We chat with Double Walker composer Mark Hadley…
She was given two choices: live one more day as a human, or live forever as a ghost. She chose the latter. Colin West’s ghost story, Double Walker, is set to hit theaters and VOD platforms this weekend. The official synopsis is as follows: A young ghost (producer/co-writer Sylvie Mix) haunts her cold Midwestern hometown, trying to piece together the horrific flashes of memories from her past. One by one she kills the men she believes were responsible for her death, though her plan is derailed when she meets Jack (Jacob Rice), a kind movie theater usher who inadvertently intercepts as she’s stalking her next victim. While Jack takes her in and offers her a glimpse at a normal life, her desire to avenge her own murder lingers on. Adding to the haunting tale is the score by composer Mark Hadley, for which he describes as ambient and slightly ominous. Some of Hadley’s previous credits include Into the Dark: My Valentine, Survival Skills and Rectify. To learn more about Hadley’s scoring process for the film and some of his other projects, we spoke to him exclusively below.
What drew you to the Double Walker script?
What drew me to the script was the concept, and the non-linear aspect of the story. I love films that unfold in compelling and curious ways, and Double Walker definitely had that quality in the script. I also admire the co-writer and director Colin West and am always excited by projects with him.
How would you describe your score for the film?
My score for the film leans ambient and slightly ominous, using unusual metallic textures to capture the cold aesthetic and warmer organic instruments to speak to the humanness. I wanted the score to feel like a tone poem, so it is also a bit meditative and feels suspended in time.
Can you talk about your relationship with the film’s writer/director Colin West. Did he have a very specific idea of what he wanted the score to sound like or did you have more freedom to experiment?
Colin West, in addition to a brilliant writer and director, is a close friend and we have a deep mutual respect for one another. It is a beautiful collaborative environment where I am afforded the trust and freedom to experiment and reach for new concepts without being confined to a predetermined sound. We had several discussions about how we wanted the film to feel, what the role of the music should be, and general tone. These discussions informed my approach and how I conceptualized the sound and made decisions about instrumentation and tonality.
We have heard of some composers including “found objects” in their scores. Did you do anything like this with your Double Walker score?
There are definitely found sounds in this score. I used contact microphones on different metal objects to find unsettling drones. Because of the role the spoon plays in the film, I recorded different piano parts using a spoon to strike the strings and other parts of the piano. I also worked with a percussionist (Sean Connors of Third Coast Percussion) who brought experimental concepts to the score such as holding an electric toothbrush to a gong to create rattling, dissonant drones and using a violin bow on a vibraphone to create long, metallic tones.
Did you gravitate towards one instrument more than others for the Double Walker score? Why?
I wanted the score to feel cold, so we used a lot of metal percussion instruments like gongs, vibraphone, rin, and even almglocken which is a Swedish cow bell (also used the electric toothbrush on this.) We also needed to capture a human element, so I used a lot of piano and cello as well.
You are also releasing the film’s score album. If you had to point to one or two tracks on there for people to listen to, which ones would they be?
The main title, Double Walker, because it captures the essence of the score. Also, the track New Years, because it is the one moment in the score which offers a more vulnerable, introspective tone as opposed to the rest of the score which is more unsettling.
According to IMDB, you have played guitar on shows such as Modern Family, Twisted and Rectify. How did you get connected to these shows?
My first gig in LA was working as an assistant to a TV composer, Gabriel Mann, who scored those shows. Because I am a guitar player, it worked out for me to record on those shows during that time.
You founded the company, Repository in 2020 as a vessel that focuses specifically on music and sound design for commercial uses. Can you talk a little more about this? What gap do you think this company is filling?
I do a lot of work for commercials and trailers as well as films, and have often felt that music in this space is either unoriginal, uninspiring, or one dimensional. I wanted to offer a new sound in this space and provide creative musical solutions to editors, agencies and music supervisors. I am also interested in spreading equity in this space, so most Repository tracks are collaborations with amazing instrumentalists who have a permanent stake in the music.
Not only have you scored films and tv shows, but you have also scored a lot of commercials for brands such as Apple, Amazon and Netflix. Can you talk about which commercials for Apple specifically you have scored?
For Apple, I have had original tracks of mine licensed, like my song Tomato Soup (from my artist project, Hark Madley) for the iPhone 12 Pro product film and Bass Brain for the iPad air product film in 2020, and also have been commissioned to compose original scores like for the iPhone 13 Pro product film this year in 2021.
Mark’s film soundtrack will also be available digitally on Friday. You can learn more about Mark here.
