Companion and Key Change

There’s a new film coming out in theaters this week called Companion, a darkly funny thriller/comedy/romance. I composed the score for the film. There’s also a new podcast that I launched today within the Song Exploder feed called Key Change, a monthly series where I chat with fascinating people about the music that transformed them. They intersect this week not just because of the timing, but because my first guest on Key Change is the star of Companion, Sophie Thatcher, who also sings vocals on the main theme that I composed for the film.

Companion is a movie that you should really try to see without knowing anything about the plot. I avoid trailers as a rule, which raises eyebrows sometimes, but I prefer going into a film without expectations or foreknowledge. It’s an approach that has paid off on many occasions, and it’s what I want for everyone going to see Companion. (If you feel like you absolutely have to watch something beforehand, here’s the teaser, which doesn’t give too much away.) So, instead of describing what the film is about, I thought I’d tell you about my surprising experience getting the gig to write the music for it.

In February 2023, I saw an article announcing that my friend Drew Hancock had written a screenplay that had gotten the greenlight and was going to get made. He was going to direct it as well. This was big news. I’ve known Drew for over twenty years. I was a fan of his early comedy writing and directing. In those days, we daydreamed together about the possibility of him directing a music video for one of my songs, but that never ended up panning out. In our thirties, Drew’s career ended up moving more into writing for TV, and mine drifted from music into making podcasts.

I texted Drew excitedly to congratulate him. He wrote back and asked, “Would you be open to reading the script? I would love to hear your thoughts on the score.” I agreed immediately, and assumed that he meant he’d want my suggestions for composers.

An hour later, I’d torn through the screenplay. I loved it. I texted him: “Wow, Drew. It’s so good! Man! I can’t wait to see it.” Three days later, we went on a hike, and I started pitching him some ideas for composers, and eventually he stopped me and said, “Just to be clear, do you NOT want to write the score yourself?”

I hadn’t thought it could even be a possibility, since the last thing I’d scored was one season of a Netflix show that came out six years ago. I’d only done two other film scores, years before that. Even though being a film composer was why I relocated to LA originally, I’d thought my chance had mostly come and gone.

Drew said he wanted to work with me, though. As a first time director, he wanted someone he could talk to easily in order to work out some of his ideas. I wrote some music based on his script, we sent it to the producers and the studio, and they eventually agreed to let him hire me.

That summer, they started filming—until the production was halted by the actors’ strike. But that delay gave me a chance to start writing to the scenes they’d already filmed, and Drew was able to give me some concrete direction: Companion, at its core, is a relationship story, and despite some of its slightly sci-fi themes, the score should have a timeless feeling. I was especially inspired by Sophie Thatcher’s performance as the main character, Iris. And so, I wrote “Iris’s Theme” while they were on hiatus. I wrote a vocal melody and demo’d it with my own voice, artificially pitched up into a female register, thinking maybe we’d get a vocalist to replace the vocals later. When I played it for Drew, he told me that Sophie happened to be a singer and musician herself, and it was too perfect an opportunity to pass up. It would be so much more meaningful if Iris’s theme were sung by Iris herself.

In January 2024, filming was complete, and I started working on the score in earnest. I wrote the music for the very first action scene of my career (better late than never). We put together a 12-piece string ensemble and recorded at the famed East West Studios. I met Sophie, and we recorded her vocals for “Iris’s Theme.” There’s a moment in the plot that involves digitally altering one’s voice, so rather than replacing my vocals entirely, we added in Sophie’s singing, but left in a subtle layer of my pitched vocals, as well. I tried as much as possible to take inspiration from the plot when working on elements of the score.

Companion was an incredible experience. I finally got the chance to work with my old friend, and I got to rekindle a dream that I’d let go of, for a film I would have absolutely loved even if I had no connection to it. My score came out as an album on digital platforms last Friday, and it’s also going to be released on vinyl. The artwork was done by one of my favorite illustrators, Greg Ruth. You can pre-order a copy here. The movie comes out on Friday, and I hope you’ll see it in the theater!

A while ago, I started to toy with the idea of a show where I could talk to people about the most important music in their lives. Not music they made, but music that made them. And that would open up the range of possible guests to all sorts of people I’ve dreamt of interviewing. That's how Key Change was born, and why Sophie Thatcher is my first guest. I really enjoyed getting to know her and her very specific sensibilities while we worked on the music for the film, and this was a chance to ask her more. You can hear our conversation on the Song Exploder podcast feed, if you're subscribed to it, or you can listen here.

Thank you so much for reading. Things are rough out there right now. I've been haunted by a version of the “This Is Fine” meme I saw earlier this month, and I'm feeling it acutely as I post about the film, the score, and the new series.

So please accept my apologies for talking shop while the world tremors beneath us. I hope you’re able to take care of yourself and your loved ones these days, and that you’re able to find support in your community.

Thank you,
Hrishikesh

ps – If you’re in Los Angeles on February 12, I’ll be talking to Stuart Murdoch, lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Belle & Sebastian, about his new novel Nobody’s Empire. Tickets are here.