Gen V has taken the web by storm after one stellar freshman outing. With the solid and crew now open to advertise the present, Heroic Hollywood was fortunate sufficient to sit down down with Matt Bowen, one of many present’s lead composers, to speak in regards to the music of The Boys universe.
The Boys is a twisted universe filled with wanton destruction, exploding physique elements, and fish fellatio. It shines a lightweight on all of the worst elements of a world full of superpowers whereas offering the most effective franchises within the fashionable superhero panorama. All episodes of Gen V season 1, The Boys: Diabolical, and seasons 1-3 of The Boys are streaming proper now on Amazon Prime Video.
You had been a profitable audio engineer for some time within the music trade. What spurred you to make the shift over to composing full-time?
Well, profitable is all relative I suppose [Laughs]. Working is possibly the phrase I’d use. But engineering and composing did type of occur extra on parallel paths. So it was much less “I did engineering, and then I pivoted, and then I did composing”, and extra of the parallel path factor. And I simply had extra instant alternatives on the engineering facet. But all of the whereas I used to be nonetheless trying out composing. I suppose I’ll simply say I used to be attempting to assist pals or different established composers with initiatives so that they had been type of parallel paths.
And an audio engineer, at the very least the best way I used to be working, was with bands and so I’d go away for a month or two months. I say “go away”, and it was all on the town, however for intents and functions, I used to be away. You know, because the engineer you’re there earlier than the band and you allow after the band and also you sync the drives and tidy up so the subsequent day- so these initiatives would take 100% of my time, there’s no writing on the facet while you’re working with a band.
But if there have been a month or two of downtime that’s once I can be chipping away at my very own stuff or any alternatives that got here up on the composing facet. I cherished engineering however I actually cherished composing. There was some extent the place I noticed, ‘if I can pivot, it is something that I want to be able to do.’
Most individuals view making music as a solitary artwork. However, on initiatives like Gen V you’re employed intently with fellow composer Christopher Lennertz. How did you go about working as a duo within the studio?
I imply there’s not loads of us sitting in a studio collectively, so it’s nonetheless a really remoted course of, to be sincere. It was a present to have the ability to have any person that can be arising with concepts and we’re bouncing stuff off of – you recognize, should you’re the one composer on a challenge you continue to in all probability have a crew so there’s nonetheless individuals that you simply’re collaborating with, however it may be nerve-racking to be like “Oh, this is what I think is good and now I’m putting this in front of the showrunner”.
And so while you’re working with another person, simply typically, after which in my case that another person is somebody like Chris who has a ton of expertise, it’s very liberating – it type of virtually helps my artistic course of as a result of I do know if I’m gonna take an enormous swing, my co-composer would possibly say “Dude, you’re gonna get us fired with that,” or he would possibly say “Dude, that was awesome! Let’s riff off that and let’s explore that” after which he takes it and runs with it. So it was very collaborative nevertheless it wasn’t loads of us sitting in the identical room, it was nonetheless us type of in our laboratories so to talk, sending stuff backwards and forwards.
How concerned had been the administrators and showrunners within the course of? Or did they only allow you to two do your individual factor and verify in on the finish?
Oh, no, they’re very concerned. I imply that’s their imaginative and prescient, you recognize, we’re not solo artists as composers. We’re not on the market doing our personal factor. We’re serving to deliver their imaginative and prescient to life. So earlier than we write a notice of music we have now loads of conversations about the place music goes, and how much music it must be.
You know, within the case of Gen V, there have been loads of conversations about “Okay, we have the sound established on The Boys, how much do we want to lean on that versus how much we want to do something new.” So there’s a ton of conversations taking place earlier than we even write a notice of music. And from there on there’s loads of checking in. We need there to be loads of checking in, we don’t need them to be shocked with “Oh, we veered off in the wrong direction.”
So we did, despite the fact that we felt like we had been all on the identical web page. Chris and I did a presentation of simply sketches. They weren’t to any scenes. We had been similar to “These are some possible themes for these characters, these are some ways we might handle an action cue on the show,” simply to begin the dialog. Some of the music written for that presentation was within the present and a few of it by no means noticed the sunshine of day. It all served its objective as a result of it type of perpetuated the dialog.
You touched on discovering that center floor between paying homage to The Boys and looking for Gen V’s personal identification. With initiatives like Gen V and different initiatives you’ve labored on like The Binge, how do you go about attempting to maintain that youthful power the present is attempting to have?
Well, with Gen V… it’s humorous to reply with Gen V and The Binge in thoughts, these are [Laughs] completely different initiatives, I’ll simply say. I really feel very fortunate to have been part of each of them – they had been each a ton of enjoyable to attain. Gen V had a really particular space to sort out, and that was “Okay The Boys exists, and it has a sound, and how much do we want to lean on that versus go with something new?” And I suppose the place I’m going with this reply in all probability applies to The Binge as properly, as a result of it’s somewhat extra of only a “zoom out,” it’s type of a extra philosophical factor which is it’s at all times good to push issues too far, after which say “Oh, okay, I see what you were doing, let’s just relax that a little bit” or “I like that part of that swing you took but I don’t like that part.” It’s simpler to dial stuff again.
That’s truly one thing I realized whereas engineering, simply to loop again round to that, once I was working with bands, it was good as a result of I realized how one can push any person else creatively after which grew to become a artistic myself. So once I’m working with any person in a band we might typically get our quote-unquote “Keeper take” and we’d say “Okay, we have this, we’re good. Now let’s do something outrageous. Let’s do something that we’ll laugh about when we’re taking a break,” proper? And inevitably, I wouldn’t say more often than not, however typically that quote-unquote outrageous factor is the place that actual artistic seed comes from.
And in order that applies on the composing facet too while you’re beginning a challenge. Like, let’s actually push issues, not that we’re attempting to – we don’t must essentially make a groundbreaking rating, however let’s push issues, after which we will see – you recognize, the worst notice you need to get is “It’s not interesting enough” or “It’s not provocative” or “It’s not telling enough of a story.” And then it’s a must to ramp stuff up and that’s approach tougher than saying “Hey, you’re at a nine and we just need to be at a seven,” It’s like, nice, we’ve received the artistic is finished, now we’ve simply received to tug again somewhat bit.
And that’s type of what we did on Gen V. We actually explored new methods of doing issues. And everybody was kinda into all of these concepts, besides the overall consensus was “We veered too far away from the mothership”. So, it was like, nice, okay! You like these new concepts, we have now this established sound, and we type of want to separate the distinction. We clearly know how one can do The Boys factor! No downside for us to veer nearer to that.
Speaking of these wild swings, is there any concept that involves thoughts the place you had a sound or a theming the place you swung for the fences and also you had been shocked they took all of it the best way?
Yeah, I imply, I’m attempting to determine which challenge to give attention to. I suppose on Gen V, our greatest swing was in all probability, not solely the implementation of vocals, we introduced in a feminine vocalist, however not simply use it texturally or in an ambient approach, however we carried the principle character’s theme, Marie, on vocals. So it has this sort of rising line.
That might not likely really feel like that huge of a swing to any person, however coming from The Boys, it’s simply completely one thing we might by no means do on that present. In that sense, it did really feel like an enormous swing. But that was once I was referring to the sketches that we made and I mentioned among the stuff by no means noticed the sunshine of day, among the stuff is sort of used as is. Marie’s theme is used virtually precisely as is the primary time we see her early within the premiere.
As for the swings that didn’t precisely pan out, are there any devices or motifs that didn’t precisely pan out that you simply’d wish to revisit in a future challenge?
It’s all so project-specific, I imply I’m completely high quality simply leaving stuff on the slicing room flooring. I actually attempt to subscribe to the thought of “Nothing is too dear to me,” as a result of it’s not about me. If I had been a recording artist and the label mentioned “We don’t like that song, we don’t want it on this album,” and that track meant rather a lot to me, then positive, I would attempt to maintain that alive, however that wild swing, as we’re type of speaking about, it belongs to that challenge, it was impressed by that challenge, and it feels bizarre – I’d quite let that subsequent challenge encourage regardless of the subsequent wild swing is.
When it involves harnessing that selection, do you’re feeling you’re extra capable of experiment on smaller initiatives, or do you’re feeling you get loads of freedom on The Boys that lots of people wouldn’t count on?
I don’t suppose that the larger the challenge the extra constraints there are, by any means. I suppose simply talking from my very own experiences, I haven’t actually noticed- and possibly I’m simply fortunate to have been working with nice individuals whatever the measurement of the challenge – however I haven’t felt the distinction in artistic freedom.
Whether it’s a buddy who’s making a 10-minute brief for the primary time, which occurred lately, or whether or not I’m engaged on The Boys. They’re a artistic bunch they usually respect creativity. I felt utterly free to do what I believed was the perfect. And then you definitely get your suggestions, and then you definitely hone it in, for positive.
Is there a dream challenge in your thoughts, be it a director, studio, or idea, that you simply actually need to sort out and compose earlier than your profession is over?
A dream challenge? Boy, I really feel like I ought to have a solution to that! [Laughs] I imply, possibly, I don’t know the way strongly I really feel about this, however I’m a lifelong baseball fan, so possibly simply a type of baseball motion pictures. Like a Natural, however then I instantly get somewhat intimated eager about Randy Newman’s rating and suppose possibly I ought to simply keep away! [Laughs]
Plenty of your work, not simply with Gen V and The Boys, however initiatives like Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever. have revolved round superheroes and comedian books. Is there a specific draw to this style or is it simply the place you landed?
Totally the place I landed. Just completely happenstance. That mentioned, I’m thrilled about it. It’s not a path that I carved deliberately by any means, nevertheless it’s an extremely enjoyable playground for positive. You simply get to take real-world situations and switch them on their head. It’s a extremely enjoyable style simply to attain.
Can you go into how you bought concerned with The Boys particularly?
The reply is Chris Lennertz. This was his challenge, and I used to be lucky sufficient to be on his crew – we’ve labored collectively for over a decade – in order that was not a random choice on his half. And he knew, additionally due to my engineering background, that dwelling in a grungy rock production-heavy world can be snug for me.
I simply type of grew to become a much bigger and greater a part of the challenge after which ended up co-scoring a few episodes in [season] 3, and so when Gen V got here up, it simply appeared like a really pure factor, fortunately to everybody, not simply Chris, for us to do it collectively.
When the season is happening, at what level within the course of do you truly begin making the music, after all of the conversations, when do you truly sit down and put, I suppose, “string” to paper?
On a present like The Boys or Gen V, it’s all in regards to the manufacturing. So there’s actually no making sketches. If you’re engaged on a extra orchestral-based challenge, you’ll be able to present sketches, and even then they need to be, clearly, very polished they usually shouldn’t want a lot creativeness to fill within the gaps, so to talk. But on Gen V and The Boys, once we’re exhibiting ideas, they’re fairly totally cooked as a result of a lot of what we do is on the manufacturing facet.
And then, when can we get began? It’s type of everywhere in the map. I imply they despatched us scripts and we learn them. And from the scripts, we truly did provide you with a theme that stayed by way of and is all through the episode for The Woods. Then they despatched us some early cuts, however Chris actually likes to attend till we’re within the room [with the showrunners], as a lot as potential.
You know, Gen V was somewhat completely different as a result of we had been beginning over, so we wanted to get entangled earlier, however on The Boys, Chris actually likes to attend till we’re within the room in order that he can have the response that the viewers will probably be having, after which we will instantly talk about, “Okay, what’s the emotion we need here? What do we need to bring to the story?”
Is there a favourite second, in both The Boys, Gen V, or Diabolical, the place you noticed all of it come collectively and it actually stood out as “Wow, we made something amazing here.”
Wow…there’s a pretty lengthy sequence on the finish of episode 7 on Gen V, and I suppose….it’s been out lengthy sufficient, I don’t know the way a lot to bounce across the spoiler.
I believe you have to be high quality.
There was a sequence on the finish of episode 7 that was… it was a gradual burn. And a gradual burn, typically these are difficult to attain. Chris and I made a decision to do one thing somewhat extra melodic than we usually would do in The Boys universe. But it simply felt prefer it referred to as for it.
So we went for it, Michele [Fazekas], one of many showrunners, was the one reviewing it and I nonetheless keep in mind, I hope she’s okay with me passing alongside these phrases, nevertheless it’s ingrained in my mind, so sorry Michelle if I’m oversharing. But it will get completed, and it’s a not insignificant scene, and it’s three-plus minutes, and it did really feel like an enormous swing, and her phrases had been “F—-ng masterpiece!” It’s like “Ooooh, okay! That… that feels good.” When that episode got here out it, was simply combined fantastically. The performing, and the lighting, and the enhancing – it actually simply all got here collectively and it felt actually good to see that in a completed type.
Outside of that second, is there a observe on the Gen V soundtrack that basically stands out to you as your favourite?
Hard to choose a favourite. Flashpoint was loads of enjoyable as a result of it was on the finish sequence of the premiere. And within the premiere, we type of made a concerted effort to have just a few cues that had these very new flavors.
So it’s like “Okay, we have now a brand new sound, however we nonetheless are commenting on The Boys, and by the point it reaches its apex, we have now this beautiful epic supe fistfight, about as epic because it will get – that was once I actually felt that the 2 worlds simply received mushed collectively. So whether or not or not that’s my favourite piece of music on there I’m undecided, however I believe from an expertise standpoint, it was actually enjoyable to work actually exhausting to ascertain this new sound after which take our already established The Boys sound and actually smash them collectively on this pretty epic sequence.
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