Question & Answer: Clint Mansell chronicles his career

Clint Mansell, one time frontman for ‘grebo’ hucksters Pop Will Eat Itself, underwent a radical overhaul in the mid-nineties. From goodtime frontman in a largely fun, occasionally politicized industrial pop band, Mansell infiltrated the American movie business with serious and intelligent soundtracks to films such as Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Moon and Black Swan.

He recently capped a six-film run with director Darren Aronofsky with this year's biblical epic, Noah, cementing his status as one of Hollywood’s more discerning guns for hire. However, the thrill of life on the road as a touring musician has clearly never left the Coventry born composer as he embarks on a five-date tour of his favourite soundtrack works to date. We caught up with Clint ahead of this to chat about his influences, his work ethic and his tight leather pants.

"I remember listening to Kronos Quartet when we were recording at Skywalker and Darren Aronofsky saying to me 'we just haven't earned this yet'" – Clint Mansell

The Skinny: Pop Will Eat Itself disbanded in 1996 and by 1998 you had completed your first soundtrack to Pi. What exactly happened during those two years that made you go down this unlikely path?

Clint Mansell: I had moved to New York after leaving PWEI. I had intended to write a solo electronic record but I couldn't finish anything – I was uninspired, I had a very negative frame of mind, still do really.

I met Darren Aronofsky through a mutual friend. He was looking for funding for a script he was intending to shoot as his first movie which was Pi. He had no industry involvement and no real connections to the musical world. We talked about music that we liked/disliked and connected over our mutual appreciation of John Carpenter, Hip Hop, anime and electronic music. I read the script and Darren asked me to write a piece of music based on that...and we went from there.

Originally, I was only to write the main title theme, Darren wanted to use pre-existing electronic music throughout the rest of the film, but as he had no connections to that world or any money to pay for licensing, I ended up writing the entire score. It was a huge learning curve for me but it was a great experience. As we had no industry interference we just did what we wanted, what we responded to. I think it gave us a good shot at creating our own vibe.

PWEI were no strangers to sampling from movies, as well as other mediums. Was it ever a pipe dream to score a film even in those early days?

I always loved film music. Growing up watching films with my Dad – I was a teenager in the 70s and there was great film and TV music everywhere; Klute, The Parallax View, Assault on Precinct 13, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Thunderbirds, Joe 90, Stingray, Star Trek, Dr Who. It was an unbeknown influence at that time. I thought film composer was a job that other people did, it seemed impossible to break into.

What did you learn from your time with PWEI that has stood you in good stead as a film composer?

Work harder.

You’ve said that you fell into film-scoring. When did you realise you could make a career out of it?

Darren said to me after we finished Pi that he thought I could have a career at it, if I wanted. I still don't consider myself a jobbing film composer but I've been doing it longer than I was in a band so it goes to show what I know!

Who are your favourite film composers; who do you aspire to?

I don't aspire to anyone. You can only be yourself and mimicry can be done far better by others rather than me. My best bet at doing something I like is to truly be myself and see where it takes me. There’s lots of composers I love though; John Carpenter, Michael Small, Delia Derbyshire, Angelo Badalamenti, Dickon Hinchcliffe, Popul Vuh.

I read that you began writing music to Pi before a single scene had been shot. Is this still an approach you use or have you changed over the years?

I like to be involved in a project as much as possible. If I can get a head start on writing by reading the script or getting the directors take on things I will. It’s not always possible, and it often doesn't work when I do get the chance, but even if it doesn't work, I still will have learnt what doesn't work for the film-and that’s invaluable in itself.

When working with a director, how much creative freedom do you have and how much are you subservient to their vision?

Ultimately, it’s the director's overall vision. The important thing is to work on the right project with the right collaborators so that everyone is pulling in the same direction. Hopefully then you have free reign to bring your ideas to the project.

Requiem for a Dream was only your second film, yet you wrote this to be performed by the legendary Kronos Quartet. Was it nerve-wracking presenting it to them?

I was an electronic punk rocker at that time – I'd never heard of them. I soon learnt though. I remember listening to them when we were recording at Skywalker and Darren saying to me 'we just haven't earned this yet'.

Lux Aeterna became a widely used piece of music on the back of the Lord of the Rings re-recording. How did it feel to have a small piece of your work become so ubiquitous?

It’s like having children, I imagine. You produce them and then they go off and live their own lives. You can't make the choices for them so you let them go.

There are a lot of recurring themes in your scores, so how do you balance out building a theme with becoming repetitious?

Writing anything, in any style, needs to work as an overall cohesive unit. If it doesn't feel right, you keep working on it until it does.

For The Fountain, was it difficult ‘gelling’ the different time sequences of the movie together without the score sounding like a car crash?

Originally, we thought about a different style of music and themes for each time sequence but it felt schizophrenic with that approach... then we realised that it's actually one man’s story and the music should be the connective tissue. This allowed me to re-use and develop the themes to support Tomas' (Hugh Jackman's character's) journey.

With The Wrestler, how did the collaboration with Slash come about?

I had met Slash at a show and we got to talking. He was great!

Also, it features a song by Bruce Springsteen over the credits. We read that you and Darren Aronofsky had tried to have conventional songs over the credits of all your past films together without success. What went right on this particular occasion?

It’s something we had played with but for one reason or another it hadn't worked. I did a song with Antony and the Johnsons for the end of The Fountain but Darren felt it out of place, suddenly hearing a vocal in the music during the end credits. Perhaps the difference with The Wrestler was that there were a lot of songs in the film already so the Springsteen track gelled more?

You’ve worked with Darren Aronofsky on all his films so far. What is it about your partnership that keeps you both returning?

The fact that it has worked, I suppose. Darren is always looking for more and one of the things that we originally connected over was how we felt that modern film music was just so much wallpaper. Creative relationships are never easy, and maybe they're not supposed to be, but if you keep challenging one another and the results come then it’s worth the journey.

It seems that Aronofsky can successfully turn his hand to any script/genre. Do you think you can do the same?

I think he makes his own genre.

Of course, you’ve worked with other directors. What criteria do you look for in a new project?

I look for things that speak to me, something that allows me to channel my feelings, my experience and my view into the film in a positive way.

You’ve worked on TV and videogame soundtracks too. How do these differ in how you approach them and how they are received by audiences?

I didn't like working on video games or TV but that’s not to say I wouldn't do it again.

Are you able to watch your own movies back, detach yourself from the fact you wrote the music and enjoy them on their own merit?

I very rarely see a film after I've finished it. I've seen it enough by that time. You can always rethink something but I take the view that each film is a snapshot of that time and those thoughts and ideas.

You’re doing a five date tour in October. Can you tell us anything about your set up and what audiences can expect?

It’s a nine-piece band; string quartet, piano, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards...neo-classical, modern classical, I guess. We play a cross-section of my film music from Pi to Moon to The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream…

What does it take for a Clint Mansell score to make it onto a setlist?

It just depends on how much I like it, how we can perform it and if it will work in a live setting.

How does touring in this manner compare to touring back in the day?

I get to sit down when I play now and less leather pants!

After the tour, what’s next for you in terms of composing?

I've stopped talking about projects before they're completed because it always jinx them. I'll let you know when they're done!