Making Stuff Sound Awesome Since 2003
We love being a part of that last satisfying click when everything comes together.
Our focus is music—we've composed dozens of scores for films and commercials and documentaries and even a TV series or two.
We also love diving into sound design, foley, sweetening, mixing. Everything you can hear. We've worked with Academy Award winners and student filmmakers, so we can make it happen within just about any budget, too. Let us know what you need.
When we have time, we also produce songs and albums in association with our friends at Superhead Records.
Projects
The Who Was Show, Spotlight, Pool Party, Men of a Certain Age, Paper Man, Saving My Tomorrow, Grey’s Anatomy, Californication, HBO's Alzheimer's Project, The Citizens Band, Dante's Inferno, Lola Versus, Malcolm in the Middle, God Grew Tired of Us, Dîner En Blanc, Mortal City, The Cool School, The WNYC Pledge Drive, Arthur, Van Wilder, The Ex, Waiting for Hockney, The Virginity Hit, Free Enterprise, That's Life, In Smog and Thunder, Cranky George, Milton, Papercranes, Turner Cody, The Stevensons, plus more discarded TV pilots than we can remember and more commercials than we can count.
An Interview with M.f. McAdam
Hi M.f. Okay if I call you M.f.?
No.
Why not?
I'd just rather you didn't. It's more of a nom de guerre.
Right. I'll try again. As founder and lead composer, how would you describe the philosophy of Superhead?
We like to make stuff sound awesome. Whether we're making a distorted feedback drone or a big sweep of orchestral stuff of just finding the right squishy sound for a boot coming out of the mud, I’d like to think we hold ourselves to the highest standards of awesomeness.
Interesting, maybe. Tell me more.
For instance, let's say we get a beautiful piece of animation and the director wants a guitar-based waltz-type thing. For starters, we tune the guitar using the most up to date, state-of-the art technology—
A guitar tuner.
Sometimes, yes. Usually. And we don't rest until we get it within hundredths of microtones of actual concert pitch—the same as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, at a fraction of the cost.
Okay.
Unless we feel like it needs to be slightly out of tune, then we leave it the way it was. No two jobs are alike.
What sets you apart from, say, other studios?
I think a lot of people underestimate the usefulness of kitchen utensils as percussion elements. Plus, as I mentioned, we're just a little bit awesomer.
You did mention that.
Really though, I think we have an aversion to anything that sounds stock or slapped on. That’s what music libraries are for. No offense.
None taken. I’m not a music library.
Sure, but I mean there’s a lot of great stuff out there you can just buy. But it’ll never come close to someone watching your scene and living with it and building something specific to the world you’ve created.
And you bring that same approach to mixing and sound design?
Yeah, I hope so. Otherwise just go to Post Production Warehouse or whatever. Mixes R Us. The thing is, nowadays, everyone has the same sorts of fancy equipment—microphones and compressors and all that—but not everybody has the patience to listen. And I don’t just mean listening to the E.Q. and the bass response and all that tech-y stuff. I mean listening to the director and the actors and actually hearing the best way to tell the story.
What are some of your favorite film scores?
Jim Jarmusch’s film Dead Man comes to mind. Neil Young did it mostly just on guitar, I think. And it’s so simple, basically one motif for the whole movie. I love that. It’s like a trance. It takes courage to be that restrained.
Anything else?
Randy Newman’s score for Avalon is perfect, classic. It’s got everything. Punch Drunk Love: also amazing. Jon Brion. Super manic and then melancholy and funny, too. I seem to be picking people who aren’t “film composers” per se. They’re songwriters first. Makes sense. Oh, I really love the music in Grand Budapest Hotel. But I can’t think of that guy’s name…
Alexandre Desplat?
Yep. That’s it. Okay, well he’s absolutely a true “film composer,” isn’t he? Still. I like all the music in Wes Anderson’s movies, across the board.
Any stuff you don’t like?
Sure. All that bombastic Hans Zimmer-y stuff makes my teeth hurt. I also don’t care for the scores that sound really lush and professional but have no personality, no discernible through line. Like the ones that just follow along and say, “Oh, that hobbit looks sad. Better make some sad music. What a scary forest. I should put some scary music in here. Oh, the sun’s coming out! How about a harp!”
I feel like I know you a lot better. Can I call you M.f. now?
No.
