We spoke with Mr.
When composer Mac Quayle sat down withMr.
Just capture the entire concepts of past, present, and future via sound?
We spoke with the Emmy-winner about his work onMr.
Robot, what hes most excited for in season three, and how the shows sound has evolved.
Den of Geek: I hear Sam (Esmail) and company are still working on locking down episodes.
Have you finished this season yet or is there more work to do?
Mac Quayle: Theres still quite a bit more to do.
Im pretty much finished with four of the 10 episodes.
Not quite halfway yet.
How do you like the season so far?
I think its fantastic!
Im so used to watching finished products in films and television.
Whats it like to watch TV without score before you create it?
Robotand its kind of off-kilter, dream-like visuals.
Theres a couple of ways it happens.
That begins a conversation about what might be working in the temporary score and what might not be working.
Its a good place to start for me.
Do you remember what your first impression ofMr.
Robotwas when you first saw it?
I thought it was pretty unique.
I really liked the way it looked.
I liked the characters and the acting was really phenomenal.
I was just intrigued from that very first episode in season one.
It asks a lot of questions and doesnt give any answers.
What were some of your inspirations when coming up with the sound of the show.
To my un-trained ear, it sounds very 80s and synth.
It all came out of conversations with Sam.
He believed and I agreed that it would be served best by a very electronic score.
Certainly in season one it was almost exclusively electronic sounds.
It expanded a little bit in the next two seasons but electronic is the core of the sound.
In what ways has that sound evolved?
Theres been the addition of a few more organic sounds.
Season 2 found us using the sound of strings like violins and cellos.
Piano was used somewhat in season 1 but we use more of it in season 2.
Season 3 so far were following in similar footsteps.
The sound is mostly electronic but were adding organic instruments as well.
Is there any particular new instrument this season that excited you?
The strings have been fun.
As has the piano.
Theres still six episodes to go so well see what happens.
We havent really added any other instruments.
Were just having fun now.
Mr. Robothas quite a few twists and turns.
Does that inform how you compose for the show?
Does it make it more challenging?
Well, we definitely dont attempt to give away any of the secrets with the music.
At least not with the score.
We just play it completely straight even if whats happening onscreen isnt what it seems.
That helps with a sense of realism for something that might not be real.
Do you have a favorite piece of music youve composed forMr.
Im not sure that theres one thats my ultimate favorite.
Each season so far has had several that Ive been quite fond of.
I think its a little more than halfway through the episode.
Its kind of a long montage sequence with Elliot walking around New York City and narrating.
I dont think Im giving too much away with that one.
Youre releasing a prettynifty-looking soundtrack for the second seasonofMr.
Whats that process been like?
Its quite fortunate that they were interested in releasing it.
I am very involved.
I come up with the final list that will then get turned into the release.
Youve done quite a bit of TV work now and its encompassed a lot of different genres.
Each project does have its own mindset thats required to create the sound.
At the heart all of the music in all of the shows is doing the same thing.
Its there to tell the story.
It helps to emphasize emotions.
Its functioning in a very similar way in all the shows I work on.
In each one I have a go at have a distinct sound thats different from the others.
Robotnow in season 3, the story is…its a long story.
Its going to go maybe four or five seasons.
With something likeAmerican Horror Story every season is a completely different story.
A whole new set of characters, maybe a different time period.
Im just about to finish my fourth season ofAmerican Horror Story.
This is the fourth time Ive started from scratch.
Whats it like collaborating with creators and showrunners to come up with ideas?
Theyre the captain of the ship.
They create the path that were all going to follow.
Thats the case for all the departments theyre dealing with and all aspects of the show.
Theyre there every step of the way.
What was the initial process with Sam in particular like?
He wanted an electronic score definitely.
It would be quite dark, tense.
All of those adjectives were thrown into the hat when I first started working on music.
I would write some, send it in and then Sam and I would talk about it.
Id make some changes based on his suggestions and thats our starting point.
We pretty much followed it for the rest of the season.
What are some of your influences and inspirations music-wise?
Its kind of hard to say.
I listen to so many things.
Im quite fond of electronic music obviously.
I love orchestral music.
The past is filled with such classics like Bernard Herrmann, and Henry Mancini.
Theres just an abundance of amazing music out there to be inspired by.
I lived in New York and I did that for many years in New York City.
In the early 2000s, the music industry was starting to show some signs of difficulty.
It seemed like a good time to make a transition.
I moved to Lost Angeles with the big idea of getting into scoring.
I had a skillset.
I knew my way around music production.
I knew how to compose certain types of music.
I hadnt really composed for film or television.
I landed in Los Angeles and in 2006 I got my first real job for the showCold Case.
I ddi that for a little while and realized this could be something.
What else are you working on now?
I did a couple of smaller shows here in Los Angeles in the early part of the summer.
Then I went to Spain and played part of a film festival ofMr.
Thats been a really exciting new area to expand into.
I have a show booked here on December 5 at the Roxy.
