Colin Aguiar: Composer
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
04/15/23
•82m
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Colin Aguiar is an award-winning Indian-Candian composer based in Los Angeles who specializes in film scoring. In this conversation we talked about his youth, growing up across parts of India, the Middle East, Europe and Canada and studying the music of various cultures, learning different instruments with a start on drums as a toddler, as well as his love for the music of Arvo Pärt and other great composers. Colins spoke about some of his mentors including Mychael Danna. This episode with Colin is the first release of several film composers I have interviewed recently, and I find it fascinating how diverse their musical backgrounds are and what a challenging and little-understood part of the music world this is. During the episode you’ll hear some clips from Colin’s compositions, used with permission. Like all my episodes, this is available on your favourite podcast player as well as a video, and the transcript is linked as well to my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/colin-aguiar
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(02:18) toddler drum set, Dad’s band
(05:47) Parents’ travels and emigration from India, different cultures
(09:17) intro to music from Fly
(12:41) music from Fly
(16:01) intro to music from Torn from her Arms, Arvo Pärt
(17:59) music from Torn from her Arms
(19:42) synthesizers, working with session musicians who play by ear
(22:51) immigration stories
(25:15) arrangement of El Salvadorian anthem
(26:25) learning drums and cultures through music
(30:52) practicing 5 hours a day, learning different instruments
(33:32) starting to compose and arrange
(35:41) composition studio gear
(38:46) intro to music from film “Construct”, use of dubstep
(39:45) music from “Construct”
(40:43) Mychael Danna and learning the job of film scoring
(48:14) Lou Natale, challenges of time pressure for composers
(51:29) intro to palindrome
(52:18) clip from palindrome written for Construct
(54:23) learning from other composers
(56:55) composition Roman Toi
(58:29) mentors Lou Natale, John Welsman, glenn Morley, Mychael Danna, Robert Dunca, Christopher Young
(01:00:10) internal music soundtrack, being able to remember music with precision
(01:02:41) Kathakali, other parallels with film music
(01:06:00) different styles of film scoring, decision making, time crunches
(01:13:16) use of temp tracks
(01:16:27) Canadian film industry
(01:17:46) pandemic shutdowns
Previous Episode
Philip Griffin
April 8, 2023
•99m
Philip Griffin is an amazingly versatile, creative, and generous musician. He plays, improvises, and composes in many styles on many different instruments. During this episode you’ll hear him play the rebab, the ukulele, and guitar in his duo with violinist Jude Iddison. He reflects on his work teaching children and people with disabilities, and reflects on some of his important mentors including Richard Gill, Linsey Pollak and Ross Daly. In the video version, I’ve included a slide show of some of his amazing nature photography, which is also on my website linked to this episode, and the link for Philip’s website and Facebook page are also included below. In this conversation with Philip, I was really happy to be able to talk about some of the themes I find most interesting as a musician: education, creativity, and mentorship. Philip was introduced to me by Linsey Pollak, and I hope if you missed his episode that you’ll check it out: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/linsey-pollak
Like all my episodes, this is available as a video, and the transcript is linked here as well as some of his amazing nature photographs: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/philip-griffin
Buy me a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
https://philipgriffin.bandcamp.com/album/banksia
https://www.philipgriffin.com/
https://www.facebook.com/philip.griffin.7106
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(02:30) Linsey Pollak
(06:02) talking about different instruments laouto, oud, rebab, banjo
(10:24) Ross Daly, studying Turkish music
(17:10) introduction to the rebab
(20:24) rebab improv
(23:26) Ross Daly, tours to Australia with Kelly Thoma
(25:43) Linsey Pollak, learning modal music
(29:23) Ricahrd Gill, learning conducting, singing
(41:13) Tutti Arts, Pat Rix, and working with musicians with disabilities
(53:25) music educator in schools
(57:45) ukulele, New Zealand music programs Mary Cornish Maria Winder Kiwilele
(01:07:38) Pat Megowan luthier
(01:11:25) Renaissance guitar music by Tourdion on ukulele
(01:12:46) Affetto Early Music ensemble
(01:16:27) Dominique Schwartz: why Philip moved around so much!
(01:18:59) Banksia album with Jude Iddison
(01:19:31) violin Jude Iddison: Planting the Garlic/Philip’s Wardrobe from album Banksia
(01:24:32) meeting Jude and making the album
(01:27:15) Frogs, birds, Barry Wilson, photography (with slide show), Glen Storr
(01:36:08) Philip’s advice
Next Episode
Pat Irwin is a renowned film and television composer; some of his scores include Dexter: New Blood, Rocko’s Modern Life, Pepper Ann, and Nurse Jackie. He’s also a multi-instrumentalist who was a member of the B52s for 18 years; he founded The Raybeats and 8 Eyed Spy, and more recently the band SUSS of which I’m a fan. Pat also teaches film composition at NYU, and Brooklyn College at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and this conversation wove it’s way into important topics for all of us: a life well-lived, grief, the importance of creativity and of having a good hang. As always, I’ve included detailed timestamps, so if you want to jump to his days with the B52s or Dexter, go ahead, but I hope you’ll take the time to listen to this whole episode which is rich with music and stories. Pat is as articulate as he is creative. You may be surprised that the episode begins with his time in Paris interviewing jazz musicians and learning from John Cage.
Please buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
Like all my episodes in this series, this is also a video, and the transcript is linked here as well: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/pat-irwin
Pat Irwin: https://patirwinmusic.com/
Rocko's Modern Life soundtrack album link: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4cxM57oL5yL3wIDlagQyOG
Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:51) Paris meeting Dexter Gordon, Bill Coleman, Mal Waldron, Steve Lacey, Nadia Boulanger, John Cage (09:54) intro to clip from Rocko’s Modern Life (10:21) clip from Rocko’s Modern Life the Pogo Stick Scenario (10:52) Nadia Boulanger, love of jazz (13:25) intro to Lost and Found albums (14:02) Swing Time from Volume 3 of New Sounds From the Lost and Found (15:51) Open Window from Volume 4 of Lost and Found (17:06) intro to Rocko’s Modern Life (18:11) Rocko Versus Food Boy from Rocko’s Modern Life soundtrack (20:11) Rocko’s Modern Life, Kevin Norton, Art Barron (22:12) Walter Hawkes, Long Island City, Ernie Brooks, Don Cherry, The Talking Heads (26:07) In Another Time from Wide open Sky with J. Walter Hawkes (30:36) NYC 8 Eyed Spy, The Raybeats, the B-52s, deaths of Ricky Wilson and George Scott (37:24) touring life and joining the B-52s (44:03) writing music for film and television, collecting instruments (47:12) Early Morning Song from volume 5 The Lost and Found (52:56) Dexter: New Blood (57:21) music from Dexter: New Blood Suite part 1 (59:12) SUSS, Gary Leib (01:06:06) Winter Was Hard SUSS (01:07:59) pedal steel, lap steel, Jonathan Gregg (01:09:00) teaching film composition at NYU, advice to young composers, the importance of the arts (01:17:30) SUSS (01:24:54) SUSS Across the Horizon (01:30:46) Pat’s start composing for film, changes in film composition industry (01:35:27) reflections on the importance of music
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