Composers working in longform TV continue to find fascinating and original ways to convey the essence of character and nuances of emotion over multiple hours of storytelling. This season’s standout efforts included shows like “Murderbot,” “Pluribus” and “Spider-Noir.”
For Apple TV’s “Murderbot,” composer Amanda Jones (who previously worked with co-creator Paul Weitz on the film “Moving On”) confesses that she “inundated” Weitz with demos and musical ideas for six months before shooting even began. And once she met Paul’s brother and co-writer Chris Weitz, she was formally brought on board.
For the title character (Alexander Skarsgård), “this robotic thing that has human-like tendencies,” Jones says, she decided on an analog synth, the Roland Juno 60, in part because “it just creates the craziest noises — something that was definitely a piece of machinery but does have a mind of its own.”
To this she added a Korean reed instrument, the saenghwang, which “can reach crazy high-pitch frequencies” and underlines the notion of an organic-synthetic combination. “As he’s achieving some sort of humanity, or showing some essence of being sentient, I would blend those layers,” she explains.
As the series progresses, we hear more of her 50-piece orchestra. She had the most fun using it the music of “Sanctuary Moon,” the sci-fi soap opera that obsesses Murderbot. “I’ve always wanted to write something like this,” she says. “It’s very Bernard Herrmann-esque and it was great to stream-of-consciously write something in that style.” She also put music to Chris Weitz’s lyrics for the “Sanctuary Moon” theme.
