In your Berlinale interview of 2020, something you said really stood out to me: “I’m someone that doesn’t always go the easiest way about creating what I do.”  Continuously choosing the more difficult ways and going the extra mile have clearly served you well, and brought great joy to directors, audiences, and fans, but could you tell us more about your creative ways in light of this quote?

I think the best way to describe it is that it is important for me to have a very clear sense of purpose with the sound world I create for each project. That sense of purpose or idea normally comes to me when I’m reading a script, and therefore dictates if I take on a project. That original idea will dictate my working process. If the idea means that I will have to bend over backwards to make it work, I will do that, even if it means going to remote places to record or creating all new instruments. I don’t like taking shortcuts in this process because then it feels like I’m cheating the idea. Luckily the idea isn’t always complicated to execute, but what I meant in that original interview is that I don’t shy away from it if it is. In many ways the process is almost more important to me than the outcome.

Your score and artistry have contributed so much to Joker (first one) as your timeline of how you scored this film went beyond what we know to be the conventional film scoring process. You started writing music at the script stage, which influenced Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar winning performance on set. What was it like having the responsibility of shaping the film in a bigger way than what we usually do?

I love it when I can be involved in projects from the very beginning and find ways to thread the music and the musical approach into the DNA of the project. I feel that’s when you can have a real creative dialogue about the story. I love working in this way. I feel like music and sound have so much to offer as storytelling devices. I have worked like this since my early days of writing music for theater and dance over 20 years ago, where I’d be involved in all the rehearsals and dialogue about set design, costume etc. It’s very fun when a project you are working on is open and collaborative. That’s also why I don’t do that many projects, because each one takes a long time.

We are so excited about Joker: Folie Á Deux and would love to know in what ways your collaboration with Todd Phillips evolved in this sequel? What new things should we listen for in the score?

The biggest difference with this project was the experiments we did in trying to find the right tone for the score and songs to sit together while still being true to the sound world that had already been established in the first film. But otherwise, the process was similar, with the score playing on set to establish the tone again.

I’d keep an ear out for any strange string sounds that are very likely coming from the “String Prison”.

Your score for Chernobyl was so breathtaking, unusual, and original. Identifying radiation as music, and having the score characterize this invisible danger is genius! What sparked this idea? What was your biggest challenge in executing this vision? How did you overcome it?

Thank you! I just felt that music needed to feel like the radiation, because you can’t capture radiation on film or see it with your eyes, so I felt it needed to come from the sound side.

The biggest challenge was to mold the recordings from the power plant into the musical material. That took some serious patience.

We have a lot of members, who like you, are composer moms! What has been your approach to balancing motherhood and such an incredible career?

I think the trickiest thing is to figure out how to navigate having too few hours in the day! 

One of the superpowers you develop with becoming a mom is time management skills, because you’ll need to pick up your child from school no matter how much you are scratching your head over the music you’re writing. 

There are a couple of things that have been important to me in that regard. Sometimes I have very few hours to actually write, so it’s been important to learn to trick myself into feeling I have lots of time to write when I might just have an hour. Never bringing any feeling or pressure or stress to the drawing board. If I’m feeling pressured for some reason, like a deadline or something – it will sometimes help to just stand up and make a cup of tea, or go for a walk around the block, or do any gesture that indicates you are not under time pressure. Sometimes I’ll just take a breath, stand up, look out the window and say outloud to myself “I have loads of time”, which works remarkably well. Just whatever you can do to not feel tense while you’re writing. I also try to make sure I have days here and there, where there actually is no time pressure – I’m not on football training duties, with no picking up – to make sure I also have space to let the mind just wander.

Also another huge (extremely unsexy) thing that I wish I had learned earlier, is meal planners! Come dinnertime, I am normally totally out of decision making capabilities. There are services that deliver the groceries for the week to your door, with the recipes and that saves a serious amount of time not having to go to the store and most of all brain space deciding what to have for dinner. This was a major mom management realization for me!

But mostly, I think it’s just beautiful to open and share the world of art and music to your child. I try to involve my son in what I am doing, to let him be a part of it, bring him to concerts, play music I’m working on for him and ask his opinions. He really appreciates that, even though he doesn’t play music himself. He knows me better than anyone, and he’ll be the first to know (and tell me!) if a melody or a project is any good. I listen to him and value his opinions. 

It’s such an incredible thing to get to do – to be a part of a person growing up, from day one.

You are going to be scoring Nia DaCosta’s upcoming drama, Hedda, which is currently in production! It is the reimagining of a renowned stage drama from 1891. Having watched your other interviews, we know you love doing research before jumping into a new project. Could you tell us more about how you are preparing / have already prepared for this particular film?

Yes, I did some pretty exciting recordings for this project. We’re just finishing so I should probably wait a bit to talk about it.. 🙂

You are known for collaborating with your family members and friends professionally, which I think is the ultimate dream. However, I’m sure things creatively go south every once in a while. When that happens how do you draw the lines between the professional and personal aspects of your relationships?

I think it’s really important to have connection and trust with the people you work with on music. The creative process is so fragile, you need to know the people you let into that space understand you. I’m incredibly lucky that many of my family members are wonderful musicians whom I love. And I am also very lucky that I have musician friends that have practically become family after decades of touring and playing together.

On the practical side, I think it’s important to try to have some spaces and/or times where it’s not allowed to talk about work. For example at the breakfast and dinner table. We try to maintain that rule in any case. Things sometimes do go south of course, that’s inevitable. That normally boils down to miscommunication as can happen in any dialogue, so I think the best way to deal with that is to pause, listen and talk about it. And try to learn from what went wrong. 

Is there any advice that you received that changed your life?

My cello teacher once said to me “Hildur, just play”. I think that probably changed my life.

Is there any advice that you could give that could change lives?

I think I’d forward that advice. Just play. 

Interview by Esin Aydingoz.

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