EXCLUSIVE: Sam Cushion talks MORTAL INSTRUMENTS music project, future installments

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Alyssa Barbieri in Music, The Mortal Instruments // 4 Comments

We had a chance to talk with Sam Cushion about his Mortal Instruments music project, which will be released on May 7.

Here is our exclusive interview with Sam, in which he talks about the process of putting the score together, future installments, how working on scores for The Hunger Games and Divergent helped him with The Mortal Instruments and more.

TMI Source: This score is called: “The Mortal Instruments Music Project Part 1: Shadowhunter.” How much of the series does this score cover?

SC: Part 1 covers the events in ‘City of Bones’. My plan is for each book to have its own “part” of the project.

TMI Source: Can we expect any other installments?

SC: Absolutely!

TMI Source: How long did the process take you to put together this compilation from planning to recording to finalizing?

SC: I wrote the first song over a year ago. For one reason or another it kept getting put off. Once I really set my mind to completing a score for part 1 I had almost 10 songs within the first month and am hoping to have close to 20 on release. I am still actively writing new songs for the album. I have to set a release date for myself more than anything otherwise I would just keep writing and it would never get released.

TMI Source: Can you describe the process of writing a song?

SC: I start by re-reading the book and making a list of scenes or character traits that I would like to write about. Then I start going through that list and writing songs based off the notes I have taken. A lot of the time I go back and re-read those specific parts during recording. The actual writing and recording process takes anywhere from 8-16 hours per song and then all the re-reading that I do, it can get time consuming. But I love it.

TMI Source: What is your favorite song from the score?

SC: I would have to say “Valentine”. When I read ‘City of Bones’ I had a very specific vision of the character and when I went to portray that with music it was a lot of fun. I am very excited with how it ended up.

TMI Source: How familiar are you with the Mortal Instruments books?

SC: I am extremely familiar with ‘City of Bones’ with all the current writing. The rest of the series I have read but am looking forward to really diving into them in depth once I begin the next album later on.

TMI Source: Did you find yourself particularly inspired by certain parts of the book(s) or certain character(s)?

SC: It is really hard to pick a certain part or character. There are so many scenes that inspired me to push myself musically to create something that not only fit but that could live up to what people are reading.

TMI Source: This isn’t your first project involving a Young Adult book series. Would you say you’re an avid Young Adult reader?

SC: I would say that I am. I enjoy reading Young Adult books more often than not. But I think that is because the genre as a whole is very appealing to readers of all ages.

TMI Source: You’ve also worked on scores for The Hunger Games and Divergent. How has working on those scores helped you in composing the Mortal Instruments score?

SC: For one it has helped me connect with fans of these series and really see and hear what these readers want to hear when it comes to music. Musically just the experience that comes with writing so much music that is based on a pre-existing storyline or scene it starts to become easier to interpret the story and emotions into music giving me an opportunity to explore more ideas rather than focusing so much on if it makes sense.

TMI Source: Where did your passion for writing music originate?

SC: I played guitar in a band in high school. I was really into the punk scene then and didn’t give classical music a second thought. I continued writing music after I graduated and when I was about 20 I was reading one night and thought it would be really cool if books had a really big score like movies. I started messing around with composing and here we are now.

TMI Source: What’s the most difficult part about composing a score?

SC: Finding the theme for sure. You can write an amazing piece of music that completely blows people away, but if you try to then put that with a story that doesn’t fit it just doesn’t make any sense.

TMI Source: What is the best part about composing a score?

SC: Getting to meticulously comb through page after page of the book and learn as much as you can about the story and characters. Then getting to share how you interpreted those words into music.

TMI Source: Do you have any plans for an Infernal Devices score?

SC: I really hope I get to. But right now there aren’t any solid plans for that.