Interview with Dara Taylor, the Composer who wants to weird you out
“I loved working on The Invitation because both director Jessica Thompson and the film encouraged me to really think outside the box when it came to sound pallets and motifs. I used strange esoteric synthetics, processed found sounds, and processed vocals, which I then blended with a large gothic orchestra to mirror the blend of modern and gothic in the story. An added fun bonus was finding ways to add bits of romanticism within the fabric of the story while keeping a feeling of unease. I was also thrilled that Jess and I were so in sync on the prevalent use of female vocals throughout the score,”
Even with eyes closed shut from attempting to watch the trailer, the soundtrack still looped in the curiosity for The Invitation. That sense of beckoning, from the music, the grand mansion, and the seductive call of an English romance story, was all set up to pull you into a horror movie full of blood and vampires.
The Invitation begins when the story answers the heroines call for family. After the passing of her mother, Evie (played by Nathalie Emmanuel), finds that she has a cousin thanks to a DNA test. At their meeting, her cousin invites Evie to the dream of every regency romance reader: a lavish English wedding coupled with catching the eyes of a dashing aristocrat. Very, very quickly that regency dream is shredded as she discovers her family dark and thirsty history.
To help lure and bewilder viewers is a most unsettling soundtrack. Take a listen HERE, and feel the eerie resonant and hear the spooky chorus. Listen to it in the dark and try not to fight the feeling to run. for the nearest lamp. None of it is easy listening and that’s exactly how Dara Taylor composed it.
Dara Taylor composed the music for The Invitation with the freedom to be “weird”. Using her immensely diverse experience from working on The Tender Bar, Echo Boomers, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, Bad Moms, Shaft, Supernatural, and so much more.
In addition to composing, Taylor is active in promoting diversity within music. She is involved Dara is a proud Executive Committee member for the Composers Diversity Collective, as well as a member of the Television Academy, Recording Academy, Society of Composers and Lyricists, Alliance of Women Film Composers, and Women in Media.
Interview transcript:
Squeedar: We have Dara taylor who is the composer for THE INVITATION. Let me start off my saying that it is an absolute pleasure to interview you. I don’t usually get to interview a lot composers because I am quite intimidated.
DT: LAUGHS
Squeedar: Because I am not too sure how to ask…how you do an abstract and amazing thing. Where you take literally take something from nothing and create music. Can you share with us your background and musical journey?
DT: A lot of play. A lot of my musical taste is rooted in play. This film, in general, really helped me to play around. Jessica Thompson, the Director, was really into just exploring with me and pushing me to be weird. It was great.
I was a chorus nerd, band nerd…
Squeedar: .,..band nerd?! Marching band or orchestra?
DT: Wind Ensemble. I played clarinet very poorly.
Squeedar: Poorly?!
DT: Yeah I was not good...but I played it for years. I played it all the way through elementary, middle, and high school.
Squeedar: You couldn’t have been horrible to play for so long!
DT: My hands still remember the fingerings which is cool. How do I remember that?! I was mostly a vocalist. I was a better vocalist than a clarinet player.
Went into undergrad at Cornell and I studied classical voice. I also start studying art songs and arias. I went into music because I loved music and I went into vocals because that’s what I knew. But performing for a living didn’t feel that was it. Probably because I didn’t practice enough!
I was like, “ahh, I’m all alone in this room” so I chose another career where I am all alone in a different room!
[Both laugh]
DT: I wanted to find something more behind the scenes. I caught the composition bug caught on around sophomore of college where I was studying contemporary classical composition but also knew that film music was where I wanted to go and I was like how do I get there?
So I studied and wrote concert works and chamber pieces and stuff in college. And then went off to NYU Film Scoring Masters Program. So that’s where I learned more about sensibilities and writing for pictures and not just writing for music’s sake. I also learned how to react to the scene and those sorts of things.
I stayed in New York for a while, like trying to do the thing. Was having a hard time doing the thing. I was working in fundraising at PBS with major gifts.
Squeedar: WOW!
DT: It was fun, and the people were great but I was working there for a while. I kept doing well and getting promoted but I’m riding the ladder that I don’t think I want to be on!
Squeedar: You make it sound like a movie, rising on and on! During that whole thing, you just felt something unsettling, like this was not it?
DT: Yeah. And I knew what I wanted to do. I got myself into debt, I’m going to do the thing!
Squeedar: Was there a particular film that started to trigger that thought?
DT: I was listening to a lot of films during that era, so I was listening to Pirates of the Caribbean. The score that I was listening to for my “ah-ha!” moment was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
It’s weird, you hear people ask if you have your “ah-ha!” moment and I really did! I remember it very clearly and it was strange.
Squeedar: Because it was so monumental, the turning point in your life…
DT: Yeah and those were my favorite books growing up. I do remember, and this is going off topic-
Squeedar: That’s oK!
DT: - I remember going into my public library and renting, after reading the books, this dual VHS tape set-
Squedar: Ohh! So did I!
DT: Yes! Where the beavers were baked like potatoes?! And I rented it over and over, and watch it over and over again
Squeedar: I kinda hear it. I listened to the soundtrack..to be fair, I couldn’t make it all the way through because it started…to…creep…me OUT
DT: (laughs) Good! It’s doing it’s job
Squeedar: I thought it was going to be easy listening and I was so wrong. I don’t know if this was your intention or if it’s because I’m a scaredy cat. The music starts off so soft and you’re like this is cool, and this it becomes this almost pin-pricking of your soul….and you’re like, oh, I have to close the door.
Can you talk about how that started and the process? Were you approach to do the The Invitation or did you reach out to them?
DT: I sent in a reel. I don’t remember which direction that went in. I had a meeting with the director, and it went really well. I felt that we both had similar ideas in the music’s role in the film. Again, we’re both not afraid to try new stuff.
Squeedar: Did you already know about the whole story when you sent in the reel or did you just have an idea that it was about something scary?
DT: I think I had a bit of story. I think I knew it was vampire-based.
Squeedar: Which by the way, I felt like a dork because I didn’t get vampire because I had to close my eyes for most of the trailer…’cuz it got so bloody…
Can you share while composing all of this, if there was a sound or melody that is the heart of the movie?
DT: It might be a few things. Probably the heart of the movie are the vocals.
Squeedar: And that’s the chorus thing?
DT: Yeah
Squeedar: Oh…that was so spooky…how many people were singing that?
DT: Three
Squeedar: Three?! All of that came from three?!
DT: Yeah! It was three people. Both the director and I liked the idea that the vocals are like the three singers represent the three brides of Dracula
Squeedar: That’s cool!!!
DT: So they were this beckoning siren call…
Squeedar: Oh, that’s even creepier
[Both laugh]
DT: You know vocals can be soothing but I tried to not let that happen. Basically, I recorded them and reversed them. Everything you hear is a reversed version or at least a good chunk of it. It adds an extra unsettling quality.
Squeedar: So that’s what it was!!!
DT: So it’s cool but it’s not. You’re like asking yourself why does this make me uneasy? And then it’s adding a lot of processing and distortion to make it feel eerie.
Squeedar: When I get the courage to listen to it again, I’m going to try to watch the movie. I just need to watch it in the daytime with lots of stuffed animals because I am very scared. That’s the thing. Something about the music drew me in. So I think you’re kinda like the trap.
DT: [laughs]
Squeedar: Did you have to tell the singers to pretend to be scared or change their emotions. Like don’t sing this too melodic…?
DT: Yeah so I did all the scratch vocals before I recorded them. So that way they can hear the different kinds of tones of it to follow. It was great! I worked with three amazing singers. I have pictures on Instagram of them fake-attack me!
Squeedar: That’s so cute! I wonder if they practiced at home and how weirded out their neighbors were.
[Both laugh]
DT: It was a great day. I worked with this amazing vocal contractor. She is just such an integral part of the team and how she directs the singers and comes up with great ways to describe the sound we are looking for. I think it was because I was trained as a vocalist that it felt really personal being able to have this, have them be prevalent and present and not blended.
Squeedar: Was there like a fun direction that she would give them?
DT: I don’t think it was this score but it was fun having her say things like “make it more Disney”
Squeedar: More Disney?!
DT: [laughs] Not on this film! But it were things like your best Disney princess. Actually, there is a track in the film that we wanted the sound to be sweet and saccharine
Squeedar: Did you have to coordinate the music with the scenes or did the director give you prompts?
DT: A little bit of both. When we first go through the spotting process, which is when you watch the whole movie and discover when music should come in and what the tones should be. So then after that, I do a first pass and watch it through and then she will give me notes and directions like different things to do or try. Like maybe let’s come out here and let’s not be this dark with the main character because we don’t want to be ahead of her.
A lot of it was if there was a low “boom”, it was finding something extra “high” to add on top. Because this is a movie about a woman made by a lot of women to have something that feels more like find the strength in the high and not just in the low.
Squeedar: With you composing and what I saw in the trailer, I get a gist of female empowerment. Is there any other way that you tied that to the music?
DT: Between that and vocals. Trying to find and follow the character and her journey helps.
Squeedar: Was there anything during the process that you had to tweak that you were surprised that it actually worked
DT: No, her notes were pretty good. It was like yeah, this makes sense, this makes it better. It was not so much this project but I have had that experience.
Squeedar: Is there anything in general that you would never put in your music because it’s so annoying?
DT: I mean yeah, some things do over play themselves over time. But even in her notes and direction, like impacting people with having highs and lows, helps get out of those tropes
Squeedar: Are you the type of person in your everyday life to collect sound or collect music? Or do you watch films and feel that you can do it differently?
DT: I don’t really listen to things and think I can do it differently. I’m a strong believer that the best music for the film is what makes it to the screen. Everyone made their own decision for a purpose; every music is so subjective.
I do collect, or I do play a lot of attention to things around me. My dishwasher has a really cool beat sometimes. I love the idea of using sounds of things.
Even in the The Invitation, there were sounds and moments of where we wanted to have it sound like scrapping pottery because the main character does ceramics and that was her artistic calling. There is also a lot of service bells throughout the film, using the bell sounds so it’s like coming from the ether of the forest.
I love finding the music in the everyday as well. It’s one of my favorite things to play around with - Dara Taylor, Composer
Squeedar: I skimmed through the list of movies that you’ve worked on and its whack-a-doodle! You did the Ugly Dolls
DT: Yeah, I worked in the music department of Ugly Dolls!...And now The Invitation…
DT:[laughs]
Squeedar: …do I have the right person?
DT: laughs. Yeah, I would with Christopher Lennertz for six years and helped score Ugly Dolls. I also scored the Curious George movie. Yeah, it’s fun to do a little bit of everything. You know, a lot of comedies, holiday films, and then horror films.
Squeedar: You must have so much fun switching around
DT: It’s like scoring different parts of you. Like therapy.
Squeedar: Is there a genre that you haven’t worked on yet that you would love to work on?
DT: I’ve never done a game before. I know it’s less a genre and more of a different beast.
Squeedar: Ohhh, like a video game?
DT: Yeah, it’s a daunting but fun task that maybe one day I can get my foot in there.
Squeedar: Do you know what kind of game?
DT: I like fantasy kind of games but who knows. In films, I love heist movies too. Or anything with a heist element to it. So I did a short for Illumination on the Sing 2 DVD release.
Squeedar: What?!
DT: It was called For Gunther’s Eyes Only and he’s like a secret agent. It was so fun to work on!
Squeedar: That is so cute! I had no idea. Although for something like video games, specially for Final Fantasy world, the music can be really, iconic to the series. DO you worry about the pressure about that.
DT: A little bit. You step into challenges, and hope you meet the task at hand.
Squeedar: No matter which genre or thing, if you could try to make something iconic, do you think it would be for a film..? Like what kind of music would want to be your iconic signature?
DT: I love it when things can get weird. Like the White Lotus which won the Emmy’s this year. You’re like, what?! That’s my favorite reaction to have, my ideal reaction to get. Like ‘what was that? Why do I feel uneasy?’
Squeedar: So you want people to be confused?
DT: yes! Both laugh I think that’s why I like to play around with sounds and stuff. My favorite question is ‘what was that instrument?!”. Let’s take out all the processing and find out…oh look that was a whistle!
Squeedar: So your aim is to be confusing ,mysterious, and a puzzle
DT: but fun at the same time, you know?
[Both laugh]
Squeedar: What are you hoping the audience will feel while watching the film and listening to the music?
DT: The goal of any film score is to heighten the storytelling and atmosphere. I want them to feel as scared or unsettled as what their watching is.
Squeedar: So it’s not going to be an easy watch?!
DT: No! laughs
Squeedar: I wonder if you go to the theater and watch people freaked out, are you going to go ‘Yes!”
DT: Yes, I won!
Squedar: And a fun question: what is on your current playlist that would surprise people?
DT: Hmm, my playlist. I will be honest; I am a re-listener. I listen to a lot of the same stuff in college. I have a very folksy soul. There’s this great band called “Elizabeth and the Catapults”
Squeedar: What a great name-
DT: -yeah, they’re an indie-Brooklyn fun band I listen. I went to a couple of their shows when I was in Brooklyn. I keep listening to the same album from 2009 called “Taller Children?”. And also, Fiona Apple,
Squeedar: Would you like to provide any final thoughts that you would like to share for anyone curious about the movie?
DT: Go and see it, it’s a fun ride!
Thank you Dara Taylor for the interview!
