We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robert Lydecker. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robert below.

Hi Robert, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Film composers have figured out the most efficient, precise, controlled workflow to get music written and produced on time, on budget, and to everyone’s liking. As part of that process, we make computerized demos of our music for directors to approve before we record with live musicians. While this is a great way to eliminate surprises and stay on budget, it can sometimes confine our creativity without us realizing. A few years ago I was working on a film and felt stifled by this demo process. The director and I were seeking music with techniques and expression that went beyond the limits of what I could do with my computer. So, instead of starting with computerized demos, the director took a leap of faith and let me start the process with a live musician. I notated the score by hand using some techniques from 20th century avant-garde composers and presented it to our cello player along with the video of the film. I then conducted the cellist through the music, and we sculpted it to the film in ways I couldn’t have done alone at my computer. Not only that, the process was way more fun for all involved. If the director had feedback (having heard the music for the first time at the session), we could adjust on the fly, giving him options, or I could later add layers to the live cello with my computer to further shape the intent.
It was liberating and exciting to take a risk and go through the process in a different way. It could have been a disaster, with none of the music working to the director’s liking and us blowing our budget from the start. But instead, starting our process in a more open-ended way with the additional talents of an excellent cellist, brought life and textures to a score that I don’t think would have been possible otherwise.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a composer. My main gig is writing and producing original music for film, television, and video games. I broke into the industry through an assistantship I had with A-list composer Brian Tyler. He pushed me and gave me opportunities to manage projects and write extensive amounts of music, but the real leg-up came when we co-scored the “Sleepy Hollow” series. We earned an Emmy nomination for the main title theme, and I was able to connect with the show’s writers, producers, sound mixers, etc. through weekly meetings I would attend. These new connections were invaluable, and led to future composing projects of my own, specifically the “Lethal Weapon” and “Iron Fist” TV shows. My relationship with Brian also led to more co-scores – “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” starring Vin Diesel and “Designated Survivor” starring Keifer Sutherland. Through this work I’ve logged hours and hours of experience and each project has taught me new lessons. The first show where I started composing full time was called “Terra Nova.” I had to learn to write about 30 minutes of music every week. This forced me to be as efficient and organized as possible. It built my stamina and taught me to prioritize. We also recorded a small live orchestra for the show. This gave me an opportunity to experiment and fail and then finally succeed as an orchestrator. I learned how to write economically and find my favorite ways to voice string chords. With “Lethal Weapon” on the other hand, I further honed my attention to dramatic detail. The producers on the show had a very keen and specific eye for how music would work with picture. We would adjust accents by a few frames or carve away frequencies to lighten the mood of a scene. At the start of the project, we would have long lists of places to tweak and change the score, but by my final episode with the team, we were almost totally in sync with nothing to revise.
All this experience has led me to my most recent projects. I just finished a film, “Orion and the Dark,” written by one of my favorite writers, Charlie Kaufman. Like my other projects this let me explore new territory, writing music inspired by some of my favorite minimalist composers. We even got to write some quasi-songs for the film which is something I’ve only been able to do before on some small independent projects.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The foundation of any society is its youth. If we want to live a kind, just society, we need to instill those values in everyone from an early age. If we want our society to break barriers in science, all our children need equal access to inspiring lessons and teachers. The same is true for the arts. All children should have access to different creative outlets and be challenged to learn about new forms of expression. They should be exposed to an array of films, visual art, music, dance, etc., and be given the tools to understand and discuss these media on different levels. They should be taught to question their assumptions about art and should also be asked to think about its value in society. Is it a form of entertainment? A way to make money? An agent of social change? A tool for religions to decimate beliefs? A way to bond with other humans?

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My creative work fills two opposite sides of me – my connections inward and outward. I love the solitary nature of composing. It’s an internal process, that’s totally intuitive, happening outside of language and concrete thought. Sometimes composing is like going into a dream. Certain parts of your mind sort of shut off and you go into a state of flow. When you “wake up” there’s a piece of music there and you almost don’t know where it came from. It’s therapeutic and lets me detach from the world.

But, the solitary composing is only half my job as a composer. I also get to collaborate with directors, musicians, and occasionally connect with audiences. I love this part of the process in a totally different way. The human connection brings excitement and joy. The people I collaborate with inspire me to try new ideas. And positive vibes from an audience can make you feel like you have a valuable place in this world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lydeckermusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertlydeckermusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@robertlydeckermusic

Image Credits
Sarai Lomeli. Tanya Flores.