As season 3 of The Film Scorer podcast slowly comes to a close (only a few episodes left), Chad Cannon joins the show! Chad and I primarily talk about his latest score, which is for the documentary miniseries Algiers, America, following a high school football team in New Orleans (the Edna Carr Cougars). The score mostly features Chad’s modern classical compositions, as well as some New Orleans-centric elements that Chad crafted with a few local musicians. As such, Chad talks about the challenge of scoring around three hours of music, visiting New Orleans to get in touch with the city’s musicality, and balancing various musical elements, styles, and genres.
Along the way, we also cover Chad’s prolific work in the documentary scoring arena, carving out a bit of a specialization within the field (although he has done a number of fiction films, series, and videogames as well), and how and why the public reception to documentary music differs from that of music for other media. Finally, we briefly touch on Chad’s work in arranging for legendary composer Joe Hisaishi, and Chad’s upcoming project in which Hisaishi is providing the main theme.
You can find out more about Chad on his website. Algiers, America is currently on Hulu, and while Chad’s score is not yet available, many of his other works are available digitally on all major platforms.
Have a listen to our conversation below or wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts). Enjoying these interviews? Show the love by subscribing and leaving a rating or review!
About Algiers, America
“The Edna Karr High School football team is the pride of the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, earning four state championships in the last five years. The predominantly Black team and coaching staff are among the nation’s best. Every year at least a dozen seniors from the school receive full scholarships to play football at division one colleges. And then there is the most important distinction: almost all the players have lost teammates, friends, and family to gun violence or prison.
To Coach Brice Brown, whose father was murdered on the streets of Algiers, winning is not the most crucial part of his job. His priority is keeping his players alive until they graduate – filling in as the father many players are missing, instilling a team spirit, and guiding them through their lives in a dangerous and fragile environment.
As guns become the country’s leading cause of child deaths, Algiers, America provides a rare and authentic, candid, and captivating portrait of a community fighting to stem the tide. This series will at once break your heart and inspire you with its unforgettable characters and tribute to possibility.” – Courtesy of Hulu
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