Then the workshop entails soft guided singing, which will be magnificently enhanced by the virtual acoustics. So at present I am trying to figure out the right kind of miking, and the right kinds of echo devices. I think a mic going to a guitar-pedal style delay, followed by 4 vox amps with built-in delays might work. I'm working on it, and any recommendations are welcome.

So perhaps I shall see you on the Playa. If not, I send you love, Rolfe

Christmas in June, July & August

2007-05-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

Just starting FRED CLAUS; I get to spend 3 months of my Summer living & working in Christmas! OK, so much as I am trying to get away from comedies, I must admit I am enjoying this one. Directed by my pal David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) it is warm hearted and very entertaining. It's about Santa's dysfunctional brother Fred (Vince Vaughn).

It's also fun because DD has asked for a big orchestra, and that doesn't happen all that often these days. Mostly directors ask me for a sense of intimacy in the music, and the ensembles are small. So the grand approach is a rare opportunity for me.

"Hunting" Diary

2007-05-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Richard Shepard's new film "The Hunting Party" is at last at the recording stage. It was deemed important to get an eastern european flavour to the piece, and the word was that the orchestra in Софиа was the way to go. So here I am, in this strange yet friendly town, not far from Serbia which is where the film is set.

The players are very good, and certainly bring a slavic flair to the music, which is a combination of orchestra, twangy ethnic sounds, voices, and grooves. We record in an old commy era radio hall, and all directing is through a translator. Sounds like it would be difficult, but it mostly works out pretty well. Sometimes it is simplified by sketching the intended music changes on a piece of paper and passing it around.

Still I miss being able to communicate directly with the players, and the repartee of chatting with an orchestra. It's a little intimidating standing before a host of musicians and not being able to understand what they are saying between each other.

The score is done, and I am very pleased with the results. It's the first full thriller score I have composed in a while, and I like it. I hope I get more thrillers to work on.

Answers...

2007-04-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Response to "Nevermind"; I dunno what the Dexter theme reminds you of, but yeah it does have a sort of '60s feel to the tune. I'm quite influenced by 1960's film scoring.

Hayley asked whether the piano in the REIGN score was real or sampled. Well, it depends as both were used in different places, but the darker piano sound was a beautiful sample.

Cameron, I'm delighted you rediscovered the House Of Yes. Still a favourite of mine, and a very cool underground film.

Bosnia begins

2007-02-21T23:30:00.001-08:00

Completed the cd for REIGN OVER ME, which will be released by Lakeshore records on 20th March. The film comes out 23rd March.

Learned today that there will be a CD of music from DEXTER later this year, featuring my theme plus music from the series by Dan Licht.

Currently scoring Richard Shepard's new film about American journalists on an ill-advised trip to Bosnia to find and interview a fugitive war criminal. It's based on the true tale of Sebastian Junger and John Falk who spent their summer vacation 2001 hunting for, and almost finding, Karadzic. It's a really refreshing change of pace for me; an tense adventure/drama, beautifully shot in Croatia by David Tattersall, and starring Terence Howard and Richard Gere.

(YosîngSů) Happy New Year 2007

2006-12-29T00:59:00.000-08:00

The last 3 months have been full. After completing REIGN OVER ME (out in March 2007) in September I went on to score Dan Waters' SEX & DEATH 101. It stars the heavenly Winona Rider, who was in another film Dan wrote, Heathers. It was fun to do.

There have been various musical events; the Notorious and Despicable Song Shop met twice, and a new event called YosîngSů (Car Park Singing) was launched. Basically I wanted to make use of cool reverby places in LA, such as parking structures, lobbies, tunnels, metro stations etc. So it is a gathering of singers in these seemingly random public places, who then are guided through some mesmerizing soft harmonic singing. It's really sweet sounding, and is like a bloom of colour in a grey concrete environment. The music is like a choir, but without any of the stuffiness, just the purity and warmth.

If anyone knows of any such spaces with beautiful echoes or long reverbs, do let me know, as they'd be great for YosîngSů. We love to sing in places with gentle human traffic passing by.

Now I need to get back to the GSBB and it's tribal soccer choir qualities.

Next on my schedule is Richard Shepard's film about chasing war criminals in Bosnia. I'm looking forward to that both for the change of pace, and because Richard is an old friend. We made a film called MERCY together (we both produced it) a decade ago, and each time he makes another film is a great reunion.

All the best to you for 2007. Rolfe

Playa Chant

2006-09-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

Got back from the best Burning Man yet- really a wonderful time with such a warm, generous and enthusiastic atmosphere. Held numerous workshops including 3 Great Singing Buddha-Bowls, and they have helped me figure out where I want to take this organic, hypnotic, participation music thing next. Which is, of course, deeper, more evocative, more passionate, and more opening. It's a project I am calling Long-Song for the moment. More on that later.

Meanwhile the GSBB's were fantastic, and the last one, on Saturday evening before the Burn, was full power, with particpants being in full voice, vigorous and fun and loud. We are all standing or dancing on a dusty street corner in Black Rock City, bikes and art cars slowly weaving by, and the 50 of us are hollering and singing and chanting; creating a musical space in the midst of the dust and noise. It was spine tinglingly wonderful.

Buddha-Bowl at Burning Man

2006-07-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm getting more excited as we get closer to Burning Man (end of Aug). The camp Ironica, will be hosting several events and workshops including several occurances of the Great Singing Buddha-Bowl Experiment. It should be bigger than ever before, and I am at once rather nervous as well as excited about how it might go.

So nice to be making a real contribution to BRC in this way.

Songs in F2L and other films

2006-07-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Songs are not my department. Someone else deals with them. I compose orginal music for the film and have no information about the songs.

If you need to find a song title, look at the credits at the very end of the film, and the last thing you see will be all the names and details of all the songs used in the film.

Good Luck.

End of Dupree and up to Reign!

2006-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well it happens to everyone sooner or later, so I am told, and on Dupree it happened to me. The score was recorded and everyone was happy. Then 2 weeks pass and it is deemed that the score is too different to the temp score that was used during test previews (though no one actually watched the film with the score). The music is then replaced. Ah well. Jerry Goldsmith once said no one can really call themself a film composer till they have had a score tossed, so I guess I can regard this as some kind of graduation.

I am now on a beautiful film called Reign O'er Me. It is Mike Binder's new work, and it is touching and human and a delight to work on. Small intimate sensibilities pervade the film and the score. It's a magical and compassionate movie, and feels really good to me. Recording in September.

Dupree

2006-05-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

The UK sojourn was really good, even though the Longford project ran out of time and couldn't be completed. But seeing friends, making new friends, and creating 2 Great Singing Buddha-Bowls made the trip a really memorable one.

Now I am on an Owen Wilson project, the Russo Brothers' "You Me and Dupree". Much as I want to get away from comedy I couldn't help signing up for this film. It has such a great energy, and is a welcome change from the dark material I was on in London. We record in LA in 3 weeks, and I am looking forward to the sessions.

Nighttime Buddha Bowl

2006-02-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

Hello. the last Buddha Bowl was so good I didn't want to wait before doing it again. So here's the first nighttime one. It'll be on Thursday March 2nd, 7:30pm, Hollywood. Location to be defined soon, but I want you to have this in your calendars.

The Great Singing Buddha Bowl....A whole bunch of rhythmic and chanting group games you participate in, each one drawing your focus into the sounds we are making, and building layers of voices and rhythm. Each one builds and builds, and as the layers accumulate, and the volume increases, it becomes this big, thrilling musical thing, beautiful and chaotic.

Previous reactions:
"leaves you feeling energized and connected"

"I'd say that for me, the best part was the connection with other people. When everyone's singing together and shuffling about, making eye contact, smiling, and just generally being *social* within the context of music making....that's fun."

"fun, different, cathartic"

Blogger now functioning

2006-02-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

At last my Blogger is working again. I just got a load of comments/feedback that had been stuck in the system since October 2005. So I'll be getting to responding to them all shortly.
I just finished Failure to Launch, which I hope will be my last comedy for a while. The next project is LONGFORD by Peter Morgan and with Jim Broadbent and Samantha Morton. I'm going back home to the UK for this drama about Lord Longford, and so I'm really looking forward to it, both because it is not-at-all-funny, and because I get to spend time with friends and family. The film itself should be on HBO in early May.
In order to do the film in the UK I am cobbling together a little mobile composing rig. It's amazing how small this can now be: just a couple of laptops really. I'm putting them together and figuring out how it'll all work this month.
Meanwhile the score CD for WEDDING CRASHERS has been released, to coincide with the DVD.

the beginning of Failure

2006-01-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Feverishly composing the score to Tom Dey's FAILURE TO LAUNCH, which is due for a March release! It's a nice flick, a witty comedy, and nice to have a film with Bradley Cooper and Kathy Bates to work with again. But the schedule is hectic and I now have flu. My orchestrator caught it in NY during last week's scoring sessions, and now i seem to have it. No voice, just a whisper and a squeak.

Meanwhile am planning the next Great Singing Buddha Bowl Experiment for early February. The first one went so well. It's a tribal- choral thing, and it was pretty exhilarating. The next one should have about 50 participants. I'm looking for somewhere to do it in LA that has a nice long reverb though. An alley, or archway perhaps. Or a hall. Any ideas? I need to get my voice back for that.

Constantine snaps his fingers

2005-10-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

Gerry's question: On the Sideways soundtrack CD "Constantine Snaps His Fingers." Where does it occur in the film? It's in the end credits - it's a theme that was originally for the arrival at Solvang but wasn't used there.

The last few weeks I've been working on the JUST LIKE HEAVEN suite, which will be premiered by the Florida Orchestra and Richard Kaufman later this month. And I'm prepping the WEDDING CRASHERS score CD which comes out with the DVD release in January 2006.

Notorious and Despicable Song Shop at BURNING MAN 2005

2005-08-17T23:59:00.000-07:00

Event: Notorious and Despicable Song Shop
Description: A Song Workshop- write a song on the following themes, and we'll open it up and thrash it out. All singers, strummers, musicians welcome.

TUES: DRUNKEN WALTZ-including these words: Gothic, Cockatiel, Burn, Mental
WED: Boozy CALYPSO- including these words: Rum, dust, id
THURSDAY: A Rowdy IRISH SONG including these words: Fitzcarraldo, psyche, bike.

Come to Ironica's dome with or without a song and join us!
Date: Tues Aug 30th - Thurs, Sept 1, 2005
Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm
Duration: 120 minutes
Category: Music Events
Hosted by/Camp Name: IRONICA
Address: 5:10 and EGO
Email: rolfek@pacbell.net

Thank You For Smoking

2005-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Busy days - I'm scoring a cool satire called Thank You For Smoking, and after 10 days of trying out ideas have just begun to understand what I am doing for this film. The instrumentation is a small group of instruments and sounds, including uke and melodica so far. Like all the satire work I have done before getting the mood and tone just right is crucial- and also complicated. So it's taking a lot of focus and experimentation. And there's little time as the film needs to be ready for the Toronto film festival, so I'm feeling the pressure.

Meanwhile I am also preparing for a trip to Burning Man in a month, so there is lots of consulting and coordinating with my fellow campers, and getting stuff together for the camp. There are many plans of things to offer in our camp (entitled Ironica) from song workshops to body work and shows, and ideas are beginning to come together. I'm wondering what instruments to take - what will survive well in the desert? An accordion?

Fight Club

2005-07-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

In response to the request - to be honest I don't know where my track is used in Fight Club. It was simply lifted from the score to Slums of Beverly Hills. The original track title was Coffee Shop Musac, and I'll post it for download soon.

Desert music

2005-07-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

Just back from Paris, where I was contemplating various ideas for Burning Man this year. The first was to run the Notorious and Despicable Song Shop, a kind of workshop on songwriting that I have run before and was really involving and cool and fun. The next, inspired by seeing some great street musicians in Paris, is to create a home for classical music in BRC. I've long been looking for a classical music festival with the spirit and atmosphere of a rock festival, and have yet to find one. I imagine a very casual and lively environment, with street performers and concerts of substance, but all with that anarchic vibe of something alive and uncontainable. I think BRC maybe a good place to try this out.

So anyway, I wondered if such a thing exists at BRC, and if not, whether people and players would be interested in supporting such an adventure. From opera with accordion, through string quartets, and beyond, I wonder what is possible. All ideas welcome, so do let me know if you have any thoughts or reactions.

Meanwhile, after a brilliant break in europe, and making new friends at the Paris American Academy this last week (a guest of travel writer Rolf Potts), I am starting back towards the States.

Just Like Heaven - Sony Studios sessions

2005-06-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning, the day after finishing the orchestra sessions for Just Like Heaven. After all the intensity and adrenaline of the last 5 days suddenly I have a calm and relaxed day, the sun is shining and I have time to notice. I feel like doing nothing...slowly. Each day this week I awoke before the alarm went off, did a little yoga, and dashed off to Culver City to arrive at the studio amongst the gathering flow of violinists and cellists, the bass players already with their coffee chatting in the alley, Gayle the harpist inside tuning up. In the control room Nick, Alice, Tony and Vini would be quietly pottering about, Steve Kempster calmly at the console, and I'd hasten through, trying to be calm but really full of the buzz of eagerness and apprehension, and I'd try to see if I could find my wand and work out what music to start with.

The sessions went really well, and the orchestra sounded great; really clear and expressive, and with the glorious large scale atmosphere of that room. The film is rather magical anyway, and I enjoyed spending time nuancing the orchestral voices, the weaving of parts, during the composing phase, and then hearing how that all came through during the sessions. The players are warm and friendly and witty, and ever since I began conducting a few years ago I have enjoyed the jibing cameraderie that I get a glimpse of at these dates.

But it had been 6 months since I last conducted, and it was a suprise to me how rusty I was. There's a lot to concentrate on when conducting and trying to hear and understand how the orchestral performance is impacting the picture, all the while keeping time and not losing my place in the score. I still feel like a novice at it, but somehow it all works, and I got better through the week. The thing I found hardest is concentrating after lunch; there I am waving my baton oblivious to what bar it is or if the flutes are loud enough, fighting the desire to nap. A big help when uncertain is to listen back to the demo, as it reminds me of my intentions - how I had meant to music to play against the pictures.

On the last day I started giving the downbeat to a music cue, and suddenly the orchestra launches into a huge and sweeping version of Happy Birthday - a suprise to me, and to Sid Page, the concertmaster violinist whose birthday it was. It was epic, and a major feat to get 80 musicians to play without letting the concertmaster know what was about to happen.

Now the recording is done I have a week mixing the score in a small studio. From the large scale and excitement of 80-90 players to the quiet painstaking detail of the mixing sessions with just 4 of us.

How to find the Songs in Movies

2005-05-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Michiel just posted asking for the title of a song from "40 Days and 40 Nights" but didn't leave me his email. The thing is I have no idea about the songs in movies - I don't have anything to do with the choices of songs. In order to find out what the song was I had to play the end titles on the DVD and there it is - 1st song listed is the one Michiel wants.

So Michiel if you email me your address I'll let you know what it is.

Meanwhile please save yourself all the searching and just look in the end credit roll for the songs - they are always listed.

Los Olivos

2005-05-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who have asked for sheet music for the Los Olivos cue - I am working on it. The Sideways Jazz band has it in their touring repertoire, so I shall endeavour to create a lead sheet from the live version.

Meanwhile I am going into week 3 on HEAVEN; it's taking a lot of focus to compose such detailed orchestral music, but I am enjoying the process. The schedule just got shorter, and I have nearly one hour of score to create, so I am feeling the pressure. But the film is really enjoyable to work on, and I can't wait to hear the live orchestra playing this score.

Just like…

2005-04-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'm just beginning work on Mark Waters' new flick JUST LIKE HEAVEN. It's a gorgeous looking film, set in SF, and it's romantic and heartfelt. I've been looking forward to this for months. I have been thinking about another large orchestral score and what I'd like to try this time, and that's just what Mark has asked for. I've been away for a while, recharging after Matador and Crashers, and it feels really nice to be back at work.

I've just updated my writing studio and have had a few teething problems with things like Midi Over LAN, and I got rid of my analogue mixer so I am adjusting to digital life. The change feels good, though it'll take a little getting used to, and I'm very glad I have Stephen and others to call on to help me when I get snagged. As of yesterday evening everything was working. Fingers crossed.

Streaming Audio versus Downloads

2005-04-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

I'm just wondering what people actually use - does anyone listen to the RealPlayer music or do you prefer to simply download the mp3? Please let me know what you use. Rolfe

Happy Campers

2005-04-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

I keep getting requests for this score, which never ceases to suprise me as the film is not well known. The music has never been released on CD (of course). So I have posted 10 tracks on my "download" page. As ever I am eager for feedback. And you can now hear tracks from Matador and Wedding Crashers too.