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This writer listens to the song an average of 20 times per day.
ForSuccession, I got involved pretty early and was able to go to the pilot shoot.
I put together a package of ideas for Adam and [Successioncreator] Jesse Armstrong.
Theres a darkness to the show and a gravitas to it that I instinctively wanted to emphasize.
But theres also an absurdity thats both comedic and strange.
I played him these weird bell sounds I had created.
That tapped into the wavelength Jesse was on.
Jesse was drawn to all of it, so we evolved from there.
How exactly did the theme evolve?There was a tonal complexity to the shows episodes that was fascinating.
As a composer, you really want to confirm youre balancing the elements properly.
Theres sometimes a tendency for composers to think,If the music has humor, maybe thats funnier.
But withSuccession,its by being even more serious that the absurdity reveals itself in its grandeur.
Thats the 30,000-foot view of the emotional landscape I was imagining.
Hip-hop is one of the most amazing and important art forms of the past 50 years.
It has so many nuances, and such depth and profundity.
So I wanted the piano line to feel like that, like it was from some weird place.
It gave the piano a sound that just felt really strange to me.
In a good way!
Theres actually quite a few pianos in the theme.
Maybe theyre there subconsciously, you know?
Im always looking for that, but I definitely went to extreme levels with this theme.
It was actually the last thing I did for the first season.
I mean, I got a sleigh bell in there!
Whats that famous quote?
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture?
And then overlaid with a strange, circus-like mentality.
