Composer Interview: Dominic Lewis (May 13, 2015)

If Dominic Lewis is not on your radar, he should be. Dominic has been a go-to collaborator for some of Hollywood's biggest names including John Powell, Henry Jackman and Hans Zimmer. He is also one of the most impressive talents and voices as a composer in the industry. His premiere score to the hit animated film Free Birds instantly perked up everyone's ears. He was also behind the teen comedy The DUFF and now the big-screen adaptation of the hit series Spooks. US audiences may not know what Spooks (also known as MI-5) is, but the ever popular UK spy series aired for 10 seasons, and now has a big screen continuation starring Game Of Throne's Kit Harrington called Spooks: The Greater Good. Dominic and I chat about how he got the job (with a little help from his friend John Powell) and how he wanted to break the mold of the modern spy genre. Dominic shares all of his tricks of creating an organic electronic soundscape by recording modems, phones and mouse clicks for percussion. The score is refined and intense even in its subtle moments, and we chat about how happy he was as a composer to have a 100% locked picture to write to. It allowed Dominic to build longer tracks and cues without the worry of the edit changing, and therefore having the music fall out of place. We also chat about his upcoming Amazon Prime series The Man In The High Castle based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. Dominic co-composed the pilot (viewable on Amazon Prime) with his friend Henry Jackman. Now that the series has been picked up, he explains the thought process he's going through as he begins work on the rest of the season. Another fun and fascinating chat with one of the most prominent and on the rise composers in the industry.

Interview Conducted By: Kaya Savas

Special Thanks: Dominic Lewis Stéphane Humez