Film Music Magazine – Interview With Composer Cliff Martinez

Daniel: It seems that you’ve been a go-to composer for unconventional thrillers. What do you think it is about your sound that’s right for movies about corrupted characters?
Cliff: Perhaps being one myself is useful. I’d like to think that I do both “dark” and “psychological” well. When working with a story that is built around a potentially unlikable character, you need to fill out their interior well enough to want to follow them around from beginning to end. A degree of typecasting plays a role also. I keep getting asked to do these kinds of films and I suppose I’m getting better and more experienced at it.
Daniel: What do you think it is about your sound that brings a new generation of directing blood to you, especially LINCOLN LAWYER’s Brad Furman?
Cliff: I’d chalk that up to having scored a stockpile of Steven Soderberghs’ early films like KING OF THE HILL. Directors are discovering little-known gems like these years later. Brad was also a big fan of PUMP UP THE VOLUME. Talk about my film scoring childhood! I think that was a first for me. – by Daniel Schweiger

Read the full interview at Film Music Magazine