David Rowntree Shares Insight on Range of Creative Roles in Varied Career

David Rowntree is a man of many talents. Having trained as a classical drummer from an early age, he pursued a career in computer programming, only to find that his musical career was far from over. While working his day job, he spent time playing in bands in and around Colchester, most notably in Seymour alongside Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Alex James. Seymour would, of course, later be renamed Blur. Over the next twenty-five years, they became one of the most successful British of all time, winning more than forty major international awards including five Brits.

Since joining SMA Talent in 2017 to focus on developing his career as a film and TV composer, David has been prolific. He was nominated in 2018 for Best Music in the Independent Horror Film Awards for his score for Andrea Vinciguerra’s short, 'Teeth and Pills', and has enjoyed great success co-writing with fellow SMA composer Ian Arber on 'Mo Farah – No Easy Mile', 'Bros: When The Screaming Stops' and 'The Capture'. They are currently working together on a brand new eight-part TV series.

We sat down for a Zoom chat with David to talk through the many switching paths of his career, how he keeps things interesting when working on a single project, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. Budding composers, take note!

SMA Talent > You’ve had a hugely varied career, from computer programmer to drummer to film and TV composer, with a number of years training and working as a criminal lawyer thrown in for good measure. Where did your career as a musician begin, and how do your other paths and interests fit in?

David > Well, both my parents were classical musicians. My mum was a viola player and my dad was a singer. But the classical music world is very different to the pop music world – especially in the 60s– and they were both quite badly burned by the industry and gave it up. So when I was getting serious about playing music they both told me, ‘whatever you do don’t do it for a living – keep it as a hobby and you can love it forever.’

Obviously, like most teenagers, I didn’t listen too closely. In fact, originally I was going to double down on my parents’ mistakes and become a classical musician! Classical percussion was my first love—I played jazz for fun and classical percussion for its serious musicality. My first classical gig was at thirteen or fourteen. Unfortunately I cocked it up so badly they didn’t ask me back. I was completely overwhelmed, though I did get twenty-five quid for it so it wasn’t all bad….

Around the same time came the dawn of the personal computer revolution. I became obsessed with both things—music and computers. I tend to get diverted off on all kinds of tangents. Something will pique my interest and because I just get consumed. My first few jobs were computer-based but I was miserable writing computer software for a living. Luckily, I’d hedged my bets. I always had music in my back pocket. In a way that was so useful because it took the pressure off the music. It was never all or nothing.

SMA > At the moment, you’re focused on film and TV composing. How do you make sure that your appetite for variety and for pursuing tangents is satisfied while working on a specific job?

David > Primarily, I’m always on the lookout for new ways to make interesting noises. At the moment, for example, I’m using a saucepan! I’ve been busy trying different sticks on it, different microphones…

SMA > That sounds like a great way of combating the issue of the blank page…

David > The problem is always the blank page! The key, I think, is just to start. I read a really helpful article some time ago that said that you have to give yourself permission to make something bad. Say to yourself, ‘if it was the worst piece of music ever written, what would that sound like?’ and do that. In doing so, you give yourself permission for it not to be perfect straight away. It’s all an exercise in problem-solving after that.

SMA > When solving those problems, is there ever a gap between the solution you find and the one the producer envisioned?

David > When composing a score, you’re always one step removed from the thing you’re trying to achieve. You’re trying to prompt a specific emotional response, but it’s not clear until you’ve actually made some music what kind of emotional response the sound elicits.

It’s a less important consideration when making pop music. If you set out to write a love song and it ends up as something else, it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s good. With film music, if at a certain point the audience has to be scared, and instead they’re crying, the moment is wrong and you’ll be sacked!

SMA > Over the last few years, you’ve regularly collaborated with fellow SMA composer Ian Arber on projects like Bros: After The Screaming Stops and, most recently, BBC One’s The Capture.  How has that relationship developed over time? 

David > Well, we’ve never worked in the same room, so we’ve had to find a way of composing that compensate for that. We’ve also had to evolve ways of working to push ourselves. It can be easy to fall back on what you know works, and the last thing I want to do is make the same music over and over again—the same goes for Ian—so we’ve come up with some ways of working to combat that.

For example, at the beginning of a project we work without a picture, giving ourselves permission to go berserk. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad—the crazier the better. We just try to push the boat out as much as we can. You can always reel it back in again, but it’s very hard to push it further out when you’ve already started on the project.

SMA > And finally, what do you wish you’d known right at the beginning of your career that you know now?

David > I think – and this goes for pretty much everything I’ve ever done—all my jobs have started out being technical, and all ended up being about people. When it comes to being a composer, you might be able to write music but that’s of absolutely no use to anyone unless you can create relationships with the director, the producer, your agent, your co-musicians. It sometimes feels like the more difficult part, but it’s so important! 

Find out more about David's work via the SMA website, or his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.