Featured Projects

DEVS

DEVS is the brain-child of writer and director Alex Garland. It has been described as a ‘tech thriller’, but this does not do justice to this brilliant & fabulously multi-layered 8 part series for FX/Hulu. It pretty much re-defines what can be achieved within the ‘thriller’ format.

This was another of our collaborative projects with composers Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow and Suvie Evaaikas.

“Overlaying all of this is a chilling, almost religious score from Ben Salisbury, The Insects and Geoff Barrow – harsh woodwinds and echoey chants that feel culled from around the world.”      Slashfilm

“..and the haunting score (Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow, and The Insects) provide much chilly ambience, mood, and transfixing atmosphere to the emotional climaxes and revelations.”      The Playlist

“And if Pill won’t haunt your dreams, the series’ rumbling score — crafted in collaboration among Ben Salisbury, The Insects, and Geoff Barrow — certainly will. There are occasional echoes of other people’s work in there (some of the loud stings recall Hans Zimmer’s compositions for Inception), but most of it sounds and feels completely alien, the better to illustrate how rapidly Forest and his collaborators are trying to depart from the rules of the known world. Garland uses their soundscapes to spectacular effect throughout, but particularly to accompany the occasional action set pieces, like a brutal, slow-motion fight between two ageing spies who are keenly aware one of them won’t survive.”      Rolling Stone

“It’s all wrapped up in a musical composition — the duo known as The Insects, with Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow — that’s sometimes sumptuous and sometimes absorbed in the almost industrial ambience of the soundscape. It’s all pure Garland and a reminder that auteurism is a team sport.”    Hollywood Reporter

Listen to tracks

“This is where you say goodbye”

“Predetermined”

HANNA

We were involved in writing the score for Seasons One & Two of HANNA (Amazon Prime). This was a collaboration with fellow composers Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow, Suvie Evaaikas & Yann McCullough. It was a great team effort and a privilege to work with such talented composers as well as the writers, directors and producers who have made this a very successful and acclaimed series.

Here’s a review of Season One – at the time of writing HANNA Season Two has yet to be aired.
Review from The Guardian

Mixing Hanna at BoomPost, London

The Living and the Dead

This was a brilliant show to work on – such a great team of writers , directors, actors, producers, photographers, editors and sound designer.

We arranged and produced a number of traditional folk songs for the series, and tried to give a new interpretation to these songs, matching the atmosphere of the show.

The main theme and titles music for the series is a song called “A Lyke Wake Dirge”. The song has pagan pre-Christian origins and tells of the soul’s travels on its way from earth to purgatory. The singer on this is Howlin’ Lord who is a friend and occasional collaborator.

The song featured in Episode One is “She moves through the Fair”, which is a much-recorded and well-known tune of Celtic origin. The singer is Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins, Massive Attack). She really is an amazing singer!

The song which features heavily on Episode Three is “The Reapers Ghost”, written in the 1930s by American singer/songwriter Richard Dyer Bennet. He based the song on a story he overheard in a rural pub in Norfolk about a man who walked behind a hayrick and was never seen again! The singer on our arrangement is Sean Cook (Spiritualised,Lupine Howl & The Flies).

The short section of song in Episode Four is called “The Lovers Ghost”. The singer is Elizabeth Fraser.

The soundtrack album for the series is no longer commercially available, but if you want a copy please get in touch with your email details and we’ll send you a copy for free.

Death comes to Pemberley

Adapted from P.D.James imagined sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Death Comes to Pemberley (Origin Pictures) is a costume drama with a murder mystery twist in the tail.This was a great opportunity to work with director Daniel Percival again and with a great cast and production values.

Some of the main themes were written prior to actual filming as a response to Juliette Towhidi’s wonderful screenplay and our aim from the outset was to knit together the two genres, making reference to the period and at the same time creating a contemporary  ‘whodunnit’ score.

We opted for a piano-led score, with accompanying harp, flute, horns, chamber strings and – in places – female vocals. We also made use of the Ondes Martenot (an early electronic instrument) which supplements the more conventional instrumentation.

The result is some of our most melodic and tuneful – and certainly our most lyrical – film music.

Wire in the Blood

Wire in the Blood (ITV Drama) was based on Val McDermid’s cult crime novels of the same name.
The show has been incredibly successful, eventually running to 6 series and selling to over 80 countries. Much of the credit for this success goes to producer Sandra Jobling (Coastal Productions) who always maintained the originality and quality of the writing, who brought in an array of very talented directors and actors and was always striving to improve and progress the show.

Fortunately for us, we stayed on board and wrote the music for all 6 series.

Special mention to Robson Green whose superb portrayal of criminal profiler Tony Hill was central to the shows success.

Rocket Man

Everything starts with the script . If you get that right, chances are you’ll have a good film.

Rocket Man is a good example. It’s a beautifully written and original piece – a bitter/sweet comedy that can really pull on the heartstrings or just make you laugh. It also has some great ensemble acting.

So this was an opportunity to write a lighter, whimsical sometimes romantic score and also create some genuinely funny odd-ball music along the way.

Place Of Execution

This is a stunning adaptation of Val McDermid’s novel, brilliantly directed by Daniel Percival.

The series was nominated for The TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards, and star Juliet Stevenson was awarded Best Actress on 21 October 2009.

On one level the score inhabits the bleak melancholic Derbyshire landscape and its dark secrets, but it also keeps in step with the highly paced and melodramatic narrative.

The music is notable for the haunting sound of the bowed psaltery, which is a zither of Appalachian origins.