Composer, Peter Baert (The Water Man)

Welcome to Season 5 and 2022! This is the 9th year we've been
running and we're already setting up a host of great guests as
well as our new intro theme from our very own Alyx Jones! 


To kick off this year we have Composer Peter Baert! Last year,
Sam spoke to composer Peter Baert about his journey as a
composer, his work on fantasy epic "The Water Man" with how he
created the "monster synth", the differences between working on
movies vs commercials and more!


"Belgian composer Peter Baert is making his first major Hollywood
feature debut with his score in Golden-Globe nominated actor
David Oyelowo’s upcoming drama The Water Man (Executive Produced
by Oprah Winfrey). In the film, a young boy named Gunner (Lonnie
Chavis) sets out on a quest to save his ill mother (Rosario
Dawson) by searching for a mythic figure who possesses the secret
to immortality, the Water Man. *Coming to U.S. theaters May 7.


Peter first met David at his commercial sound studio in Brussels
a few years back when he was in town shooting the BBC miniseries
Les Misérables. Soon after, Peter learned that David would be
making his directorial debut with The Water Man. The storyline
resonated very deeply with Peter because he too had an ill
mother, who he lost to cancer in 2008. He felt like if he was
ever going to score a feature film, it should be this one. He
contacted David, and he agreed to send Peter the script for which
he created a 30-minute demo with several different musical
themes, which would eventually land him the opportunity.


The music of The Water Man is a mix of electronic, drones, and
classical. Peter felt the score had to be adventurous at some
points and emotional at others, without being too poignant. He
and his team utilized the water man’s screams and sighs to create
“The Water Man Synth,” which they processed through long delays,
modular tools, and tape echoes. David wanted a motherly presence
to be present in the music. To accomplish this, Peter worked with
vocalist Judith Okon, who has a similar timbre of Rosario Dawson,
and created the “Mother Synth.”


Big thanks to Toivo Kallio for mastering!


Intro - The Sound Architect Theme - Alyx Jones
Outro - Shump! - Will Bedford


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