In one scene from the film Emerald, Texas, protagonist Dee pauses for reflection while her more carefree friends play in a parking lot. Like much of the score, this cue mixes acoustic guitar with strings to reflect both contemporary Americana and the Wizard of Oz parallels of the story.

Guitar performances by Kyle Johnson.

The movie Emerald, Texas features present-day analogues from The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy is a rebellious teen from (of course) Kansas, the tin woodsman becomes a heartbroken metal sculptor, and so on.

The wicked antagonist is Elva, an eyepatch-wearing bounty huntress stalking our runaway teen protagonist. To musically represent Elva’s mix of bad-assery and witchy temper I used electric guitar and the rosiny screech of the fiddle. This week’s cue accompanies her first appearance.

Another selection from the score for Emerald, Texas. Two friends kick the can down a dusty Kansas lane. The music blends American folk with the chamber string sound that recurs throughout the score. 

One subtle detail: the string harmonies come from playing several notes of the film’s main melody simultaneously. Composers employ sneaky tricks like this to create a sense of subtle familiarity throughout a score.

And now, my personal favorite track from the score of Emerald, Texas. The scene is a moment of relaxation in a windy field of golden flowers.

En route to a fabled pastor, the protagonists from Emerald, Texas stumble upon a quasi-hippie enclave in a forest.

I wish the film scene had been longer, because I had so much fun writing this oddball cue. The central rhythmic element is my plucking on an electric guitar run through (warning: audio tech babble follows) a convolution reverb based on a drum ostinato.

Add hand percussion, recorder, and low-end piano to the mix and you have your instant magic realism/quasi-rural/vaguely-spiritual traveling underscore!

A self-styled miracle man resides across a shady forest. The ragtag companions of Emerald, Texas set out through the woods towards what they hope will be their quest’s end.

The scene provides the occasion for the film’s main theme, which had been previously hinted at in fragments. The melody emerges from a mysterious rural introduction and subsequent agitated string passage. The intro, by the bye, was given to the viola rather than violin, for a more more raw and haunting sound.

There were only a few string players on the recording, which we tracked multiple times to give the music a bigger sound. The resulting chamber orchestra feel worked well for the film’s intimate contemporary-fantasy sensibility.

I’m happy to re-launch my Cue of the Week blog! By re-launch I mean resume, after a long period of neglect. Other than a few cosmetic details, nothing has changed; you’ll still hear a weekly selection of my music for film, games, concert music and other media.

Music for media by nature is bundled with its host project, and to be honest I’ve been lax about publishing soundtrack albums. This blog allows me to share work I’m proud of which you might not otherwise easily be able to hear.

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Enough preamble! As I’m currently scoring a new feature film by my longtime collaborator George Adams, I thought I’d share the opening music from our previous film, Emerald, Texas. As this opener suggests, the score is a mix of Americana, chamber orchestra, and oddball sound design.

Guitars (as throughout the score) courtesy of the multitalented Kyle Johnson.