'Prodigal Son' composer Nathaniel Blume says he used specific scores for each character to retain tension of the Fox thriller
Fox's latest psychological thriller 'Prodigal Son' is a conniving show, almost one of a kind. Following the story of Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne), a brilliant profiler, who, after being fired from the FBI, now works with the NYPD to solve murders. But Bright is blessed - or shall we say, cursed - with a twisted mind owing to his serial killer father Dr Martin Whitly, aka The Surgeon (Michael Sheen).
Dr Whilty is keen on reconnecting with his son over the fact that they're not all that different. Before his arrest, he tells Malcolm that 'they're the same' - something that haunts Malcolm well into adulthood.
The show hinges on those that give in to their psychotic tendencies and those who don't. We spoke to the music composer of the series, Nathaniel Blume, to know how the background score was composed to incorporate connivance in the thriller.
"We always want the audience to feel unsettled," he tells MEA WorldWide in an exclusive chat." The orchestration involves a lot of dissonances that puts you on edge. There are sounds, some of which I recorded specifically for the show, that maybe don’t quite sound like what you’re used to in a crime procedural. For instance, the percussion entails bones cracking, scissors cutting, plastic crinkling, etc. There’s a constant anxiety that our protagonist, Malcolm, exudes, and the music is definitely used to enhance that."
Blume is known for composing the music for CNN's '1968: The Year That Changed America', a four-part documentary series that chronicled several major events that were considered traumatic and turbulent for the country. He has also made music for The CW's 'The Flash' (co-composed along with Blake Neely) and ABC's 'Deception.'
He notes that composing for 'The Flash' and 'Prodigal Son' was not that different despite their opposing genres.
"They're both family dramas at heart. So there’s an emotional aspect to each of them. While the action is more fantastical on 'The Flash', the action is more realistic and scary on 'Prodigal Son.' That has to be taken into account when writing for each and there’s definitely a mental shift that has to happen. While deadlines sometimes don’t permit this, it’s usually beneficial to spend an entire day on one of those shows rather than jumping back and forth. Because of that mental shift, I like starting fresh in the morning and just living in that world for several hours at a time while writing", he says.
What adds to his process is the myriad of characters on the show - each more secretive than the last. "Dr. Whitly is the darkest of all of them so he gets the darkest sounds. He’s usually accompanied by the aforementioned plastic which is meant to replicate a body bag, as well as lots of sounds that bend around, throwing reality off its axis", he notes. "Malcolm is the most anxious and he begs for sounds that enhance that. Maybe that entails a pulsing bass that just won’t change from one single note, hopefully subconsciously instilling anxiety in the audience. Gil Arroyo [Lou Diamond Phillips] is very calm and stable. His introductory music has a laid back groove with some very simple, well-rooted chords."
This is exactly what sets the Fox thriller apart from others in the genre - the family drama. And Blume incorporated it seamlessly. "There’s one specific theme that comes back many times within the family: the drama. It can be used hauntingly and mysterious, but it can also by used creepily and weird", he explains. "I use it a lot throughout the pilot to establish the theme and ingrain it within the ethos of the show, and then throughout the series, I’ve been able to bring it back in very strategic places. It’s usually used as a springboard for a new musical idea relating to the family, even if you might not recognize the original theme."
Blume's compositions add to the sinister, unnatural setting of 'Prodigal Son.' It is music is not only unsettling but haunting - badgering the audiences to look for the same answers that Bright is hunting for.
'Prodigal Son' airs on Mondays at 9 PM ET/PT.