With season two of Wayward Pines set to get underway on Fox next Wednesday (May 25th), we caught up with composer Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails fame to discuss his work on the score for the hit series, as well as getting our hands on an exclusive track from the season two premiere!
In a few words how would you describe your Wayward Pines Season 2 score?
For season two, the score for Wayward Pines plays a bit more to the conspiratorial side of things – more intrigue, more sinister plots afoot as various factions are vying for control of the town’s destiny. That aspect of the story line gets kind of restrained tension approach to the music. Outside the fence, things also are getting a little more hairy with the Abbies, as they are becoming bolder and encroaching on the safe perimeter of the town, so there’s a good bit of pretty chaotic and “pyscho” music coming up to deal with that story line.
Did you experiment with any different techniques or sounds with Season 2 that you did not do in Season 1?
There’s a couple of new sounds I’ve brought into the mix this time around to fill out the palette of the town, like weird wooden percussion instruments and some mutated guitar tones I made, and I’ve got to raise the stakes when it comes to the Abbies; we start to see more scenes from their point of view as they attack, as opposed to the point of view of the humans defending from them, so that means some pretty insane orchestral horror effects and a new batch of the bowed and scraped metal sounds that I used a little bit in the first season.
There are a few new characters this season. Which character theme has been your favorite to score for and why?
I’m actually enjoying scoring the scenes with Megan, who was the school teacher in the first season. She is now taking on more of a central role in the battle for control of the town, and her story line gets pretty creepy at times as she deals with the kids. Some of the younger lieutenants in control of the town are pretty sinister, even though they’re young, so they’ve been fun to score for as well.
The settings for Wayward Pines are pretty extreme. Meaning there are the very cookie cutter town scenes, the Abby scenes in the woods and then the very technical lab scenes. Which is your favorite to score?
I’ve taken a liking to the weird, semi-innocent, semi-creepy scenes with the kids and Megan – scoring those scenes with a slightly off-kilter, out of tune approach works well and is interesting to do. On the other end of the spectrum, the scenes from the Abbies point of view are getting some pretty unhinged and chaotic music, and that’s a challenge but it’s good fun as well.
What was your favorite episode to score from Season 1 and why?
One of my favorites was episode three from the first season, where Sheriff Pope gives his big speech and then had that creepy scene where he’s eating ice cream in the kitchen. I love Terrence Howard’s performances and when he’s on the screen it’s not hard to make him look sinister. But I’d have to say that the season finale, where everything comes crashing down in episode ten, had some of my favorite music. It was a bear, but when it was all finished I think that’s where some of the strongest music appeared.
And here’s an exclusive track from the premiere, entitled ‘Preserve Life’…
Starring Jason Patric (“Rush,” “Narc”), two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond,” “In America”) and Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominee Hope Davis (“American Crime,” “The Newsroom”), the 10-episode, second season will pick up after the shocking events of Season One, with the residents of Wayward Pines battling against the iron-fisted rule of the First Generation.
Dr. THEO YEDLIN (Patric) – a new resident of Wayward Pines – awakens from suspended animation and finds himself in the middle of this rebellion, as he tries to understand what Wayward Pines really is and help preserve the endangered human race. Hounsou will portray CJ MITCHUM, an original resident of Wayward Pines and a historian for the town with extensive knowledge of its complex origins, and the one person who can provide a unique bridge between the current world of Wayward Pines and the previous world that humans inhabited. Davis returns as MEGAN FISHER, who is in charge of the scientific research being conducted on the Abbies, and remains deeply involved in the development of the hearts and minds of the future of humanity – Wayward Pines’ “First Generation.”
Also joining the second season are cast members Tom Stevens (“Cedar Cove”), returning from Season One as JASON HIGGINS, a member of the First Generation and Pilcher’s young acolyte; Nimrat Kaur (“Homeland”) as REBECCA, who has her own secrets she keeps from Theo, her husband; Josh Helman (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) as XANDER, a resident working to undermine Wayward Pines from within; and Kacey Rohl (“Hannibal”) as KERRY, one of Jason’s lieutenants in the civil war going on in Wayward Pines. Additionally, several Season One cast members will appear in Season Two, including Terrence Howard (SHERIFF ARNOLD POPE), Carla Gugino (KATE HEWSON), Toby Jones (DR. JENKINS/DAVID PILCHER), Melissa Leo (NURSE PAM), Tim Griffin (ADAM HASSLER), Shannyn Sossamon (THERESA BURKE) and Charlie Tahan (BEN BURKE).
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