What can you tell me about your approach? How did you begin developing the music on this show?
Well, I think I’ve just always been a huge Star Wars fan. I watched the original trilogy with my dad when I was five years old. So the music from John Williams basically narrated my childhood: E.T., Raiders, Jurassic Park. So yeah, my starting point was just being a huge fan of the music for the show already. I’m a violinist and I come from an orchestral background, so I’ve been able to do something on an epic scale with these big forces.
How did you and Williams come to work in tandem?
Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn’t written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope. It’s the only legacy character that he hadn’t done. So he spoke to [Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy and said, “I just want to write Benny a theme.” So who can deny him that? And he did, he wrote the Obi theme, and it just embodies the spirit of the show entirely.
How does his contribution fit with the broader music you created for this show?
For me, the tentpoles are set out by John Williams. There are elements to the show that are new and fresh, and I’ve been able to have my own interpretation with elements—that I can’t reveal. So it’s been glorious, working with my hero and also bringing my own voice to the show.
How would you describe his new Obi-Wan theme?
It’s reflective, and it’s just entirely appropriate. And it distills what the show is about in just the perfect way that John Williams can. It’s wistful, but there’s an element of hope to it. It’s doing something new and I think people are going to be really blown away by it.
What ideas did you begin to put together when Deborah Chow first approached you? How would you describe your process for Obi-Wan Kenobi?
Deborah and I met when she flew to London, and we spent two days watching through the material. It wasn’t fully cut together at that point. So we just spent that time together, and talked through the journeys of all the characters and what needed to happen. We kicked off with a two-day intensive immersion into it. Deborah’s just done such a fantastic job. And obviously, Ewan’s just delivering the performance of his career as well. I’m very excited for people to see it.
You mentioned that you’re a violinist. Do you perform in the score, or are you strictly composing?
I do! Actually, I am singing and I’m playing viola. And I’m playing some violin in there too. So yeah, I am performing on the score.
After that two-day immersion, what was your writing and recording process?
I tried to come up with themes that I feel are catchy. I had some time to just interrogate what the theme should be for each of the characters, and then bring them to life and put them to picture. Getting to record here in L.A. on Fox’s Newman Scoring Stage with the most talented musicians in the town, it’s just been a dream. I’m working with the same orchestra that John Williams uses as well—all of his key players were playing for me.
