Congratulations on your Emmy nominations. Dying For Sex walks a delicate tonal line of grief, humor, intimacy, and healing. How did you approach scoring such a complex emotional landscape?

Thank you so much….I’m really grateful to my colleagues for supporting this work!

It was such a tonal tightrope to walk, and it took a lot of trial and error. From the jump, the showrunners Liz and Kim really gave me carte blanche to take unexpected risks with both the palette and approach. They knew me from my Shiva Baby score, so I knew they had a taste for really in-your-face and more experimental work, which is my happy place. On the one hand, the show is sexy, and fun, and it really screamed for energetic percussive and melodic synths. (see “Joy, Light, Positivity” from the soundtrack). On the other hand, Molly is dying, and her body is weakening, and that palette was much more organic, very body-based, and visceral (see “Molly’s Dance” and “In My Twenties”).   And then of course there was everything in between (i.e “Being Touched”, “Popping Pills”). I’m really proud of how honestly the score played. It wasn’t about being sexy during sex scenes, or sad during the hospital scenes — it was about the crazy duplicitousness that life throws at us all the time, where laughing and crying, and living and dying aren’t mutually exclusive.

The series is rooted in real, deeply personal experiences. What kind of conversations did you have with the creative team to help shape the musical tone in a way that honored the authenticity of the story?

Honesty (and the messiness and unpleasantness that goes along with that) was definitely a guiding aesthetic principle. Again, digging into the duplicitousness of being brave, but also messy; sexy yet awkward, confident yet vulnerable etc. So the palette was a lot of the time “at odds” with itself — like sporadic pitch unsteadiness, or an extra beat, or a stark change in instrumentation, or combining really delicate strings with heavy synth distortion.

Across your body of work, your scores often blend organic instrumentation with experimental textures. What draws you to that sound world?

I really love the uncharted territory that combining those worlds allows. Quite honestly, I think part of it is that I get bored easily by working within the same constraints, so I’m always on the hunt for news sounds and treatments and processing techniques etc. More recently, I’ve really enjoyed making my own sample libraries, and designing a palette completely original to the show. It’s a lot of work up front, but I’m most inspired when I feel like I’m working with a palette I haven’t heard before.

As a composer, what does an ideal collaboration look like to you in Television?

I’ve been so lucky to work with so many incredible artists and collaborators, and they’ve taught me so much about what kind of leader and collaborator I want to be as well. I feel most inspired when there’s both a strong vision, and a strong sense of trust, and that comes from both sides. I find I do my best work when it’s like “this is what I want, and what I’m looking for, and now go do you.  Take what I said very seriously, but also surprise me”. In my eyes, that outlook makes people want to be bold, and generous, and really collaborative with their artistry.

How has becoming a mother influenced your relationship to your work, your time, or even the kinds of stories you’re drawn to musically?

I actually gave birth to my daughter while in the middle of writing the music for this show, so she’s been a part of every step of the process on this one. For me, I actually feel I have a much deeper (and quickly-accessed) connection with my music, and with creativity / creation in general. And I’ve heard this from a lot of other parents, but I’ve gotten so much more efficient, and productive — the time I spend writing music and time I spend with my kid are both precious and should be protected.

Finally, what advice would you give to other women composers, especially those early in their careers who are looking to build longevity and creative fulfillment in this industry?

Experiment. Explore. Really take the time to get to know yourself as a writer. Figure out what you love, what excites you — not what you think you’re supposed to sound like, or what would be most widely palatable.  It’s such a great moment to be in this industry because people are genuinely hungry for fresh voices, and there’s so much space for originality. So trust yourself, always be curious, and keep writing!

Interview by Thomas Mikusz

Check out Ariel’s Directory page here!