Mandala Drum Blog

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John Emrich helps define state-of-the-art drumming using both acoustic and electronic instruments.

More info on John at http://www.johnemrich.com

Thanks John!

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of our prime endorsees here in Los Angeles.  Ryeland Allison has been composing, arranging, performing and playing music since he was a wee lad and over the years he has contributed his musical talents to some of the biggest blockbusters of all time.  Here are a few things we talked about…

When composing music for a soundtrack, what is your primary goal?

My primary goal is to serve the film always.  I’ll work with the film director, producers and editor to establish the emotion of the characters and of the story line.  Music can enhance their vision to create emotional depth. The viewer doesn’t need to be overtly aware of the music. Music supports the film. 

How does your goal differ from that of, for example, a Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, The Birds)? 

I don’t know if I could say that my goals “differ” in the broad sense.  I would say that styles differ.  Time periods and techniques differ.  Each composer has his or her own style. One thing that is important is theme.  A character on the screen can have a melody or a phrase that you will come to associate with them. I worked with Hans and James on music for The Dark Knight.  Heath Ledger’s performance and the character of the Joker demanded a strong theme. Hans created a masterful thematic idea from two notes that enhanced the anarchy he was creating in the film.

I also think every composer brings his own bag of tricks. For some music from the Iron Man score I looked at the recklessness of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) I played to some of my strengths and embraced more electronic and percussive sounds, as opposed to Orchestra.

Does technology play a role in how you compose? If so, what role?

Definitely.  Given the sophistication of software and studio equipment available today we can develop sounds quickly.  We can try new ideas and know if they will work and how well. At one time you had to compose at a single instrument and sort out your ideas on paper before you heard the finished sound.  Technology allows for infinite demos and changes before final mix. In my opinion, every composer can work with the same 12 notes, but technology has allowed a greater range of exploration of new timbres.  It’s an exciting journey.

How does the Mandala Drum help you?

The Mandala has an incredibly expressive range as a controller. It has allowed me more freedom than other electronic drum controllers. Until the Mandala I preferred a keyboard to trigger drum sounds, not any more.  I get to play the parts as I would play them while sitting at an acoustic set. You think a lot differently and come up with better ideas that way.

We used the Mandala on The Dark Knight score and right now I am working with an extremely talented percussionist, Satnam Ramgotra, on Angels & Demons.  The Mandala allows us to travel from melodic to abstract and back again. And the difference between how Satnam uses it and how I utilize it shows just how wide the range of expression can be with this new technology.  The Mandala has allowed me to participate successfully in what I think is going to be an exceptional score. If Hans wins an Oscar for Angels and Demons I’ll make him carry a Mandala up to the podium!

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