Yahoo News ‘Only Murders In The Building’ Composer Siddhartha Khosla On Scoring The “Dramatic Beats” Of The Mystery And The Silent Episode “The Boy From 6B”
For Only Murders in the Building, composer Siddhartha Khosla focused on underscoring the dramatic beats of the murder mystery rather than the comedy. The series follows a trio of true crime fans in NYC who start a podcast when they find themselves embroiled in their own mystery. In an effort to give it a more “NYC” feeling, he incorporated bucket drumming into the orchestra. Using those same instruments for the bulk of the score, Khosla’s work became essential in “The Boy From 6B”, which follows the perspective of the deaf character Theo Dimas (James Caverly). Only Murders in the Building is nominated for 17 Emmys in its first season, including Outstanding Comedy Series and two nominations for Khosla for his score and the main title theme.
DEADLINE: What did the creators of the series have in mind for the score when you first began, and how did it change?
SIDDHARTHA KHOSLA: Only Murders is dramatic as much as it is comedic. We collectively felt that the score needed to play the dramatic beats of the story – the mystery, and the loneliness of our characters, and not really underscore the comedy as much. As with other elements of the show like the production design and the costumes, the music needed to feel classic but also modern. And so we landed on an ensemble of live strings, woodwinds, and pianos that I like to think represents the sounds of the inner walls of the Arconia. There is a majesty and history to this pre-war building that only our incredible orchestra is truly able to evoke. But then there are quirkier, darker elements with my voice, autoharps, affected pianos that bring a moderness to it all as well.
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DEADLINE: What was the inspiration for the title theme?
KHOSLA: As a songwriter, I’ve always written melody first. One day I started humming this hooky melody over very 1960’s ish quarter note pulsing piano chords ala the Beach Boys, or Donovan. I sang and played that theme in a zoom call for producers, and John loved it so much that he claimed it instantly as “the theme of our show.” Producers asked me to make the main title theme more “NY” and in an effort to mimic a street musician in the subway, our drummer played Home Depot paint buckets on the theme. On the main title you hear a mix of our amazing string and woodwind players, autoharps, my voice, mellotron, pianos, and of course those buckets.
DEADLINE: Why was “The Boy From 6B” chosen for consideration in your category?
KHOSLA: This is a silent episode of television told from the perspective of a deaf character (Theo Dimas). As there is virtually no dialogue, the score and sound design play a big part in delivering the narrative. It was incredibly challenging to pull off, and a wonderful collaboration between our editor, Julie Monroe, and director Cherien Dabis.
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