Bryce Dessner, composer, guitarist and former Yale history major, admits that he and his twin, Aaron – with whom they make up two-fifths of indie rock outlet The National – have little fixation on one particular chapter of the American experiment. .
“My brother and I have always been passionate Civil War fans,” he says. Advertising sign from Melbourne, where the band just played two shows at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. “For years we named National demos after Civil War battles – I think the song 'Ryland' was called 'Fredericksburg.'
You could call it kismet that the 47-year-old composer's latest effort is for Apple TV+ Manhunta historical crime thriller centered around the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination in 1865. The seven-part series, premiering March 15, follows US Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, whom he plays Of the Crown Tobias Menzies as he tracks down Anthony Boyle's fugitive John Wilkes Booth – a bloody, intense chase that Dessner says was like “running a marathon seven times” to write the score.
To capture the scale of the tragedy's impact—which threatened to bring Lincoln's postwar Reconstruction plans to the brink—Dessner layered subtle electronic embellishments over an orchestral tapestry of strings and brass, all while honoring American folk traditions of seasonal. the occasional fiddle or banjo. His attention to detail even took him to Nashville, Tenn., where he purchased an early '60s Gibson J-50 classic guitar specifically for the project.
“It's quite minimal but very specific,” he says of the soundtrack, which follows his previous work on films such as Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant and Zach Braff's A good man.
The cello, for example, unofficially functions as Booth's sonic mascot, as demonstrated in the moments leading up to the fatal shooting at Ford's Theater in episode 1. The droning instrument lurks beneath the surface as Boyle meditatively recites dialogue in sync with the play. is staged before he steps into the president's box in what he clearly hopes is the juiciest moment to aim, shoot, and declare, “Liberty for the South!”
More than 150 years after the event, The National is coming off two back-to-back albums — The first two pages of Frankensteinwhich debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, and Laughter. The projects were released just five months apart in 2023, but Dessner says the band is already back on track.
“We don't fully understand how we released two records last year,” he says with a laugh. “It's quite shocking, because it usually takes us forever to make a record, but to make two in a year… We were so excited about the music and this intense, productive period that we wanted to get them out there.”
“But yes,” he adds. “We started writing again.”
So have Dessner's friends and former associates, including Annie Clark of St. Vincent. The musician recently unveiled a new single, 'Broken Man' and announced her album All Born Screaming.
“She's one of my very old friends,” Dessner says. “She and I met playing in Sufjan Stevens' band in the early 2000s — I think Annie was 18 or 19. It's always exciting to see what she's up to and surprising.”
As for Taylor Swift, whose Folklore and Forever album he helped work on with his brother, Dessner says he's “very excited.” Department of Tormented Poets to arrive on April 19. “It's good,” he reveals with a smile. “I can't say much, but, as usual, he's a genius.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bryce-dessner-manhunt-score-interview-taylor-swift-genius-1235628394/
