Meet acclaimed composer, and co-composer of The Boys, Matt Bowen
Composer Matt Bowen started out in the industry as an intern at Music House, hoping to learn the ropes of record production. By the end of his internship, Bowen knew his passion was in composing music rather than engineering it. Bowen went on to work on music teams for some of television’s most beloved unscripted series, including The Bachelor and The Bachelorette franchises, as well as several scripted television shows and movies, including the Ride Along and Bad Mom’s franchises.
Recently, Bowen worked with collaborator and mentor Chris Lennertz on music for The Boys, Amazon Prime’s premium action fiction series about a group of misbehaving superheroes. On December 9th, Bowen’s latest project releases: Hulu’s The Binge 2: It’s A Wonderful Binge, a holiday-based sequel to The Binge. He composed both films.
In this interview, we caught up with Bowen about his work on The Boys, his creative process for finding the tone in his music and what he considers to be the most rewarding challenges while composing for film and television.
Was there a specific moment that inspired you to become a composer? If so, what was it?
Thanks so much for having me…and yes, absolutely. It was during an internship at a music house (that writes music for commercials).
I had already made “the move” to Los Angeles, but it was to work in record production. My ultimate goal was to work as a record producer, but my immediate goal was to become a better engineer. The music house had its own beautiful studio, and I took the internship to learn as much from their in-house engineer as possible.
But their in-house composers were my first exposure to what being a composer actually meant. They were so insanely talented, and could pivot from genre to genre effortlessly…it felt like they were musical alchemists. As they kept having an incredibly wide array of live sessions (string ensemble one day, funk band the next, obscure things like wine glass harp), I realized I wanted to be the one who had written the music, not engineered the music. By the end of that internship, my focus had shifted entirely from record production to composing.
As a composer, where do you get your inspiration?
I hope it doesn’t seem like too expected of a response, but honestly, the inspiration usually comes right from the picture I’m working on at that moment. And if I’m working on a project before there is a picture, the inspiration comes from the director’s vision, the script, animatics, or any other creative spark sent from the project.
Because I’m constantly drawing inspiration from someone else’s overall vision, I write music I absolutely would never write in a vacuum (far and away my favorite part of composing).
What is something that is part of the composer’s role that readers might be surprised to learn?
Just how many hats a composer wears over the course of a project. Yes, composers write the music, but a LOT of time is spent on the project outside of writing music. If it’s a bigger project that allows for a team, there is a lot of time spent coordinating and managing the team, be it writers, orchestrators, arrangers, session musicians, mixers, etc. And if it’s a smaller project, a lot of time is spent by the composer wearing some of those other team members’ hats (sometimes all of the hats).
What is something that you learned while working on The Boys that you will take with you to other projects?
Love this question, because The Boys really has been a unique experience creatively. I’ve really learned just how much you can accomplish emotionally through arrangement alone. Evocative chord changes or chord progressions are not a big part of that score…they just really don’t match the show’s aesthetic.
I’ve always felt putting restrictions on yourself is one way to really push yourself creatively. So when we restrict ourselves from using the chords or harmonic language we might normally use in a certain setting, we need to really dig in creatively to accomplish the same thing through the arrangement.
It was very challenging at first…felt a bit like shooting a basketball with my left hand (if I could just shoot this ball with my right hand, it would be a lot easier!). But I also felt a lot of freedom within those restrictions, and feel like it has forever changed the way I write.
What has been your career highlight thus far?
Maybe it’s because it’s my most recently aired project, but seeing my name in the The Boys font during the credits was pretty cool. And seeing it alongside Chris Lennertz’s name (we co-scored some episodes in Season 3) made it even cooler. I first worked as a team member on one of Chris’s projects back in 2010, so he’s been one of my biggest mentors. To work as a collaborator with him on something like this was incredibly rewarding (not to mention fun).
What is something that you wish you knew when you were starting out your career as a composer?
I wish I knew it was okay that I hadn’t formally studied music composition. I spent a lot of time worrying about what holes I had in my music theory knowledge, rather than embracing my strengths.
I always looked to Danny Elfman for inspiration, as someone who wasn’t formally trained but still figured out his own unique way to create such a strong voice artistically…but I also couldn’t help but think he was the exception, and not the rule (and to be clear, I am NOT comparing myself to Danny-frickin-Elfman!).
Don’t get me wrong, I think there are some fantastic music programs out there, and they can keep you from having to reinvent too many wheels. But at the end of the day, we’re making art, which is incredibly personal in taste. And though my school-of-hard-knocks education may have been inefficient at times, I also wouldn’t change a thing.
What’s next for you?
I’m happy to say I’m collaborating with Chris Lennertz on the score for another project at the moment…but I’ll keep that vague for now.
And in the meantime, I’m greatly anticipating the release of a movie I scored called It’s A Wonderful Binge (coming December 9th on Hulu!). It’s a holiday-based sequel to The Binge, and while I may be slightly biased, it belongs on the Mount Rushmore of holiday movies.
Read more about Bowen on his website.
