Composer Don Davis may not be the most high profile person
working on the “Matrix” films, but he’s certainly
a pervasive member. Davis handles all composing on the entire
“Matrix” franchise, from the films to the online
animated shorts to the video game. Davis studied music at UCLA.
Having worked in TV, Davis was picked by John Williams to score
“Jurassic Park III.” Davis also worked with the
Wachowski brothers on their first film,
“Bound.”
dB Magazine: What did you do at UCLA? Don Davis: I was
doing charts for the jazz band. I was doing things over at Melnitz
Hall with some student films. I was trying to keep busy in a lot of
different aspects of music, which I knew was going to benefit me as
a professional.
dB: What musical styles did you use in the
“Matrix” scores? Davis: I’d been thinking
about the postmodern minimalist approach that I had heard from
composers like John Adams, Philip Glass and Steve Reich.
dB: Having worked with electronica artist Ben Watkins on the
“Matrix Reloaded” score, how did you balance that with
traditional scoring? Davis: The Wachowski brothers definitely
have a feeling about the way those kinds of elements work. They
don’t feel that electronica stuff really expresses jeopardy
when the scene gets really dangerous. On the other hand, orchestral
music doesn’t really give cool. So the solution is when you
need cool and you have a fun action scene, go with electronica.
When the action culminates and gets really dangerous, the orchestra
is a better medium for that.
dB: How did you prepare? Davis: Before I started
“The Matrix Reloaded,” Paul Oakenfold went to my
studio, we had lunch, and he gave me a ticket to a club show at the
Mayan. That was very informative. One thing I was informed of was
that I was kind of old.
dB: How will “Revolutions” be scored?
Davis: I don’t think I’m breaching secrecy agreements
when I say it’s going to be the war movie. We’re going
to see some epic war situations, which is going to call for some
epic war music.
dB: Are you turning your “Matrix” score into a
symphony or a suite? Davis: I haven’t been asked to do
that yet, but there might be a call for it after
“Revolutions” comes out. Now that you mention it, to do
a three movement thing would be a cool idea. Interview conducted by
Howard Ho.