Since 2019, wrestling fans have been eating up Vice TV’s wrestling docuseries Dark Side of the Ring, making it the most watched show on the network. The series is now in its fourth season and has new episodes airing every Tuesday. One of the creatives involved in bringing the electric show to life is composer Andrew Gordon Macpherson. Andrew is no stranger to creating wrestling-themed beats, he also scored Vice TV’s Tales from the Territories, which was produced by Dwayne Johnson. We wanted to learn more about how the music for these shows is made, so we spoke to Andrew. Read the exclusive conversation below.
How would you describe your score on season 4 of Dark Side of the Ring?
Season 4 builds on the style I used in the first 3 seasons, but every episode adds something unique to the mix. I think limitations lead to a bolder style, and the basic ingredients of Dark Side of the Ring music have always been the minimalistic neo-classical piano lines and tension building analog synth sequences, but each episode I try and dump in a little something from a different genre like “film noir” or “slasher flick” or “spaghetti western” approach to distinguish the episodes from each other.
This season has 100% more psycho clown vibes than other seasons
Music has always played a big part in wrestling. Whether it be to build up the live audience or for the wrestler’s entrance, defining their personas. Did you base any of your scores for Dark Side of the Ring or Tales from the Territories around that original character music?
I more so think of those pieces as different colours I can paint WITH or contrast when necessary. I try to remember that Jim Johnston (WWE composer) or whichever promoter selected the music, was telling a DIFFERENT story with their music choices than the one we are, and those choices are in the background but sometimes in conflict with the spirit of the story we’re telling. So for instance, Jake the Snake’s “Snake Bit” theme is my favorite WWE theme, and has somewhat influenced the tone of the whole series, but when we did the Grizzly Smith episode, which features Jake the Snake, I wrote themes for his real identity (Aurelian Smith Jr) and worked in a framework of country and bluegrass instrumentation. This is because the story focuses on how the “character” of Jake the Snake was in some ways a coping mechanism for the real guy that we’re speaking to. But on “Becoming Warrior” there are moments that maybe try to elaborate on the Ultimate Warrior’s iconic music, or at least the tone of it because Jim Hellwig changed his name to Warrior and merged that with his identity.
At what point do you begin scoring Dark Side of the Ring? During pre-production or after it’s already filmed?
I start when there’s a first assembly or rough cut, but before the re-enactments are shot. So we work in sort of a hybrid traditional-meets-library approach. This was developed on the first season as kind of a compromise for the quick schedule and comfort level of the studio (which was used to using only library music previously) but I think everybody was happy with the results because it meant Jason and Evan could play music on set for re-enactments and the editors could build the final version of sequences with the relevant music. It takes a lot of trust to let somebody change the music that much, but I trust Jason and Evan to make something awesome.
You collaborate a lot with director Jason Eisener. How did this come to be?
Jason was a year ahead of me in film school in Nova Scotia a long time ago. I moved away but we re-united to work on the movie Goon: Last of the Enforcers together. That was a really creative time where he was developing a lot of stuff (including DSOTR) and I had sort of burnt out on touring and the record industry and had come back to film and tv for work but was making music for fun and experimentation. I had done a little bit of original music for some trailers and reels of his, including DSOTR and when it got greenlit for a pilot I got to do that. The rest is history!
What was Jason’s direction when it came to the score for Tales from the Territories?
Jason, Evan, the team at Seven Bucks and I went back and forth a bit. We wanted the music to convey some legendary status and reverence for the guests and their stories, but we also wanted it to be fun and feel like the radio in North America in the 60s 70s and 80s. So we tried a few things to get the mixture right but that was the rough direction. After that it just matters what sticks to picture and gives the story something extra special.
You released a Dark Side of the Territories album in 2020. Are you going to be releasing more music?
All of the music from season 3 is available for free on YouTube here:
We’re trying to find ways to share the music whenever possible, but there have been some challenges with rights and supply chains and blah blah blah. The very best way to experience the music is by watching the episodes, so I would recommend that 🙂
You recently scored the sci-fi film Kids vs. Aliens, which was also directed by Jason Eisener. What was that experience like?
It was a crazy fever dream! I got to write and record a symphony orchestra for the first time which comprised about half of the score. It turned out great, but I definitely overthought it a bit at first and learned a lot about what the traditional approach can add vs where my skillset becomes most valuable, especially to my collaboration with Jason. I love the outcome and the experience is quite different to having sort of a “music department” to manage as opposed to my TV work (which is just me and a music supervisor, who kind of manages me).
What has been your favorite comment to read from critics about Kids vs. Aliens?
My favorite is when critics describe the last shot and how it “ignited” all these ideas of a bigger universe of films for them because that’s what it did for me and what we tried to enhance with the approach to the electro track that plays , which is stylistically different from the rest of the movie:
I also think it’s funny how sensitive people were to the kids swearing, because that’s just Nova Scotia. There’s a lot of sailors haha.
Is there a certain type of project you would like to work on in the future?
Dark Side of the Ring is the best job I’ve ever had, so if I have to do this for the rest of my life, that is blessing and I would be so lucky. That said, I love the Metroid video games, and I’d love to some kind of spin off. I got to do some Starfox music for Starlink: Battle for Atlas, which was awesome, but Metroid is my favorite, and of all the other media I love, I think I could kill it.
Many thanks to Andrew Gordon Macpherson for taking the time for this interview.
