Interview With Random Tropical Paradise composer Bryce Jacobs

INTERVIEW: ‘Random Tropical Paradise’ Composer Bryce Jacobs

The feature Random Tropical Paradise written and directed by Sanjeev Sirpal (Screw Cupid) is hitting theaters and VOD June 9. Also on the same day, composer Bryce Jacob’s score for the film is getting a digital release by Varese Sarabande. In honor of the release, we decided to speak with the veteran composer and find out a little more about the film and his thought process behind the “yacht rock” score.

What would you hope audiences would say about your score when leaving the theater?Random Tropical Paradise

Well… the ultimate would be that the audience feels it was perfect for the film and that it helped give the movie its own signature sound (that's been the goal anyway). I really hope that beyond the comedic elements of the score, the music helps provide that extra depth and sense of history between the two main characters. The heart of this film is all centered around the best man looking out for his jilted groom buddy via humor and a healthy dose of distraction. I especially hope that the musical culmination of their journey, which is embodied in the feature song: Best Man, speaks to people about the uniqueness of the close friendships we all have. It's a super important song for me, as well as the film, and I sincerely hope the audience find their own personal connection with it.

What was your composer/director process like with Sanjeev Sirpal on ?Random Tropical Paradise

After initially meeting and spending a good amount of time with Sanjeev, we did our spotting session… I then bunkered down to write three suites (each covering a major thematic area of the film). There was a bromance, romance and mafia suite. Best Man is really the bromance suite, that very quickly into the process, became a song. It was then stratified out to help generate the cues for the relevant areas of the film. The song utilized many layered guitars as well as a Ukulele and Pedal Steel to give the real tropical flavor (I’m also singing on the track). The strong undercurrent of this film is the depth of friendship between the two main characters - therefore, it was the most important to capture and implement in the right way from the outset. I took a punt, and spent a few days producing up the track; I was a little nervous leading with a song in our first playback session, but ultimately just went for it. Thankfully, Sanjeev loved it… so we knew we had our centerpiece for the film. The romance suite started out as piano and strings when I initially presented it to Sanjeev. I then morphed it and produced it up into what was becoming the sound and instrumentation of the film. I blended a Fender Rhodes and Strat as well as a warm Pedal Steel into the suite that then became the basis for the romance cues (between the jilted groom and his kindling new love). The Mafia theme was a bit daunting at first; it’s a style that has appeared in so many films - “The Godfather” being the most exemplified version of this. Joe Pantaliano is exceptional as the Mafia boss here. Watching him throughout, I noticed he is dressed for vacation the entire film. I then did the same thing with the suite: I featured Pedal Steel and Ukuleles with a little underlying dark synth, percussion and strings. The actual theme came quickly then, as it felt like it had become its own unique thing for the film.

Not only do you compose but you also write songs, which have been featured on and . Now you have one on called “Best Man”. Does this come naturally to you? Did you write the song first then compose the film or the other way around?So UndercoverDrive HardRandom Tropical Paradise

Songwriting has always been very important to me alongside film composing. I now bring the two together to produce cinematic songs and reinventions of classics (I recently did a reinvention of Jolene for Position Music that was a lot of fun). In my songwriting, I used to start with the music then the lyrics, but since working in film, I now start the process from more of a narrative perspective. As soon as a musical idea arrives, I instantly ask what is it trying to say and where can I then lead it. With the reinvented covers, I always start with the lyrics and let my imagination run free with how you could reinterpret them - this then informs the performance and production of the songs. Best Man, on the other hand, is very honest in production and performance (which is exactly what I wanted to achieve with this song). The lyrics came from a very real and authentic place, so I wanted that to carry through each and every aspect. As I said before, I really took a punt on writing this first… but I knew that it had enough content that could be expanded upon in the cues (there’s even a tropical reinterpretation of this music to give us the sense of these guys on their own specifically crazy vacation).

Can you remember the first movie you saw or the first moment where you actually recognized a film’s score?

The very first film I saw at a cinema was Ghostbusters at 4 years old - I adored every aspect of it (and still do). In terms of cognitively being hit by a score - I think there were two major moments for me. Shortly after my first cinema experience, I saw The NeverEnding Story. My Mum bought me the 45-rpm vinyl single of the feature song by Limahl, but the funny thing is, I would listen to the B-side much more than the A. It was one of the most climactic cues in the film called The Ivory Tower (by Giorgio Moroder and Klaus Doldinger). For me, it was this wonderfully majestic journey; a perfect evolution of a melody and chord progression. The other instance was when I first saw Tim Burton’s Batman. I loved every aspect of Danny Elfman’s score, but my favorite cue is when Batman is taking Vicky Vale to the Batcave. It builds as the Batmobile propels through the forest… and when they hit the Batcave itself the whole piece opens up with lush orchestra and choir. Even now, it has the same effect it did on me when I was 9 years old. Before being a composer, these influences (and others) really informed my band work and songwriting. I would shoe-horn as much as I could into the bands I was in (I apologize to all my former band mates!) and I learned a hell of a lot by attempting more grandiose ideas in this way (with a lot of trial and plenty of error). This path of experimentation has definitely heavily influenced the kind of composer and musician I am today.

Who is the most influential composer when it comes to your work?

I’m influenced by many composers, bands and artists, but my favorite composer is Debussy closely followed by Wagner. Wagner is a filmic staple for many of us… he kind of helped write the book with his cinematic approach to Operas that he called Music Dramas. Debussy’s influence on me is a bit more subliminal. There’s definitely a sensibility to my melodic/harmonic writing that I push when appropriate (animation especially); but it’s more his philosophical approach. He renounced all the years of study he did at the Paris Conservatoire and became more focused on the best way of capturing organic sounds in nature - then realizing them in his orchestral and piano works. He was so masterful in his writing, orchestration and notation (thanks to the skill set he did attain in his studies) that he was able to emancipate the orchestra from more traditional confines. Debussy’s music is impressionistic, liquefied and free of any confines, but he achieves that through absolute precision in his scores – my favorite orchestral work of all time is Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun – it’s like a stream of day dreaming consciousness.

You are originally from Australia. Was it hard for you to break into the business in Hollywood?

I was very fortunate that John Powell recorded some of his scores in Australia. I was a part of the orchestration and copying team in Sydney on such films as Happy Feet, Jumper and P.S. I Love You. It was a remarkable experience and a fantastic prelude to coming to Los Angeles. Although I’d been to L.A. a couple of times before, it was 2008 when I committed to three months here to see what I could unearth (3 months was the maximum of my tourist visa). Within a month, I found a way into Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control as an intern. On the 89th day of my visa waiver (5 hours before getting on the plane), I landed the assistant job with Ramin Djawadi. I went home, packed up life and wife, and we moved here officially at the start of 2009. I then continued to build it however I could from there.

What projects do you have next?

Well… there’s an animation I can’t really talk about yet - but I’m very excited about it. I’m also producing a few artists right now in the cinematic song contexts that I love doing so much. I really love the collaboration - it reminds me of when I used to be in bands and all the interesting paths you shoot down with the unique people, personalities and ideas in the room. It’s funny, I’ve had such a weird and seemingly disparate array of experiences, that all seem to come together in one way or another in what I do now. I truly love bringing extremes together, searching for a convincing cohesive force between them that can really move you in unique and compelling ways.