NATE HELLER AND JESSIE BARR INTERVIEW

Gardener Recordings has released Sophie Jones: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The acclaimed film, directed, co-written and produced by Jessie Barr, portrays sixteen-year-old Sophie Jones as she navigates high school after tragically losing her mother.

The first half of the soundtrack comprises various tracks from female-fronted, riot grrrl-inspired, independent artists from the past decade including Mutt, Valley Hush, and Merō, plus underground dance and electronic tracks from James Meyers, Kye Kye and Max Tartaglia - while the second half focuses on the film's original score from GRAMMY®-nominated composer Nate Heller (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Diary Of A Teenage Girl)

The soundtrack closes with an extended version of “Ashes Into The Sea”. Composed by Heller, the track features vocals from the young, queer, Black, genre-bending artist King Isis. Known for her haunting vocals, Heller puts them to full use on this track, bringing to a close all of the emotional tumult Sophie has experienced since the loss of her mother a year before.

Interview by Interlocutor Magazine

Jessie, could you share your overall vision for the music you wanted to be incorporated into Sophie Jones? Did you always have a notion of using louder, riot grrrl-inspired female-fronted acts such as Mutt, Valley Hush, and Merō, mixed with something like Nate Heller's calmer, more ambient-oriented compositions? What intrigued you about the dichotomy of these sounds for the film?

Jessie: When I thought about the music for Sophie Jones I knew the film would have three sonic universes. The first universe was made up of needle drops. I felt they needed to feature female-fronted bands that paid homage to the riot grrrl movement, with unbridled energy, radical feminist lyrics and fiery performances but they also had to sound handmade, raw, and accessible like they came from a bunch of girls raging in a basement next door. I wanted to feel the rage and the limitations we bump against when trying to express that rage, which creates a useful tension sonically and cinematically.

I scoured Bandcamp, talked with musician friends and worked with my incredible music supervisors Tommy Phelan and Chad North at The Crystal Creative to source most of the needle drops we used in the film which included a majority of local bands from Oregon.

I knew the harsh needle drops that gave texture to Sophie’s outer world had to be juxtaposed with the second universe which was made up of atmospheric sounds - the sound of breath, skin rubbing on sheets, silence - and with the third universe which was the sound of Sophie’s inner world. Sophie’s inner landscape felt linked to the natural world and the spirit of her mother. When I worked with Nate to create the sounds of Sophie’s inner world we talked about incorporating chimes and whistle tones and leaning into the score being almost like sound design. We knew we needed sounds that were ethereal, and whimsical but not saccharine or prescriptive.

Nate and Jessie, how closely did you work together to develop the film's score? The film focuses so intimately on the interiority of the titular character – how did the consistent focus on Sophie's life and coping mechanisms work to influence the development of the score?

Jessie: Creating is such an intimate act and I feel very lucky that Nate was available and down to dive into this collaboration. I shared poems with him, and we talked a lot about possible sounds and ideas for the score, particularly how it might serve as an expression of Sophie’s inner emotional landscape and how the score served as a bridge between her and the presence of her mother at times.

Nate: Jessie and I worked super closely to develop the sounds of Sophie's world. The music in the film is so integral in terms of expressing the phases of Sophie's grief throughout the film. Jess knew that the needle drops would be doing more of the heavy lifting in terms of taking us through the more brash, intense moments with Sophie, and we agreed that the score should act as a counterpoint - the moments in the film that seemed to be asking for score were the more introspective and gentle ones, and we wanted the score to reflect that. Also, it didn't hurt that Jessie came with a treasure trove of inspiration in the form of poems, mood boards, and the like.

Nate and Jessie, in what ways did the film's locations around Portland, Oregon, with some scenes shot in very lush, scenic spots such as the Multnomah Falls area and the Oregon coastline, also work to influence the score?

Jessie: Narratively the natural world and lush landscapes felt linked to Sophie’s mother and an extension of Sophie’s inner world. I imagined that these places like Latourell Falls, and Bridge of the Gods were places they would all go as a family, when the family was whole, and now when they visit them there is this absence, but even in absence there is a presence. Nate's brilliant so somehow he was able to express that tender and truthful ambiguity within the score.

Nate: The incredible natural scenes in the film definitely played a part in influencing the direction of the score. We tried to incorporate a sort of airy atmospheric wind tone throughout the lush natural scenes, and I'm always working to balance the sounds I'm creating against what's happening onscreen. The majesty of the Pacific Northwest is so powerfully on display in this film, and this led me to leaning into a gentler almost wistful sound that would hopefully compliment the awe and wonder of the natural environment, without hitting the viewer over the head.

Nate, when did the compositional stage begin for you with this film? How do you usually approach writing a score – does it start at the pre-production/script stage or once you're able to see the visual look and tone of the film? Does your approach vary from film to film?

Nate: Jessie approached me once she had already shot and assembled a rough cut of the film, so I was able to get a good feeling for the tone and direction the score could take it. It varies from project to project - sometimes I'm involved during pre-production, sometimes I'm working with a totally fixed edit. A lot of times if I'm working from a script, I find that the tone I've imagined for the music doesn't match what ends up being onscreen and I have to adjust.

As soon as I watched the rough cut of Sophie Jones, I felt ideas crackling. I find that it's best to jot down my ideas as soon as they come to me, and that's what I did for here - I had a few immediate jolts of inspiration that I made quick demos from, and a lot of those ideas flowered into the pieces you hear in the final cut of the film. Working with Jessie was so lovely because she was very receptive to my ideas and trusted me to follow my inspiration wherever it led.

How did King Isis become involved in the soundtrack's production? Were the lyrics on the extended version of the track "Ashes Into the Sea" written specifically for the song and the scene it's used in, or were they pre-existing? It does seem like the perfect mix of lyrical content and reflective music for such a subtly quiet, moving scene.

Nate: Thank you for the kind words! I had been developing music for the film over a few weeks and had sort of gone back and forth on the final scene (with "Ashes Into the Sea") in terms of creating a lyrical piece versus something that was strictly instrumental. Jessie had put enough faith in me up to that point that I went ahead and asked King Isis to come record the full version of "Ashes Into the Sea" before I had even played a demo of the song for Jessie. It was one of those "let me just show you instead of trying to tell you" moments, knowing that a demo with my temp vocals wouldn't convey what I was trying to.

In my mind, worst case scenario Jess would reject the song and I would have to scrap it, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I wrote the lyrics based on the reference poems Jessie provided, but also based on my relation to the film - at the time I was a new dad, and Sophie's story really resonated with me in that sense - the world is big and scary, and it's inevitable that our kids are going to face challenges and traumas without us by their sides. All we can do is load them up with love and confidence and send them out in the world knowing that we are always with them, even if only spiritually. Mercifully, Jess was very moved by the song. We did end up splitting the difference between a purely musical and lyrical piece, which I think was the right choice for the film, and we got a sweet single out of the process to boot.

What was the experience of working with Gardener Recordings for the soundtrack for both of you? They are a boutique label service that seems uniquely set up to support composers at all stages. In what ways were they an ideal fit for the release and distribution of the Sophie Jones soundtrack album?

Jessie: Gardener Recordings has been an incredible partner in the release of the Soundtrack. They champion artists' visions and support them which is much more rare than you might think in the industry. They’re a special company and Kevin Kertes is like a Fairy Godfather. I’m thrilled they were open to this collaboration and look forward to working with them again soon.

Nate: I think Gardener Recordings was a great match for our soundtrack because of the boutique feel to what they do. Sophie Jones is the kind of film that feels like it really took a village to create, and that goes for the soundtrack as well. In addition to carefully considering any input Jess or I had in terms of potential track ordering and conceptual approaches to how the soundtrack would work as a whole, they were careful to help us flesh out our ideas without too much pressure to make the soundtrack something other than what we wanted it to be. Kevin contracted with Marsh Mastering to bring my cues to a really polished finished state as well, which is so appreciated.

Sophie Jones is currently streaming on Showtime and other services.