Film Score Monthly – Cliff Martinez’s Traffic

When it came time to score Traffic, Soderbergh called on someone he’d already collaborated with six times, former Red Hot Chili Pepper Cliff Martinez. And according to Martinez, Soderbergh had a very specific idea of what he wanted. “He seems to prefer music that is somewhat emotionally detached from the film and perhaps is more atmospheric,” says Martinez. “For Traffic, Steven wanted to go even further in that direction. When we first discussed the concept for the score, it almost seemed like he wanted a score that might be just as well suited to a sound designer as it would a composer.” Martinez adds that he wasn’t very gung-ho about the idea. “My initial response was to rebel,” he says. “It was like he wasn’t allowing the score to play a very active role in the film. But I didn’t disagree because at that point Steven had given it much more thought than I had. Secondly, he’s smarter than I am. And three, he writes the checks.” – by Jason Foster

Full article at Film Score Monthly.