Hi Adiescar, so excited to have you with us!  I’d love to start with the old standard intro question- how did you get started in music, and how have things progressed?

Pretty sure I practically came out the womb singing! Music has been in my blood and soul since I was born (a cliché I know, but true). Doesn’t matter how good I was at it, creating music has always brought me so much joy! I’m like a kid with their macaroni art, showing mum and dad… “Look what I did”! I was lucky they were always so supportive. I learned piano, violin, guitar and singing from a young age, and attended theatre school every Friday evening from about 4 ½ years old to 16! I did GCSE music a year early, having already completed all my course work in advance, and my mum enrolled me in the ‘Sound and Music’ summer school to compose music two years in a row. It was there that I became very passionate about writing music for media (TV, Film, Video Games etc.) I was told it was a difficult and competitive career to get into, but this never really fazed me. Call it naivety, but I was just a determined little dreamer. I did my undergrad at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying composition for 4 years, and then did my masters in ‘Composing for Film and TV’ at the National Film and Television School. That was probably a couple of the best years of my life… I felt like Augustus Gloop at Wonka’s factory… but music instead of chocolate. Then 6 months after graduating I got the amazing opportunity to compose for the Netflix show Heartstopper. It was my first big project out of school, so I was certainly thrown in the deep end. Since then, I’ve enjoyed working on many more projects, so feeling very blessed that this is now my job!

 I’m curious about your work across so many art forms- film, TV, and video games.  Do you find certain things about your style that overlap these mediums?  What doesn’t?  

We’re here to tell stories, and the thing I find so powerful about music is that it can reach emotions deep inside a character or completely flip the script on a certain moment. That’s the main thing in common with all art forms. Another aspect I love about composing for media is the different elements that can make up a piece. You split music into stems, so a line of strings, a line of percussion, a line of bass… and with these pieces you can add and take away at different moments and the possibilities almost become endless. This is mostly used in video games, as the player can define how a piece of music develops depending on where they go and what they do, the game music can use these stems in particular ways to help elevate the story. In ‘through-composed’ scores, where the edit and story become ‘locked’ in place can also utilise these stems. In documentaries it’s particularly helpful as the edit usually develops over most of post-production, so allowing editors to use these stems as they go is particularly helpful, and then in fiction/drama films and series, I can use these stems to try out different ideas, and weave in different themes and elements to create synergy in a score. It’s a lot of fun, trying out and fitting these pieces together!    

You scored Netflix’s Heartstopper, which was a fantastic score by the way.  I dug the analog-y synths woven throughout the instrumentation, as well as the heartbeat-like pulsing elements present in a lot of the score that gives the music a lot of forward momentum, buildup, and hope.   I’m curious to hear about your scoring process for this show- how was it?

Heartstopper will always hold a special place in my heart. As my first big project, I was quite daunted by the prospect of not only writing for a series, but that the team wanted something ‘new’ and ‘unique’. I wasn’t given any temp (temporary music) with picture, so the ideas were completely organic. It started with a few ideas I’d put together for the pitch and developed from there. I dig raw/analog sounds too! So I used them a lot. The sounds I found and used were then processed, becoming even more unique. Synths can sometimes be quite cold and lacking in emotion, so I wanted to find a way that linked us to those deep emotions we feel growing up, e.g. teenage angst, and first crush flutters! You’ll also hear a lot of chord progressions that rise and almost link back to themselves (like the cycle of fifths), creating this continuous rising feeling. And the use of a filtered kick, and bass pluck synth together creates this great frequency that almost punches your heart when you hear it! I loved using these tricks! Creating these sounds, I was in my element and had so much fun!

What instruments do you play?  How do you tend to feature them in your composing work for film/TV/games?

Oh my word… so I always say I’m like a crazy cat lady, but instead of cats I collect musical instruments. I’m not good at them all but enjoy utilising them in my scores whenever I can. The main instruments I play and use are piano, violin, viola, cello, acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar and singing. The string instruments I play are particularly useful for mocking up scores or doubling string VSTs. Other instruments I play and have used in my scores are didgeridoo, saxophone, flute, accordion, handpan, ukulele, mandolin, autoharp, melodica… just to name a few. When I scored the first season of the revamped Bergerac I wanted to use instruments that felt mysterious, and sea-like (buoyant), so I used a filtered accordion and melodica, along with the handpan. It created this lovely texture and made the score feel unique in a way. In Heartstopper I used materials I just picked up around me, pencils tapping on books, banging my chest and singing, a weird toy gun that had a spring loaded inside, made a cool sound… you can find almost anything to use – just look around you!

What does community mean to you, and how do you like being involved in your community?  What does the AWFC bring into your career/life?

Sometimes I feel like a little studio gremlin… just tucked away all day, creating music. For a long time, I wouldn’t leave my home for days on end. Then I got a dog… and he forced me out the house! I ended up meeting so many people in my local community, it was lovely. But then, having a community of like-minded individuals, like the AWFC, is so beneficial. On a surface level, it’s just nice to meet up and talk about our lives, our work, swap advice and stories etc. and going deeper into work it can be a great way to network. Whether it be finding a job such as a composer’s assistant, or finding people to work with, like orchestrators, musicians etc. Having that group of people you can reach out to is incredibly useful. I’ve met so many wonderful people at AWFC events, both socially and professionally. I also think the AWFC is a great advocate and useful for helping build up composers who are just starting their career, as well as pushing for change in the industry to become more inclusive to women and non-binary composers. 

Anything coming up that you’re able to share with us about?  A new project, exciting life moment, something that inspired you lately?  Thanks for joining us!

There’s a lot in the works right now… Heartstopper’s final instalment, which will be a movie! I’ve recently composed for a feature film called ‘All Night Wrong’, and am currently finishing up a crime-documentary for Hulu. And more projects in the works… (stay tuned, as they say). 

 Thanks for having me!

Interview by Connor Cook

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