Composer Zak Engel joins me to kick off 2023, and end my brief interview hiatus. We primarily chat about his score for the mind-bending sci-fi thriller Ultrasound, which released a couple of years ago but for which Zak’s score has only recently come out. It’s a really cool, engaging score filled with older analog synth sounds and more modern electronics, building on influences from folks like Mort Garson, Disasterpeace, and Daniel Lopatin/Oneohtrix Point Never. We also talk about some of Zak’s personal influences, how he got into film, and Zak even tackles a few of my surprise and unfair abstract questions about film, music, and the art of scoring.
One of these questions involved the concept of influences and striking a balance between being inspired or influenced by someone else’s work while finding your own sound, the sound and style authentic and natural to you. Zak told me, in part, that it’s a necessary journey, and that by experimenting with styles, approaches, and sounds you eventually discover your own authentic and real voice.
You can find out more about Zak on his website or on bandcamp. Ultrasound is currently available on Hulu, while Zak’s score (and many of his prior works) is available on all major digital platforms.
Have a listen to our conversation below or wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts).
About Ultrasound
“Heading home in the rain from a wedding, Glen (Vincent Kartheiser) drives over a plank of nails and has to seek help at a nearby house. There, he’s welcomed in by Art, who after a bit of friendly chitchat, cajoles Glen into sleeping with his younger wife Cyndi. Glen’s unease over this arrangement is significant, and it only escalates when, a short time afterwards, he’s visited at home by Art, who shows him a videotape of a pregnant Cyndi in the shower. Art convinces Glen that he’s now responsible for Cyndi, and it’s not long before the two are cohabitating in an apartment that, like the rest of the mystery-box world presented by assured first-time filmmaker Rob Schroeder, seems to exist on the other side of reality.” from Magnet Releasing.