Experimental composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Candyman) joins The Film Scorer podcast in the midst of the year-end blitz. Rob’s latest score is for the vérité-style documentary Grasshopper Republic. As such, we spend much of the conversation talking about, and around, Rob’s score, which is certainly among the most overlooked of the year. Along the way we talk about Rob’s general style and approach, tackle the big questions around how to roll back the commodification of music, and more.
I was a big fan of Rob’s score for Candyman, particularly in how it deftly utilized Philip Glass’s prior main theme while also primarily striking off into its own palette and direction. I expect that, for many people, this was their gateway into Rob’s robust body of work (including under the alias Lichens). His latest is Grasshopper Republic. It is a very strange, unorthodox score, approaching the music and sound from the vantage point of its human characters (more tonal music) and the insect/grasshopper world (a more textural, percussive approach). Rob works to put us into the mind space of the grasshopper, which is certainly a daring, ambitious task. But he doesn’t think it will be too much for audiences, telling me “there’s an excitement in experiencing something new. Audiences have the potential to be far more open than what the industry gives them credit for.” It’s a belief I agree with, that viewers and listeners are more sophisticated than the industry may think, and they can digest and appreciate more unusual, challenging approaches like this.
Grasshopper Republic is currently playing in certain festivals while Rob’s score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms, and his score is also available through Invada. Meanwhile, you can find out more about Rob on his website.
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 Grasshopper Republic
“Filmed over the course of three seasons, Grasshopper Republic follows a local grasshopper trapping team in verité style, as these modern-day prospectors push into remote forests seeking their fortune by capturing this elusive prey.
We witness massive generators being hauled up collapsing mudbanks. Light posts are erected with chemically treated bulbs, casting a lurid neon green pall over the tree canopy, irresistibly attracting the swarm to their corrugated iron traps. With otherworldly visuals, these distinct universes collide with a burst of emotion. The trappers, who have suffered through injury, sickness, and exhaustion, finally have their moment and relief washes over them. As for the grasshoppers who have been lured into a trap through unnatural trickery, their path ends in a frying pan.
Shifting between these two perspectives sparks consideration for man’s relationship to nature and our collective effect on it.” from Backspin Promotions
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