Giovanni Spinelli | Composer

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NEWS

Live Score for F.W. Murnau's "Sunrise"

Giovanni premiered his much awaited score for solo electric guitar for F.W. Murnau's silent masterpiece "Sunrise" (1927) on the opening night of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival on July 14. For this score, Giovanni experimented with loopers, pitchshifters, frequency analyzers and analog and digital delays in the attempt to develop a new palette of sounds to suit this expressionist masterpiece. This is not the first time Giovanni has been asked to score a silent film. In 2006, he wrote a score for keys and string ensemble for D.W. Griffith's "True Heart Susie" and performed live to picture on the opening night of the XXV International Silent Film Festival in Salice, Venice (for an excerpt Video Mockup see the Main Page).

Lifeskate Interview re "Pop Star On Ice"

"Giovanni Spinelli, composer of Pop Star On Ice: This film needed a rap song"

Have you seen "Pop Star On" Ice starring Johnny Weir yet? I attended the New York premiere and it was great! You know what contributed to the greatness? The music behind it. Wow, there was classical, dance, techno, rap(!), alternative, you name it, they all fit Johnny moods throughout the film. Giovanni Spinelli (at right) is the composer of Pop Star On Ice and he shared with us his experience as the man behind the music.
How did you become the composer for Pop Star On Ice?

The filmmakers James Pellerito and David Barba called me in September 2007 while they were still shooting Pop Star On Ice. I had already worked with them on several film and theater projects in the past and was of course very excited to contribute to this project. It struck me from the outset as something very specific and unique, not only because of Johnny's captivating personality and talent, but also because of the filmmakers' entirely fresh approach to the subject and to the medium. They said the film would be more a portrait of Johnny than a traditional biographic documentary and that the score would require a mix of classical and pop music. Overall, the final score contains examples of classical, solo piano, alt rock, dance, pop, techno, ambient, electro, reggaeton, arrangements of Russian traditional music, and, yes, even an original rap song about Johnny ("My Moment" performed by John MackEnflow).
What was it like to compose an entire soundtrack around Johnny?
Johnny Weir was, of course, a very inspiring topic. His unique style on and off the ice, as captured by the filmmakers, was a catalyst for all sorts of musical ideas. A lot of the skating sequences, coupled with solo piano pieces (for example "Aftermath" or "Vulnerable"), in my opinion, really do resemble a "ballet on ice" (please be sure to say that with a thick Russian accent:). On the other hand, his "Pop Star" persona fits in so well with dance tracks (like the Heatherette Runway sequence), alt rock (like the explosive skating sequence of the Introduction and my favorite "Johnny's Workout") and even Latin music (like the "Johnny Reggaeton" sequence). For his more introspective and challenging moments I sometimes worked with classical (like "The Rink" opening sequence) and other times with ambient and electronica ideas (like "Practice").
Can you talk about a little about the process you went through?
As I often do, I asked the filmmakers to involve me well in advance of the final cut of the film. This allowed the film and the score to grow and mature together. Because of the nature of this film, David and James had literally over a hundred hours of footage from which to choose and edit. They knew what certain key highlights of the film were going to be, but, beyond that, they had many difficult editing decisions to make. This also meant that the film was continuously changing as we worked together.
As a result, we went through many different versions for the same cues (overall, the draft cues I wrote for the film occupied more than 72 gigabytes of disk space). To cite an example, for Johnny's segment in Canada, we worked with several pop versions, an alt rock version, a marching band version, a classical version, a chamber version, a techno version, etc. of the Canadian national anthem, for over 30 different arrangements (the latter two were used: see O Canada and Cruising High). The same applied to my various arrangements of the Russian traditional songs Kalinka, Ochi Chernie and Katyusha. Instead, for Johnny's visit to Japan for the 2007 World Championships, the filmmakers chose a very specific ambient track that I happen to be very fond of (the track is entitled Worlds '07).
The entire process of working on Pop Star On Ice was highly stimulating and enjoyable for me as a composer. I found it effortless to work with David and James who I think are two very innovative, thoughtful and mature filmmakers. I would keep an eye on them!

One of my favorite songs in the movie is the figure skating rap song My Moment. Was a rap song a hard sell to directors David Barba and James Pellerito?

The rap song came about in one of those magical moments that one hopes will occur at least once in every artistic collaboration. Once we had agreed upon the film's basic musical theme with the filmmakers, it suddenly struck me that what this film needed was a rap song about Johnny and his oncoming struggle to win the gold medal in 2010. Don't ask we why. A rap song about a figure skater. It seemed such an absurd juxtaposition that it had to work! However, I imagined that if I suggested this idea to the filmmakers at that stage, in the abstract, without the finished song in hand, they might think I had lost my mind. So I called upon the very talented rapper and actor, John MackEnflow. I sent him an instrumental base for the rap, and asked him to work on some lyrics for the song. After a few days, John came to my studio and we recorded the track in less than two hours. The lyrics were exactly on point, and John's delivery (I guess I am really supposed to say "flow") was superb. I was flabbergasted and couldn't wait to have the filmmakers hear the piece. I then met James and David at the annual New York Shorts Film Festival (of which they are the organizers) and sprung the rap song on them (I literally had them listen to it on my iPod cold, without explanation). Sold! There were about a dozen or so mixing sessions following that, but the basic song was set.
I also want to add that the soundtrack album also contains songs performed by two outstanding female singers: "Everybody Wants This" a dance piece, sung by Lindsay Campbell, and "Flying" an electronica piece, sung by Katy Cunningham. These are bonus tracks that were inspired by Johnny and the film and that we wrote and recorded without a specific scene in mind. However, an instrumental version of Everybody Wants This was in fact used in the film (the Heatherette runway scene: the track is entitled Runway).

My thanks to the multi-talented Giovanni Spinelli for sharing the inside scoop with us Johnny fans. Folks -- The soundtrack album is now available on iTunes. You can purchase the whole album or single tracks individually. For more information on Giovanni Spinelli, you can visit his website:
http://www.giovannispinelli.com
And now, for those of you wondering what a figure skating rap song about Johnny Weir might sound like, here is a portion of the lyrics from My Moment, music by Giovanni Spinelli, lyrics by John MackEnflow:
I've worked my whole life / to be right here, right now /
but what I do in the next few minutes / could shape my whole future /

Everyone thinks I'm gonna blow it / But I got what it takes inside, I just know it /
Talk is cheap, it's time to just show it / 'Cause this is my moment

A lot of folks wanna know why I changed coaches /
Can I win gold, or is Johnny just plain hopeless? /
All of this hype while I'm trying to stay focused /
A lot on my shoulders right now if you ain't noticed! /
I'm not like everyone else—started late in the game,
started taking my pain, started skating my way
to the top like I was meant for the fame,
but today, it's a shame the way you taking my name
through these hoops and these scoops about me and my family /
and why I withdrew my events from the Grand Prix /

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

The San Francisco Examiner in reference to Giovanni's premiere of his live score for solo electric guitar for F.W. Murnau's "Sunrise":

"... the most unique moment that evening was musician Giovanni Spinelli's electric guitar accompaniment of Mr. Murnau's hypnotic "Sunrise". Silent film purists may have chosen to flee the palatial space, but Mr. Spinelli's orchestrations were pitch perfect for "Sunrise", layering the story's dark and all-too-human undercurrents, a jarring experience heightened by the guitar's unorthodox pitch, an astounding mix of Hendrix, Badalamenti, Vaughn and The Edge."

See San Francisco Examiner Article

Directors James Pellerito and David Barba ("Pop Star On Ice"):

Working with Giovanni Spinelli is like working with many different composers because he is a master of so many different music genres. Giovanni is a classically trained musician and composer yet he is just as comfortable composing pop ballads, dance music, punk tracks, bossa nova jazz, slavic folk music or quiet, reflective musical score moments. For our documentary film POP STAR ON ICE, starring iconoclast figure skating champion Johnny Weir, we in fact asked Giovanni to produce all of these genres and he delivered brilliantly. The soundtrack for POP STAR ON ICE not only reflects Giovanni's exceptional talent but also Johnny Weir's eclectic personality and Giovanni was singled out in the Variety rave of the film: "Versatile score by Giovanni Spinelli also keeps things moving." Variety, June 10, 2009

Giovanni composed the haunting and achingly beautiful score for our film "MAREE" (TIDES) (Special Mention at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival). The story deals with an Albanian father who abandons his son in Venice in hopes of affording his son a better life than he can provide. Giovanni's soundtrack adds so much more to the film that isn't already there. While the score is largely neo-classical piano, there are hints of Albanian folk music through use of regional music themes and musical instruments. The film has played around the world in more than 125 festivals, winning over 25 awards. The only consistent compliment we've heard from film programmers to audience members is that the music breaks their hearts.

Giovanni is also comfortable in different arenas. He composes music for bands, chamber ensembles, theater and television. For our theatrical production of BABY WITH THE BATHWATER, he arranged and performed a warped version of the national anthem on an electric guitar that perfectly encapsulated the universe of Christopher Durang's characters. Giovanni also composed the catchy theme music for our television series BE GOOD JOHNNY WEIR on Sundance Channel.

Beyond the talent, Giovanni is a pleasure to work with because he is extremely fast, creatively open and he 'gets it'. We would strongly recommend Giovanni to any filmmaker or television producer provided the work does not conflict with our own! Giovanni's involvement guarantees that the project will be better.

David Barba & James Pellerito
Filmmakers
Retribution Media

Paolo Cherchi Usai, Resident Curator Telluride Film Festival, Co-Founder, Pordenone Silent Film Festival (D.W. Griffith's "True Heart Susie"; F.W. Murnau's "Sunrise"):

Spinelli’s work in silent film music reveals a fresh, non-deferential approach to the live accompaniment of cinema classics. His mix of sensibility, competence and sheer enthusiasm for this precious art form provides audiences of the newest generations with a chance to discover silent cinema for what it really is – a timeless display of creativity and beauty.

Writer/Director Jason Wade Hammonds ("Jacknife Memoriam" - "Diane Skyhawk" - "American Way"):

Giovanni is an inspired genius. Working with him on my last three films has been a real treat. He seems to be always inventing something new and this always works to my advantage. I get clips of maybe 5-10 pieces prior to filming and it always helps drive the direction of the film. He has an amazing talent for melding the classical and the contemporary, creating something that could only be an original Spinelli."

Zishan Ugurlu, Resident Director, La Mama Theater (Strindberg's "The Father"):

Giovanni's music sparkles and soars in a style which is rich and inspiring. It unveils the human soul with the quality of the greatest masterpieces.

Playrwright/Director, Richard Caliban ("Teatro Slovak" - "Cabaret Cucaracha/Les Funky Bitches Fantastique"):

Giovanni is a kick ass musician who can fuse classical influences with rock, jazz, latin, or just about any other genre. I've done some pretty crazy theatrical stuff with Giovanni and he has composed some amazing work-- outright songs as well as background ambiance. He's also done musical direction/arranging and always made my music much more sophisticated and interesting. We play live in a band together too -- Les Funky Bitches Fantastique. He's a good guy. You should hire him whether it's for a film, a play or a cabaret act or whatever.

The New Yorker, December 10, 2007 (in reference to "Jasna Gora" string quartet):

A rich, turbulent string quartet from the young composer Giovanni Spinelli for [Diane Coburn Bruning's] emotionally charged new ensemble piece, “Dark Parade".

Variety magazine (in reference to "Pop Star On Ice"):

"Versatile score by Giovanni Spinelli also keeps things moving." Variety, June 10, 2009