U.K. SINGER-SONGWRITER — AND SELF-CONFESSED JEFF BUCKLEY FANATIC — ANNA CALVI DISCUSSES HER FAVORITE TOOLS FOR COMPOSING THE MUSIC FOR NETFLIX’S PEAKY BLINDERS
By Amit Sharma
TUNE-UPS
FOR MOST GUITAR players, composing music is a means for self-expression that often can provide the deepest and most profound insight into their hearts, minds and souls. The same can also be said of Anna Calvi’s three solo albums, though by the London-based songwriter’s own admission it was a somewhat different approach for her original score for Peaky Blinders seasons 5 and 6, released on CD and vinyl at the beginning of this year. In these creative situations, she reasons, it’s not her own story being told, but rather that of the characters depicted on screen, so her primary objective is to join the dots between what people see and what they hear.
What does a show like Peaky Blinders call for, musically? The themes are quite bleak, so you tend to work in minor keys.
Yeah, I wouldn’t say it’s happy music! But it’s treading a line between violence and beauty, which is essentially the ethos of the show. Some of it feels quite punk in that it’s adjacent to the norm and quite rebellious. I really try to score [lead character] Tommy Shelby’s inner-voice with my guitar. It’s nice to work in a more philosophical and abstract way, rather than the usual “I’m a guitarist!” approach. I’d play with a bow or hit the strings with the guitar on the ground, all sorts of weird stuff. Because my job was to score what was happening in that character’s head rather than anything about me. I enjoy the freedom it brings because I’m not solely responsible for the vision.
“Gina,” for example, is a fitting homage to the character seen on screen.
I have to say Gina Gray is quite a personality! I love it when certain people jump out of the screen at you, and it’s important for the music to match those moments in terms of charisma. With Tommy, because he’s the main character, I would often start with a note and let it descend into chaos, which is how his mind works. And that’s why there are a lot of descending slide motifs — because Tommy himself is sliding downwards.
So what tips can you offer all the budding scorers and composers out there?
Trusting your gut instinct is really important. You shouldn’t be afraid of those first ideas because you’re watching a scene and resp
