David Saunders
“I trained at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. Coming to the end of my A-Levels I became increasingly aware of the fact that I would be miserable if I did anything other than pursue music – and ACM with its 'school of rock' image and reputation certainly appealed to me at the time. More so than a traditional music degree did, certainly. My hair was quite long at the time. I kicked off with a diploma, and then a higher diploma, in guitar. Whilst studying this performance-oriented qualification, I started to gravitate more toward the writing side of things – the creativity in playing alone wasn't satisfying me anymore, and so once I had completed my higher diploma I moved over to study music production for my final degree.”
“I got into the film industry totally by accident. I was actually gearing up to try and be a bit more of a Mark Ronson type at the time, balancing the production and writing, working with pop artists. This led me to a long-term collaboration with a singer/songwriter called Rebecca Poole (who now goes by the stage name 'Purdy'). For a couple of years I co-wrote and performed songs with her across London. We played jazz for a living on the side. One day she was approached by a friend of hers who had been commissioned to create a documentary for Channel 4 – he asked whether she would write the score for it. She said that wasn't really her gig, but that her guitarist (me) might like to have a crack at it. So, knowing absolutely nothing about film scoring, I took the footage and threw myself in. I'll never forget writing my first cue to picture. It was the closest thing to an epiphany I've ever had – I knew from that exact moment that this was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I fell in love with scoring.”
“My parent’s have been nothing but supportive - it's their bloody fault after all, jamming a guitar in my hand before I could barely walk. My sister is a musical theatre performer so they got a double dose of it. I think they hoped at least one of us would get a proper job. It's funny because I like to tell the story of what I refer to as my 'coming out' to my parents about wanting to be a musician. It was just as I was wrapping up my A-Levels and we were being encouraged to start thinking about potential universities, what courses we'd want to do blah blah. I couldn't have been less enthused. In fact I actually missed all of the application deadlines because the entire thing had passed me by. This, coupled with the fact I barely attended any of my lectures in lieu of hanging around the music department all day was a strong indicator. So I sat my parents down one evening and told them not to freak out or anything, but I wanted to be professional musician. Mum said deep down they'd always known. Funny lady.”
“Despite starting out with that initial documentary film, I actually cut my teeth in theatre. I moved to London halfway through my degree as I was done with Guildford, and started trying to work immediately as a composer out there. I had moved with my best friend Oliver Kaderbhai, who is an actor/director – neither of us could get any work initially, and so we decided to make our own.”
“So Ollie took the theatre company that he'd started whilst at Uni (named :DELIRIUM:), and we set to work making a show. We created a wildly ambitious, post-apocalyptic, immersive theatre production in an abandoned tunnel underneath Waterloo station, called Your Nation Loves You. Despite a minuscule budget and just about every imaginable hurdle thrown at us, it was a resounding success, and paved the way for many shows to come. This allowed me room to really experiment musically at the beginning, in a safe creative space with brilliant collaborators. And, I think importantly, outside of the bubble of film – I think this has given me a unique approach and perspective, even now. We're still going strong, about to start on next year's show in fact.”
“My first ever paying job was a promotional tourism video for Henley-on-Thames. £250. Still have the invoice. Genuinely though I couldn't believe my luck at the time that somebody wanted to give me money for something that I loved doing anyway...that was a magic moment.”
“There are so many artists that have influenced me it's hard to narrow down, but I'll highlight three notable ones. First and most important is probably Pat Metheny. My dad is a die-hard fan, and thus I was exposed to his music quite literally from birth. There is no more evocative sound for me in life – I hear him, and I'm transported back to my childhood. He's a transcendent musical genius who I feel extremely privileged to live in the same era as. The genre-defying (actually, what I really mean is 'genre-less') scope and beauty of his work has made an indelible imprint on mine. I keep accidentally ripping him off. My dad then informs me I've done so, and I have to go back and change it.”
“Second is perhaps predictable for a film composer, but it would be wrong not to mention John Williams. I remember sitting in front of those blockbusters we all know and love (normally taped badly on an old VHS), and then sitting at the piano afterwards and trying to pick out the themes. He's untouchable. The beautiful, compelling simplicity of his melodic work floats on top of this ocean of astonishing complexity and depth. To be at once concise as you are complex is the mark of a true artist.”
“Third is Steely Dan. Best band in the world.”
“I’m currently just wrapping up on a couple of films. One is a thriller from director Nour Wazzi, called Baby Mine. Exciting stuff. I did a movie with her a couple of years ago with Maisie Williams, great director. The other is from another brilliant director called Laura Evers-Johns – it's an avant-garde sci-fi romance. A somewhat niche genre. My other main focus is prepping for a move to Los Angeles. I made the decision recently to move out there, and am in the process of applying for my visa. I haven't actually told everyone yet that I'm leaving. I guess finding out via a magazine article is one way of doing it.”
“I suppose the ultimate goal is to be in a position of success where I have true freedom when it comes to selecting projects. To focus on those ones that really exhilarate me, those collaborations that inspire. I'm not an assembly-line composer – I need to feel like every project is crafted, unique. I remember talking to an A-lister once who said how he was sick of the 'cookie-cutter' music he was having to write for the tent-pole movies he was doing. The love just wasn't there. It was a shame.”
“I’ve also thought about directing at some point in the future. I love story-telling, that's my favourite aspect of film scoring – being a part of the narrative. And I love what cinema is capable of. Every aspect of the filmmaking process fascinates me, it would be great to get in the chair at some stage and be the one who steers that.”