Black Sails
Hundreds of British soldiers lie dead in a forest… the Royal Navy sails back to England… the West Indies are now a war zone, and the shores of New Providence Island have never been bloodier. With the help of Eleanor Guthrie, Woodes Rogers transforms Nassau into a fortress, as Captain Flint amasses a fleet of unprecedented strength, hoping to strike the final blow and reshape the world forever.
Blog Posts
Black Sails - Season One Thoughts
Black Sails - Season One Thoughts
17 March 2014
The first season of Black Sails has come to a close and I admit I’ve fallen behind on my weekly blogs keeping up with the twists and turns, both narrative and musical. Here are my final three video blogs for the season, presented in a single blog entry.
First up, “Singers of Sails” introduces our pirate choir bellowing out a rowdy rendition of the theme in...
Read More Black Sails - Piano Man
Black Sails - Piano Man
23 February 2014
When looking for the musical soul of a new project, I frequently turn to unusual instruments. When you listen to Black Sails, one of the sounds that forms the foundation of the score is actually an instrument we are all familiar with: an upright piano. Along with my engineer Steve Kaplan and piano tech Doug Lacy, I put this piano through the paces, as you will see in my fifth Black...
Read More Black Sails - Hurdy Gurdy
Black Sails - Hurdy Gurdy
16 February 2014
If you’ve been reading my Black Sails blogs, you’ve heard a lot about the hurdy gurdy. So what, exactly, is this weird instrument and how does it work? Check out my fourth Black Sails video blog and get to know the most important instrument in the score:
I never imagined that the hurdy gurdy would become an essential sound for any score, and I had fun exploring the various...
Read More Black Sails - The Trio
Black Sails - The Trio
10 February 2014
The third episode of Black Sails has aired, and so I’ve posted my third video blog! This one introduces Ira Ingber (guitars, slide guitar), Paul Cartwright (fiddle, mandolin) and Ed Trybek (ethnic guitars), or as I like to call them, The Trio:
Episode III introduces a new character, Mrs. Barlow. To underscore her scenes, and the narrative thread she will come to represent,...
Read More Black Sails - Bodhrán & Bones
Black Sails - Bodhrán & Bones
04 February 2014
The second episode of Black Sails has aired, and I’ve released my second video blog! Allow me to introduce Bruce Carver and Brad Dutz, the percussion duo who bring the sublimely clackity rhythmic intensity to my score, playing Bodhrán & Bones:
Percussion tends to be a defining sound for all my scores. But, this particular combination for Black Sails was a creative risk...
Read More Black Sails - The Sound of Sails
Black Sails - The Sound of Sails
28 January 2014
Today, Sparks & Shadows has released my soundtrack for Black Sails, the ambitious new pirate drama from Starz and Michael Bay that premiered last weekend. To celebrate the release, I have posted my first in a series of eight video blogs chronicling my voyage on this unusual series. This week’s vlog, “The Sound of Sails,” offers a glimpse of the unorthodox recording sessions...
Read More Comic Con 2013 Schedule
Comic Con 2013 Schedule
15 July 2013
Entertainment Weekly just broke the news that I am the composer for ABC’s highly-anticipated series “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” for Writer / Director / Executive Producer Joss Whedon.
Readers of my blog know that superhero stories and their scores have had a tremendous impact on my life ever since I was a kid. I grew up with “Batman: The...
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