Gen V has taken the web by storm after one stellar freshman outing. With the solid and crew now open to advertise the present, Heroic Hollywood was fortunate sufficient to take a seat down with Matt Bowen, one of many present’s lead composers, to speak in regards to the music of The Boys universe.
The Boys is a twisted universe stuffed with wanton destruction, exploding physique components, and fish fellatio. It shines a lightweight on all of the worst components of a world crammed with superpowers whereas offering top-of-the-line franchises within the trendy superhero panorama. All episodes of Gen V season 1, The Boys: Diabolical, and seasons 1-3 of The Boys are streaming proper now on Amazon Prime Video.
You have been a profitable audio engineer for some time within the music business. What spurred you to make the shift over to composing full-time?
Well, profitable is all relative I suppose [Laughs]. Working is possibly the phrase I’d use. But engineering and composing did type of occur extra on parallel paths. So it was much less “I did engineering, and then I pivoted, and then I did composing”, and extra of the parallel path factor. And I simply had extra quick alternatives on the engineering aspect. But all of the whereas I used to be nonetheless trying out composing. I suppose I’ll simply say I used to be making an attempt to assist associates or different established composers with tasks so that they have been type of parallel paths.
And an audio engineer, no less than the best way I used to be working, was with bands and so I’d go away for a month or two months. I say “go away”, and it was all on the town, however for intents and functions, I used to be away. You know, because the engineer you’re there earlier than the band and you allow after the band and also you sync the drives and tidy up so the following day- so these tasks would take 100% of my time, there’s no writing on the aspect once you’re working with a band.
But if there have been a month or two of downtime that’s once I could be chipping away at my very own stuff or any alternatives that got here up on the composing aspect. I beloved engineering however I actually beloved composing. There was a degree the place I noticed, ‘if I can pivot, it is something that I want to be able to do.’
Most folks view making music as a solitary artwork. However, on tasks like Gen V you’re employed carefully with fellow composer Christopher Lennertz. How did you go about working as a duo within the studio?
I imply there’s not numerous us sitting in a studio collectively, so it’s nonetheless a really remoted course of, to be sincere. It was a present to have the ability to have any individual that can also be arising with concepts and we’re bouncing stuff off of – you recognize, for those who’re the one composer on a undertaking you continue to most likely have a workforce so there’s nonetheless folks that you simply’re collaborating with, however it may be nerve-racking to be like “Oh, this is what I think is good and now I’m putting this in front of the showrunner”.
And so once you’re working with another person, simply usually, after which in my case that another person is somebody like Chris who has a ton of expertise, it’s very liberating – it type of nearly helps my artistic course of as a result of I do know if I’m gonna take a giant swing, my co-composer may say “Dude, you’re gonna get us fired with that,” or he may say “Dude, that was awesome! Let’s riff off that and let’s explore that” after which he takes it and runs with it. So it was very collaborative but it surely wasn’t numerous us sitting in the identical room, it was nonetheless us type of in our laboratories so to talk, sending stuff forwards and backwards.
How concerned have been the administrators and showrunners within the course of? Or did they only allow you to two do your individual factor and examine in on the finish?
Oh, no, they’re very concerned. I imply that’s their imaginative and prescient, you recognize, we’re not solo artists as composers. We’re not on the market doing our personal factor. We’re serving to convey their imaginative and prescient to life. So earlier than we write a observe of music now we have numerous conversations about the place music goes, and what sort of music it must be.
You know, within the case of Gen V, there have been numerous conversations about “Okay, we have the sound established on The Boys, how much do we want to lean on that versus how much we want to do something new.” So there’s a ton of conversations taking place earlier than we even write a observe of music. And from there on there’s numerous checking in. We need there to be numerous checking in, we don’t need them to be shocked with “Oh, we veered off in the wrong direction.”
So we did, regardless that we felt like we have been all on the identical web page. Chris and I did a presentation of simply sketches. They weren’t to any scenes. We have been similar to “These are some possible themes for these characters, these are some ways we might handle an action cue on the show,” simply to start out the dialog. Some of the music written for that presentation was within the present and a few of it by no means noticed the sunshine of day. It all served its goal as a result of it type of perpetuated the dialog.
You touched on discovering that center floor between paying homage to The Boys and looking for Gen V’s personal identification. With tasks like Gen V and different tasks you’ve labored on like The Binge, how do you go about making an attempt to maintain that youthful vitality the present is making an attempt to have?
Well, with Gen V… it’s humorous to reply with Gen V and The Binge in thoughts, these are [Laughs] totally different tasks, I’ll simply say. I really feel very fortunate to have been part of each of them – they have been each a ton of enjoyable to attain. Gen V had a really particular space to deal with, and that was “Okay The Boys exists, and it has a sound, and how much do we want to lean on that versus go with something new?” And I suppose the place I’m going with this reply most likely applies to The Binge as nicely, as a result of it’s somewhat extra of only a “zoom out,” it’s type of a extra philosophical factor which is it’s all the time good to push issues too far, after which say “Oh, okay, I see what you were doing, let’s just relax that a little bit” or “I like that part of that swing you took but I don’t like that part.” It’s simpler to dial stuff again.
That’s truly one thing I discovered whereas engineering, simply to loop again round to that, once I was working with bands, it was good as a result of I discovered how you can push any individual else creatively after which grew to become a artistic myself. So once I’m working with any individual in a band we’d usually get our quote-unquote “Keeper take” and we’d say “Okay, we have this, we’re good. Now let’s do something outrageous. Let’s do something that we’ll laugh about when we’re taking a break,” proper? And inevitably, I wouldn’t say more often than not, however generally that quote-unquote outrageous factor is the place that actual artistic seed comes from.
And in order that applies on the composing aspect too once you’re beginning a undertaking. Like, let’s actually push issues, not that we’re making an attempt to – we don’t have to essentially make a groundbreaking rating, however let’s push issues, after which we will see – you recognize, the worst observe you wish to get is “It’s not interesting enough” or “It’s not provocative” or “It’s not telling enough of a story.” And then it’s a must to ramp stuff up and that’s approach more durable than saying “Hey, you’re at a nine and we just need to be at a seven,” It’s like, nice, we’ve bought the artistic is finished, now we’ve simply bought to drag again somewhat bit.
And that’s type of what we did on Gen V. We actually explored new methods of doing issues. And everybody was kinda into all of these concepts, besides the final consensus was “We veered too far away from the mothership”. So, it was like, nice, okay! You like these new concepts, now we have this established sound, and we type of want to separate the distinction. We clearly know how you can do The Boys factor! No drawback for us to veer nearer to that.
Speaking of these wild swings, is there any concept that involves thoughts the place you had a sound or a theming the place you swung for the fences and also you have been shocked they took all of it the best way?
Yeah, I imply, I’m making an attempt to determine which undertaking to deal with. I suppose on Gen V, our largest swing was most likely, not solely the implementation of vocals, we introduced in a feminine vocalist, however not simply use it texturally or in an ambient approach, however we carried the primary character’s theme, Marie, on vocals. So it has this sort of rising line.
That might probably not really feel like that massive of a swing to any individual, however coming from The Boys, it’s simply completely one thing we’d by no means do on that present. In that sense, it did really feel like a giant swing. But that was once I was referring to the sketches that we made and I mentioned among the stuff by no means noticed the sunshine of day, among the stuff is sort of used as is. Marie’s theme is used nearly precisely as is the primary time we see her early within the premiere.
As for the swings that didn’t precisely pan out, are there any devices or motifs that didn’t precisely pan out that you simply’d prefer to revisit in a future undertaking?
It’s all so project-specific, I imply I’m completely superb simply leaving stuff on the reducing room flooring. I actually attempt to subscribe to the thought of “Nothing is too dear to me,” as a result of it’s not about me. If I have been a recording artist and the label mentioned “We don’t like that song, we don’t want it on this album,” and that music meant loads to me, then certain, I’d attempt to hold that alive, however that wild swing, as we’re type of speaking about, it belongs to that undertaking, it was impressed by that undertaking, and it feels bizarre – I’d moderately let that subsequent undertaking encourage regardless of the subsequent wild swing is.
When it involves harnessing that selection, do you are feeling you’re extra in a position to experiment on smaller tasks, or do you are feeling you get numerous freedom on The Boys that lots of people wouldn’t anticipate?
I don’t assume that the larger the undertaking the extra constraints there are, by any means. I suppose simply talking from my very own experiences, I haven’t actually noticed- and possibly I’m simply fortunate to have been working with nice folks whatever the dimension of the undertaking – however I haven’t felt the distinction in artistic freedom.
Whether it’s a pal who’s making a 10-minute quick for the primary time, which occurred not too long ago, or whether or not I’m engaged on The Boys. They’re a artistic bunch and so they respect creativity. I felt fully free to do what I believed was the perfect. And then you definately get your suggestions, and then you definately hone it in, for certain.
Is there a dream undertaking in your thoughts, be it a director, studio, or idea, that you simply actually wish to deal with and compose earlier than your profession is over?
A dream undertaking? Boy, I really feel like I ought to have a solution to that! [Laughs] I imply, possibly, I don’t understand how strongly I really feel about this, however I’m a lifelong baseball fan, so possibly simply a kind of baseball films. Like a Natural, however then I instantly get somewhat intimated desirous about Randy Newman’s rating and assume possibly I ought to simply keep away! [Laughs]
A whole lot of your work, not simply with Gen V and The Boys, however tasks like Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever. have revolved round superheroes and comedian books. Is there a selected draw to this style or is it simply the place you landed?
Totally the place I landed. Just completely happenstance. That mentioned, I’m thrilled about it. It’s not a path that I carved deliberately by any means, but it surely’s an extremely enjoyable playground for certain. You simply get to take real-world eventualities and switch them on their head. It’s a very enjoyable style simply to attain.
Can you go into how you bought concerned with The Boys particularly?
The reply is Chris Lennertz. This was his undertaking, and I used to be lucky sufficient to be on his workforce – we’ve labored collectively for over a decade – in order that was not a random choice on his half. And he knew, additionally due to my engineering background, that dwelling in a grungy rock production-heavy world could be comfy for me.
I simply type of grew to become an even bigger and larger a part of the undertaking after which ended up co-scoring a few episodes in [season] 3, and so when Gen V got here up, it simply appeared like a really pure factor, fortunately to everybody, not simply Chris, for us to do it collectively.
When the season is occurring, at what level within the course of do you truly begin making the music, after all of the conversations, when do you truly sit down and put, I suppose, “string” to paper?
On a present like The Boys or Gen V, it’s all in regards to the manufacturing. So there’s actually no making sketches. If you’re engaged on a extra orchestral-based undertaking, you possibly can present sketches, and even then they need to be, clearly, very polished and so they shouldn’t want a lot creativeness to fill within the gaps, so to talk. But on Gen V and The Boys, once we’re displaying ideas, they’re fairly absolutely cooked as a result of a lot of what we do is on the manufacturing aspect.
And then, when will we get began? It’s type of all around the map. I imply they despatched us scripts and we learn them. And from the scripts, we truly did give you a theme that stayed via and is all through the episode for The Woods. Then they despatched us some early cuts, however Chris actually likes to attend till we’re within the room [with the showrunners], as a lot as attainable.
You know, Gen V was somewhat totally different as a result of we have been beginning over, so we wanted to become involved earlier, however on The Boys, Chris actually likes to attend till we’re within the room in order that he can have the response that the viewers will likely be having, after which we will instantly focus on, “Okay, what’s the emotion we need here? What do we need to bring to the story?”
Is there a favourite second, in both The Boys, Gen V, or Diabolical, the place you noticed all of it come collectively and it actually stood out as “Wow, we made something amazing here.”
Wow…there’s a pretty lengthy sequence on the finish of episode 7 on Gen V, and I suppose….it’s been out lengthy sufficient, I don’t understand how a lot to bounce across the spoiler.
I believe you need to be superb.
There was a sequence on the finish of episode 7 that was… it was a gradual burn. And a gradual burn, generally these are difficult to attain. Chris and I made a decision to do one thing somewhat extra melodic than we usually would do in The Boys universe. But it simply felt prefer it known as for it.
So we went for it, Michele [Fazekas], one of many showrunners, was the one reviewing it and I nonetheless keep in mind, I hope she’s okay with me passing alongside these phrases, but it surely’s ingrained in my mind, so sorry Michelle if I’m oversharing. But it will get accomplished, and it’s a not insignificant scene, and it’s three-plus minutes, and it did really feel like a giant swing, and her phrases have been “F—-ng masterpiece!” It’s like “Ooooh, okay! That… that feels good.” When that episode got here out it, was simply blended fantastically. The appearing, and the lighting, and the modifying – it actually simply all got here collectively and it felt actually good to see that in a completed kind.
Outside of that second, is there a monitor on the Gen V soundtrack that basically stands out to you as your favourite?
Hard to choose a favourite. Flashpoint was numerous enjoyable as a result of it was on the finish sequence of the premiere. And within the premiere, we type of made a concerted effort to have a couple of cues that had these very new flavors.
So it’s like “Okay, now we have a brand new sound, however we nonetheless are commenting on The Boys, and by the point it reaches its apex, now we have this beautiful epic supe fistfight, about as epic because it will get – that was once I actually felt that the 2 worlds simply bought mushed collectively. So whether or not or not that’s my favourite piece of music on there I’m unsure, however I believe from an expertise standpoint, it was actually enjoyable to work actually laborious to determine this new sound after which take our already established The Boys sound and actually smash them collectively on this pretty epic sequence.